Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Aussie Martini Cadet in 32-40

I have a 310 Cadet in very nice condition. I would like to convert it to 32-40, NOT 32-20. I am looking for feedback from anyone who has already done this.

blaspheme!

That cartridge ( 32-40 ) is getting a little onto the LONG side to feed into that sharply swamped block.

The Cadet is all about SHORT cartridges.

PLEASE don't let some idiot GRIND on it for clearance,....several have turned up around Tombstone so butchered and bodged,.......guess what the owners were looking for,.....Repairs, and correct replacement blocks.

GTC

I have one that I got as a kid about 40 years ago, it was chambered in 32 Winchester special. 32-40 would work if a 32 special did.

Sherman Bell in this quarter's issue of Double Gun and Single Shot Journal has an article on the beginning of his project to convert a small Martini action to 32-40. Apparently this was a reasonably popular conversion at the time; so long as you don't intend to hot-rod your handloads, I say go for it.

Ross Seyfried wrote an article for Handloader on getting the 310 Cadet to shoot. Sounded like a fun project. You might want to try shooting it as is. You can always convert it later. Just a thought.

Oregon..I read the Double Gun story just this week. The author is using a brand new Krieger barrel. I presume the author then gets the correct spin rate to stabilize a .322 170 grain tip. I don't know what the rifling twist rate is of an original 310 barrel. I have heard that only 120-ish grain tips will stabilize in the original barrel. I am a BPCR shooter which is why I want a 32-40 instead of 32 Special.

Doubletap..I know of this article by Ross but I can't find a copy of it online and I have never read it. I have been shooting this gun for two years already, reloading it by hand. I have about 50 original 310 cadet casings and 50 modified 32/20 casings. I buy healed tips from GAD. In original caliber it is very accurate, but the caliber has no pizazz for me.

I am looking for someone who has already done this to give me some feedback, or someone to name the right guy in Central Texas that can make this modification. If the twist rate is wrong on the original barrel for 160 grain 32/40's I need to know that.

Bronco

Cadets in original condition are starting to get pricey. Reaming the chamber will pretty much put an end to ones value. 32-40 is going to be too much cartridge for the rifle unless you keep it loaded down and if you're going to keep it loaded down, you might at well keep it in the original chambering.

It's not all that much trouble to load for,..and it's a lot of fun making the .310 chambering work much better than it did in its original form.

If you're not happy with the rifle the way it is, I understand. You gotta do what makes you happy. I just never thought of the 32-40 as a cartridge with pizazz.

Hi Bristoe...Thanks for the reply, I enjoyed your insights.

Cadet sale prices are an interesting thing to study. I have been watching Gunbroker Cadet listings and actual sales for the last two years. The average 310 with no rust or modifications that actually sells goes for $350 or less. The average 32/20 sells a bit faster for the same money based on condition. 357Mag Cadets sell in the $500 range in one week. 32 Specials sell slowly in the $350 to $400 range. Zipper/zappers in high speed .22 caliber don't sell at all. The highest selling Cadet in the past year was a 32-40 conversion for $750 and had multiple people bidding on it. I check Gunbroker Cadet prices almost daily through automatic programmed searches. I never take stock in listings, I focus only on actual guns sold to determine market price. BTW, Cadet sales have slowed down a bit since the national economy broke down. Prices have not changed, just the number of closed sales has thinned out.

You are correct, the 310 is easy to load. Dies are very expensive for 310, so I do it by hand without loading dies since no sizing or crimping is required. I described my technique in depth on a different BPCR forum about five months ago.

A BP load of 32-40 can never be too much cartridge, even in a light rifle. Winchester invented the 32 Spec for the 1894 lever action to out perform the aged 32-40 and the 94 is a wisp of a rifle. No one complains about shooting a 32 Special in a Win94. A Trapdoor 20 inch carbine also weighs just a wisp. Shooting a 405 grain .459 bullet over 65 grains of 2F in that gun smarts just bit too much but is shot by many. I think that a 170 grain .322 bullet over 35 grains of 2F in a 24 inch Cadet will be fun.

