Saw these a little while ago. From what I can tell, they are new production using modern materials.

DAMKO Martini Rifle

Interesting. A couple of thoughts:

Pretty high prices, but whatever the market will bear.

6-7 pound trigger pull? I don't think so.

No .22 RF?

You can buy a Ruger #1 from Lipseys for $1495.

Nice effort, but no 22LR, too bad. They might as well put great wood on them and compete with Dakota

Seeing the price explains why no one is making reproductions of the BSA target .22s. I'd be more interested if it offered a pistol grip, a sporter style forend, ramp front sight and styling similar to that of a stalking rifle from the late 19th century.

If they sold barreled actions, it might be a good starting point for a custom rifle.

I realize that nothing ever gets cheaper, but I do not know how they can justify the price. Good luck to them, but I cannot see this line surviving.

S.R. X 2. Be Well, Rustyzipper.

I can get by the price for an American-made rifle with a Krieger barrel, but the trigger pull is a major minus. I sent an email asking if anything can be done with that. We shall see.

As it stands now, I can get a MGM Contender barrel for any of the cartridges they offer, except .303, for about $400, plus of course the aforementioned Ruger and various High Walls for much less than their price, and the triggers ain't bad.

Yes, the trigger response will be interesting to hear. It's just another reason to look elsewhere. Are there many gunsmiths that do work on Contenders in the US?

It's a neat concept and a 6 lb .30-30 would be very cool but the peep sight is a WGRS or similar - William's lowest end peep but it adds $100 to the price, and that gap between the forend and receiver is something even a newly made Ruger No. 1 would be ashamed of.

More power to them, I always root for new rifle manufacturers but they have to realize that even though nostalgia or cool factor helps, at those prices the demographic that might be interested expects top tier quality.

It was an ugly rifle in 1871, and it's an ugly rifle now. No thanks.

At that price point, I can think of several single shot rifles I'd put in line ahead of this one.

I applaud any new gun maker, but what I see and what they ask doesn't stir up any Loony desires.

DF

Got a reply from Travis. He said that the pull can easily be lightened by a gunsmith. I countered that such work is expensive and time-consuming, and also that I had purchased a number of rifles recently with good, light pulls right out of the box. I also suggested that they consider making a lighter pull an option, putting the decision in the hands of the buyer, instead of the lawyers. Not very hopeful about that.

Q: How many nice ideas have gone down in flames due to poor decisions in marketing, CS, and QC recently?

A: A bunch.

I feel for them, taking a step like this.

But, in this current economic uncertainty, a start up company rolling out a new gun at an overly high price point may already be in trouble.

Hate to speak negative stuff on any gun maker, but it is what it is.

Having said that, I wish them the best.

DF

Well, Swiss files and crocus cloth will eventually get the job done, but unless you can do it yourself, it's going to cost money. At best, the take up/let off will feel bit lighter, and you might be able to take a 1 lb off the pull weight. These little improvements will cost ya.

I wouldnt mind having one of those in 25-35 caliber. But the price is up there. I wish them the best of luck on this venture.

In my response to Travis I mentioned that I had two $400 Henry SSs with much better wood and triggers that can be improved in just minutes with a $3 spring. I left out the perfect, albeit machine, checkering.

I dunno. People will shell out money like that for BPCRS rifles, but probably not for a deer hunting rifle. Providence Tool Co's Peabody rifle was priced similarly a couple of years ago and now no longer appears on their website. There seem to be certain price-points people will accept for certain kinds of rifles, but how those points are arrived at, I don't know.

II wish they had made it look like an English sporting rifle instead of a Bubba job on a Martini military rifle. I didn't see where they mentioned a safety being incorporated in the new rifles.

One of the videos showed a trigger lock safety in the front of the trigger guard. Weird that in all the pictures and videos I didn't notice any good photos of the right side of the rifle, where you would expect to see a safety on a traditional Martini. I'd be interested in a more traditional looking Sporting rifle in a cartridge like the 303 British, but I'm not interested in it looking like it does.

I totally agree, but if they feel they have to charge that much for the ugly version they produced, I can't imagine what they'd want for a more refined example!

There are still some pretty nice original sporting Martinis that show up on the auction sites from time to time, and they can often be had for less than these "new" ones.

Just seems like another marketing disaster to me, but maybe they will be successful.

They should have reproduced the cadet, with a pistol grip stock.