This just showed up in the mail. I was referred to a guy in Scotland that referred me to a guy in...
Jones, Oklahoma. http://www.baldwinsights.com/
It's a small world.
Update: After 15 minutes in a toilet and at least a week of drying in a '94 Mercury Grand Marquis, parked outside with the windows up, I am pleased to report that new batteries brought my beloved HP back to life. It is a tough SOB
When I worked for Wichita Arms, we had an Australian importer. He sold some of our guns but even more of our shooting accessories. The Aussies know their way around a firearm if that was any indication.
I have found a sight at a gunshop in Newcastle, UK and staked a claim to it on their website. I'm still waiting to hear from them but they are closed for the day. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring good news.
Yeah, I'm active on a bunch of them. These sights are specific to the small Martinis and most folks that have them won't part with them, just in case they get another Martini. They are long out of production. I may end up making the contoured base and fitting something to it that is easier to find and more affordable. As long as I can produce something that looks elegant it will work. I'm not shooting for historical accuracy
I spent the weekend in Colorado at the stockmaker's shop and we hammered out the details for the rest of my Martini build. The biggest hurdle that I have left is to source the sights that I have decided to use. There were thousands of these guns built and I figured that a tang mounted aperture rear sight would be easy to find. Not so. I just missed one yesterday on Ebay but it went a lot higher than I was expecting. A few hours googling didn't yield much but I do have a few leads to chase down. I'm looking for either a BSA No.8 or a Parker-Hale No.7 or 7 1/2. Both are contoured to match the shape of a Martini Cadet tang. Because it is an Austrailian gun I figure that I might have better luck checking shops down there. I know we have several Austrailian posters here but I'll be damned if I can remember usernames. Can anybody help me with that or better yet, does anybody have any old tang sights they would like to trade or sell?
My cousin is retired Army. Full bird Colonel. Went to Trinadad CO for the gunsmithing course a couple of years ago. I have only seen one stock he has made but it was his "masters" gun to graduate and it was flawless. My Dad was always the one that was going to finish this project but it never happened. I'm giving everything from my gunshop to him in exchange for finishing all of the projects that I have unfinished. He is just getting started so I'm sure he doesn't have the backlog that most name smiths have but I've seen his work and I'm sure he will have a backlog in the near future. I don't know what his plans are but I'll be happy to PM you the details if he says it's cool.
Thanks for the info. I would prefer a matching numbers IHC but every one that I found in past years was too pricey. Now that I can afford one, I'm having trouble finding one that doesn't have an outrageous ask. I guess it's mostly a me problem.
This is how I have been spending my evenings this week. Martini Cadet, .218 Bee. Engraved by Jim White in 1974. His very first engraving attempt. The flats don't square to the receiver because it hasn't been tightened yet. I still have to crown the muzzle. I'm off to Denver in the morning to deliver it to my stockmaker cousin. We haven't decided how to adorn it yet, iron sights or scope bases. Maybe both but I'm leaning to open sights. That's 20 hours of crank time on a Bridgeport. I didn't use the power feed for fear of hitting the wrong lever and fucking things up. I'm pleased with how it turned out.Another 20 hours of draw filing and it will be ready for rust blueing.
I killed my HP-11C today. The details don't matter, I was careless. That motherfucker was used almost daily for 40 years and was going into my coffin with me.
I was a passenger on the same road last week. Much sloooower. This hits far from home.
Pastrana has to be nuts. I'm not sure how his big balls don't block his vision.
Eating in the car while moving was a rarity until McDonald's took hold. You took your food to a park and ate like civilized folk. Only savages ate on the road.
We are leaving tomorrow for York, ME. Pulling a u-haul with a bunch of tools leftover from my Dad's shop. Gonna divvy them up with my brother and his kids. It will be a quick trip out with a stop at the AF Museum in Dayton and Saratoga. Thanks to @Underdog for the suggestion. Taking our time on the way home with stops in DC, Norfolk and Louisville.