Bronco

Doubletap... You are right, I never defined the meaning of pizazz. Around the turn of the 20th Century, 32/40 was considered a top choice for long range target tourneys. Light cartridges were 32/40 and 38/55. Medium cartridges were 40/65. Heavy cartridges were 44/77, 45/70, 45/90 etc. In the shooting competitions that I join monthly, we shoot all of these in single shot rifles at long range steel plates. That is my definition of pizazz. The 310 just does not fit in with that culture, thus no pizazz for me.

Thanks for the post.
Bronco

A 125 grain .322 cast bullet with 15 grains of AA1680 can be fun in the original chambering, also.

Not sure ANY BCPR shooters would agree with the choice of .32-40; it's the primo Scheutzen ctg. but that's a whole different game.... The lightest ctg. I know of that is used for BCPR is .38-55 or better .38-56, and most BCPR shooters consider them quite marginal at the longer BCPR ranges/heavier steel targets. The .32-40 might work for chickens, but certainly is not ideal for rams.

A .32-40 Cadet with the right barrel would be a SWEET rifle, but only within its practical capabilities: medium distance target shooting, including Scheutzen, and game up to deer-size, IMO.

Mike,

It's a moot point talking about BPCR in a Martini action. They are NOT legal for BPCS. Rules specify the rifle MUST have an open hammer. Which is why no one shoots the Ruger #1.

GH

To start off, I am just looking for a fun single shot with a decent sized cartridge to fire in it. Both Mike and Grasshopper are correct. Martinis are illegal in BPCR and 32-40 is great for Scheutzen. At our local club we have 10 SASS inspired cowboy stages and a 10 position 400 yard range (soon to be 700 yards). On the long range field we shoot a modified cowboy tourney every month and practice on the other weekends. It is a form of DCM meets BPCR meets Scheutzen. Locally we call it "buffalo shooting matches" but that is hard to describe to many and our rules are unique. We are cowboys at heart. Our main desire is to learn how to use our rifles and sights at different yardage distances. Soule and Creedmore sights prevail on our guns. During our match we change yardage six times. Our targets are hanging steel of all different sizes from 8 inches in diameter to 36 inch rectangles. The primary rifle style used on our range are single shots. Rolling Blocks and Sharps are most numerous. High Walls, Trap Doors, Handi Rifles and Martinis are also used. Lever guns appear regularly: Big and Medium bore Marlin's and Winchesters. Every once in a while the Wild Bunch guys show up with Krags. We don't care if you shoot black powder or smokeless powder, as long as you shoot lead tips only, we are open minded to anything. The 45/70 is most prolific and thus most winning, but all traditional cartridges are fired. So I just tell everyone that we shoot BPCR because I get tired of explaining what unique course of fire we shoot. Our matches are fun. Little focus is spent on winning, most focus goes to people who hit the smallest and longest targets. We shoot on the line like at a Trap Shoot. One shooter at a time, all watching each other, cleaning barrels or reconfiguring sights until next shot. It goes fast.

One of my cowboy pards shoots a beautifully stocked Martini in 38-55. It has a tapered octagon barrel with a wonderfully matted rib and engraved action. I think it will be cool to shoot a baby Martini at these targets, but the Martini has to have a cartridge big enough to make the steel ring at long distance. If the line judges can't see the hit or hear the hit, it is not a hit. At 400 yards, a hit on steel with a 150 grain lead tip is sometimes hard be sure of.
Bronco

It's your rifle,...mutilate it if you want to,..but it's never gonna be a coal burner and you're not going to like it in 38 40 shooting black powder.

That's not what it is and you can't change that.

Bristoe,

I just read this entire thread, and I failed to note any mention of the .38-40 . Thus I can't see where your comment is justified.

okay 32 40

I started this thread to ask for first hand information that could help me make decisions about my Cadet and the thread took me down a different path.

To remind and repeat: I have a 310 Cadet in very nice condition. I would like to convert it to 32-40, NOT 32-20. I am looking for feedback from anyone who has already done this.

I know there is a guy out there named Oldgunsmith that has the answers I need.
Bronco

I grew up on a California ranch, and our .310 Cadet was a great little rifle for squirrel shooting: we reloaded it at the kitchen table with a tong tool and it shot very well. Hits out to 200 yards were common. I have to ask you not to mess with it. Sell it to anyone. Sell it to me. But don't mangle it: it's too sweet a gun without being thrashed. Just my opinion. Next stop: gunsamerica to get one. They fall under the C&R jurisdiction, don't they?