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Just finished knocking up a few dozen more reloads for my Fraser .22 K Hornet single-shot falling-block, and realised I had not shared any photos of this little gem with the cognoscenti.

My reluctance is due to the very indifferent reviews that have been posted on the internet over the years. Before flaming me for owning one of these things however, please indulge my explanation.

The rifle was first offered for sale at a good price at one of our Collector Club meetings a few years ago, at which time I declined, in part due to the modified chambering. The seller then moved it on through an internet site, and I watched it sell online.
Done and dusted.

...or so I thought! Visiting the seller a couple of years later brought me face to face with the K-Hornet once again, apparently the sale had fallen through, and I quickly realised there might be a place in my gunsafe for this unusual little rifle after all. Better yet: the price had been adjusted in my favour in the interim! Sold!

The rifle is very slender, serpentine, sporting a long half-octogon, half-round barrel with express sights, and overall weight just over 4 1/2 lbs.

Its not a genuine Fraser at all of course, being made by the respected Italian master-counterfeiters Armi San Marco of Bastogne. Many of these were actually retailed with Dan'l Fraser's Cromarty, Black Isle address on the rib. To see what the Frasers can look like, search Holts London auction March 19, 2015: marvellous stuff!

Here's a shot of the action:

I fitted it with a slim trim Pecar 3-power scope with fine crosshairs, and it has proven itself on the firing line with 11.2gr AR2205 under a 40gr hollow-point. Nice!

The give-away is the butt-plate monogram, unashamedly Armi San Marco, complete with Philips-head screws (!)...

...and the Italian proof marks:

Apparently these rifles were imported into the US by Thad Scott in the 1980s, and when Cape Outfitters folded the last of them were sold as kits to be assembled by the buyer.

Their tarnished reputation was due in part to a high incidence of firing-pin breakage, however fitting the action with a tool-steel or drill-rod replacement pin apparently solved the problem by all accounts. I assume the pin has been replaced in mine, probably when the K-chamber was done, as I have experienced no issues to date.

So far its been a delightful rifle to bang away with on the range, even placing well in our Pot Rifle events at Big Game Rifle Club shoots. I can't wait to get it into the hunting field, although the only suitable quarry in Australia's Top End is the cane toad!

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Marrakai
When the bull drops, the bullshit stops!
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www.marrakai-adventure.com.au

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