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The first time that you see and handle a Martini-Henry cartridge it is difficult not to be impressed. It is a huge, brutal looking thing and you cannot help wondering about the hideous wounds that it must have inflicted on the enemies of the British Empire during the closing years of Queen Victoria’s reign.
Every Martini-Henry owner has to take this shot. The .22 round gives an idea of just how big the .577/450 cartridge is.
As .577/450 is now officially an ‘obsolete calibre’, if you want to shoot a Martini-Henry then you will have to produce your own ammunition and while reloading this cartridge is quite straightforward, it is nevertheless both time-consuming and fiddly and requires the learning of some once common but now long-forgotten skills. Obtaining all the necessary bits and pieces for reloading can also prove rather expensive.
Reloading press: this needs to be heavy duty and solidly mounted, as resizing these large, bottlenecked cases requires quite a bit of effort. I use an RCBS ‘Rockchucker’ with the top bushing removed to accept the massive dies. Due to the size of the cases it is not possible to use a hand primer so the priming arm on the press has to be used.
Dies: are made by various companies and can be very expensive. Fortunately Lee Precision added a three-die set to their catalogue earlier this year and these do the job very well at a much more reasonable price (around £80 at the time of writing). You will need a full-length sizer/decapper, an expander to flare the case necks, a bullet seating die and a shell-holder.
Brass: can be a major expense as Kynoch (the best) cases are currently £2.75 each plus postage! A cheaper alternative is to use Magtech (CBC) reformed 24 gauge shotgun cases. The Magtech cases are thinner walled, of ‘balloon-head’ construction and require large pistol primers. They will hold 115 grains of powder so a case liner or filler must be used to reduce case volume.
Bullet mould: either grease-groove or paper-patched as you prefer. In the interests of historical authenticity I use only paper patched (straight sided, cup based) bullets from a special Lee-manufactured .455/480 aluminium mould.
Patching paper: the original Victorian specification stipulated only “thin, white paper” which is not very helpful. The paper needs to be wrapped around the bullet twice to bring its patched diameter up to barrel groove diameter so experimentation with different papers and barrel slugging are necessary. Ordinary airmail paper works well but my rifle seems to prefer 100% cotton fibre ‘onionskin’ patching paper for some as yet unknown reason.
Patch cutting template: patches are applied damp so again you have to experiment until the moist, partially stretched paper goes round the bullet twice exactly without overlap. Once I had the dimensions right by trial and error I made my template from thin sheet brass.
Card wads: I cut these from orange juice cartons using a 12mm wad punch and a lump hammer.
Lubricant: The original round used a pure beeswax cookie hollowed on the top surface to ensure dispersion in very cold conditions. You can use commercial concoctions (at a price) but instead I make up batches of Emmert’s Lube by melting together 50% beeswax: 40% Cookeen: 10% olive oil. A ¼ inch thick ‘grease cookie’ is inserted into the case between powder and bullet and the exposed part of the patch is smeared with the same lubricant. To get uniform sized cookies I roll the mix between two wooden strips and cut them out using a device I made from an old .45 calibre case, a brass disc and an old wire tent peg.
Patching board: this is a simple, homemade jig that ensures that the paper is rolled onto the bullet uniformly and accurately. Lines are drawn on the board to locate the paper patch in relation to the bullet.
The edge of the patch is aligned with the black line; the bullet is placed on the paper resting in the groove and is then moved along until its nose aligns with the red line.
Gunpowder and scales: the use of any propellant other than black powder in a Martini-Henry is of course sacrilegious and must be resisted at all costs!
Drop tube: powder is trickled into the cases from a height of 24 – 30 inches to ensure that it is compacted. I made mine from 3/8 inch copper gas pipe, brass sheet and scrap wood.
Loading gauge: I made this from a piece of dowel marked to show the correct powder depth and lube-column depth when inserted into the case neck. Some calculation and trial and error is necessary to obtain the correct bullet seating depth once both powder and wad column have been installed.
Note: for safety reasons there must be no air gaps in any black powder cartridge.
From top to bottom: grease cookie rolling mould and grease slab; pre-cut onionskin paper patches; card wads; patch cutting template; cookie cutter and loading gauge dowel.
Once all the above have been gathered together loading can commence.
- Cast the bullets: I cast my own bullets from an alloy of 1 part tin to 20 parts lead.
- Patch the bullets: a strip of paper is wetted between the lips and rolled onto the bullet with the tail being twisted and pressed into the base cavity. Patched bullets are then left overnight for the saliva to dry during which time the paper shrinks tightly onto the bullet. (The paper patch prevents leading of the bore and removes fouling left by the previous shot. The rifling cuts the paper into strips as it passes down the barrel and these drop off the bullet as it leaves the muzzle).
- Prepare the cases: – after fire forming you need only neck size the cases, then slightly flare the case mouths (so that patch paper will not be shaved off during bullet seating) and insert primers.
- Fill the cases: with CBC brass I insert a tube of nitrated (combustible) paper into the case to reduce the capacity, pour in 90 grains of powder and then press a card wad on top of the powder (using the marked dowel) to separate it from the grease cookie. When using Kynoch brass I pour in 90 grains of powder, add a tuft of pure cotton wool filler and then a card wad.
- Insert grease cookies: these are cut from the grease slab and pushed into the case followed by two more card wads. The main function of the grease is to keep the fouling in the barrel soft.
- Seat the bullets: These can usually be pushed into the case with thumb pressure but to ensure uniformity I use the bullet-seating die.
- Lubricate the exposed portions of the paper patches: I rub a small amount of patch lubricant into the paper between forefinger and thumb and then clean any excess grease off the bullet and case with rag.
Here you can see a partially patched bullet. The edge of the damp patch is aligned with the black line and the nose of the bullet with the red line to ensure uniformity and accuracy.
That’s all there is to it! Smokeless powder? Nah! It’ll never catch on!
To date, nothing has given me more personal shooting pleasure and satisfaction than getting my old Martini-Henry into action again after more than a century in storage. In the process I’ve had to climb a steep learning curve so if these two articles have inspired you to have a go yourself then please get in touch and I will be more than happy to give advice and practical assistance in both locating a rifle and preparing the ammunition. If you just fancy having a go with my old boomer or simply want to chat about Martini-Henrys then by all means let me know so we can fix something up.
Brian Thornton March 2006
click here to download a small movie of the author shooting his Martini Henry
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