An action in hand

The NSW Firearms Registry managed to process my Permit To Acquire in record time and I received my PTA late last week; no action in sight and the official paperwork burning a hole in my pocket. The Greengrass Antique and Modern Arms Fair is on this weekend.  What I should have done is grabbed the kids and headed over for a bit of a look-see as to what was on the tables. That was the plan.

I've had my eye on a couple of old Martinis for sale on usedguns.com.au and firearmsales.com.au; one a BSA chambered in .22 Hornet and the other a Sportco conversion in .222 Rimmed. The .222 looked like it had seen a lot more love, but it was listed at nearly twice the cost of the Hornet. 

Wait till the weekend or just lock in the BSA? It doesn't take much to miss an opportunity and more often than not when I pass something up it's never there when I go back to grab it,  so I rang the seller and we agreed to a price. Done. We have an action.

She's not much to look at right now and with only a quick look at the rifle the other night, I can tell you it's well used and seen better days.I just hope that the corrosion on the outer walls of the action has not caused any pitting in the vast steel flats - it would be a shame to have to lose both the Commonwealth of Australia stamping and the Birmingham Small Arms logo (with it's three Martinis). Got to sort out the calibre next, new barrel and get working on a stock.

A day out with the Anschutz

A mate of mine has found himself the owner of a very desirable stately residence in the rolling green hills of the Southern Highlands. Amongst Joe's many new responsibilities, which include slashing paddocks and pulling fireweed, is vertebrate pest control.  Joe's most recent acquisition, an Anschutz Model 1730 chambered in .22 Hornet is going to be his primary tool for fox control. The Anschutz and a tin whistle.

The Anschutz is a fine looking rifle. It feels good in my hands, well balanced.  Wood to metal fit is lovely and the metal is very nicely finished, both inside and out. Plastic bits? There's a plastic moulding on the magazine release and the knob on the bolt handle is machined from plastic as well; I don't quite understand the bolt knob, but I guess the bluing won’t wear off?  Optics. Not one to skimp, Joe's little Hornet wears an Austrian Kahles 3-9 x 40mm with a post and duplex reticle; very nice.

Joe needed the rifle sighted-in as it was a bit noisy for plugging away a box or two of ammo on his block.  The Stockade had a few boxes of Highland AX so I grabbed them on the way home from the office and headed out to the farm with the girls. The girls are quite comfortable with gunfire and with their little earmuffs on, they giggle at the crack of a rifle.  Good times with dad…

With sandbags set up across the bonnet, I fired about 40 rounds down by the woolshed. Once the Anschutz was printing where I wanted I focused on consistent grouping.   

The biggest group for the morning just touched an inch; that’s totally me, I’m not very passionate about punching paper. The tightest group went 0.295”. 

So this little Anschutz certainly has the goods, but I’m not too keen on a bolt-action repeater for this project.  And is the Hornet the exotic little mid-range varminter I’m looking for? Hmmm…The .22 Hornet made its commercial debut around 1930 and was a “new round” simply because it used smokeless powder in the much older blackpowder case – the .22 Winchester Center Fire (WCF). The .22 WCF had been around since 1885. I suppose it was one of the first high velocity small bore cartridges designed primarily for varmint hunting. Exotic? Probably not.

I’ve been looking around at the cartridge options based on a rimmed case, preferably based on the Hornet, but as long as it’s rimmed I’m happy. SO what’s out there?  Without too much effort I found the well-known .22 K-Hornet and the .22 Ackley Improved.  In addition to these improved chamberings, I also found the following; some common and others not so:

• .17 Hornet, .17 Ackley Hornet;
• .17 Ackley Bee, .17 Bumble Bee;
• .19 Calhoon (Hornet); 
• .218 Bee, .218 Mashburn Bee;
• the Squirrel range - .17, .19 and .20 cal;
• .219 Donaldson Wasp, .219 Zipper and .219 Zipper Improved;
• .22 Long Snapper; and the
• .222 Rimmed; 
  

What my time with the Anschutz Hornet did confirm was that this little cartridge has the report and recoil that will make the rifle a joy to shoot. A rifle with some weight will keep the rifle steady and a high cheek piece with a bit of rollover will bring the scope up nicely.

  

Best do some research on these calibres and makes some decisions. No work has started, but the search for a suitable action continues. Hopefully the The Greengrass Antique and Modern Arms Fair in February will yield some results.