Australian Cadet Calibres

[Simon P]

Was the Australian Cadet Martini supplied in any other calibres a part from:

• .450 Braendlin
• .297/230
• .310 Cadet

The reason for asking is that there was an Australian marked Greener Cadet rifle, the early type with cleaning rod at the London Arms Fair yesterday.

The rifle appeared totally original, but the calibre marked on the barrel was .250L. It was definately 250 & not 230.

Information

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[TheDoubleD]

Simon,

your post has been hanging here for a couple of days and begs for a response. I am familiar with some of what ask, just not the main thing you ask and I don't know enough about the subject to help you.

It's not really polite to raid one forum for another, so I apologize for my rudeness in advance.

I think the best place for you to find your answer is at British Militaria Martini forum. It is a specialty forum with some very knowledgeable people over there.

[Richardwv]

One point of confusion that may arise from any research/answer is whether your question is confined to those specific rifles ordered by Australian political entities for cadet use, vs. the vast array of commercial sales rifles of near identical style officially marketed by BSA and Greener as "cadets" that came in a much wider assortment of cartridges. If the former, I think you've nailed the list other than to clarify that the .297/230 referred to is the long version. If the later, you start with .22LR and work up from there.

[Son]

Simon, just had a quick thumb through "200 Years of Australian Military Rifles and Bayonets" by Ian Skennerton and cannot find reference to any calibres other than the three you mentioned.
I have a Cadet Martini in a non standard calibre that was made by boreing the original barrel stub to take another barrel. The end result was a Martini Knox form over a Lithgow made .22L barrel, chambered for .218Bee.
I am wondering if the rifle you saw was a similar made concoction with the original markings still on each part. The join in mine is invisible to the naked eye except in very good light.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

One conversion that seems popular was to .222R. Unfortunately the dies and brass are only available in OZ.
I almost bought one from a dealer there, Ken Chaffer, It even had a scope, but the police closed him down before we could finish the deal. At least I got a couple of other rifles from him before that happened.