The BUDGET Rifle That STILL Slaps! Martini Henry Mastery | Hunt: Showdown 1896

Intro

Hi guys, Rex here!

Today we’re diving into a reliable classic in the Hunt arsenal — the Martini Henry, a long-ammo single-shot rifle.

The Martini Henry deals 143 damage, fires at 400 meters per second, and has a drop range of 125 meters. That high damage means it will one-tap to the torso if a hunter is missing a health chunk, even at a bit of distance. And while the velocity is on the slower side for long ammo, it’s still perfectly viable if you’re used to the 400-500 range.

The rifle comes in five variants.

First you have the regular Martini Henry, simple and reliable with decent iron sights.

The Riposte adds a bayonet for melee utility, which can be surprisingly handy in close quarters or when dealing with AI.

The Deadeye variant features a Deadeye scope with slight zoom for close to mid-range.

The Marksman variant has even more zoom and is perfect for mid to long range engagements.

And finally, there’s the Ironside, which features a large magazine for faster follow-up shots — but that magazine blocks a huge part of your screen, which can be quite limiting.

It’s also the only variant that can’t run two ammo types at the same time.

Speaking of ammo, the Martini has five to choose from.

Regular ammo follows the base stats of the weapon and strikes a good balance.

Incendiary long ammo sets enemy hunters on fire with the first hit up to 40 meters, and with two hits beyond that range. It is also super useful for blowing up explosive barrels and killing various AI. The downside is that it has no penetration power.

FMJ lowers your velocity from 400 to 320 and reduces the drop range to 110 meters down from 125 but increases penetration power and retains damage better over distance.

Explosive ammo detonates on impact with a small AOE blast. It has slightly lower base damage, drops velocity to 300, and reduces drop range to 95 meters. Fun, but very situational.

And finally, High Velocity increases your bullet speed from 400 to 500 and the drop range from 125 to 140 meters. Damage drops to 136 and the recoil is higher, but the increased velocity makes long-range shots significantly easier. It is worth noting that you get a bit less ammo with HV compared to the other ammo types.

The Martini has a base reload time of 2.7 seconds, which is quite decent for a rifle of this caliber. And with the Fast Fingers trait — which costs 4 trait points — you can load rounds between your fingers for noticeably faster follow-up shots.

For this mastery, my preferred sidearm was the Conversion Pistol with FMJ. It’s extremely budget friendly and pairs perfectly with the Martini. Once you acquire Fanning for 8 trait points — usually after a win when you have spare points — the Conversion gives you a fast-firing close-range option that perfectly complements the Martini since it’s a single shot rifle.

I played the Martini Henry and all its variants over a few days, and this video features the best rounds. At the end of the video, I’ll share my thoughts and recommendations, so stay tuned — but without further ado, let’s dive into it!

Thoughts & Recommendations

After spending some time with the Martini Henry, I was honestly surprised at how good it felt once I got used to it again.

I’ve had some rough experiences with this rifle over the last few months — probably because I wasn’t used to the velocity, or maybe it was just bad luck — but after forcing myself to stick with it for this mastery, the old feeling came back. It became fun, rewarding, and even a little nostalgic.

All the variants felt solid, but one stood out in a way I did not expect: the Deadeye.

I’m not usually a Deadeye enjoyer, but for some reason it really worked out this time. My highest-kill game during this mastery was a 12-kill round with the Deadeye, and most of those were clean headshots, which made me feel unstoppable.

On the contrary, the Ironside honestly feels outdated now. Before the 1896 update it made sense as the “faster follow-up shot” variant, but with Fast Fingers now in the game, the regular Martini can pretty much match that reload speed — without losing half your screen to a giant toaster. Even without Fast Fingers, I’d still prefer the base variant over the Ironside.

When it comes to ammo, High Velocity is a no-brainer for me. I always try to stay in the 500–600 velocity range because that’s where my shot-leading feels most consistent. 400 is fine if you’re used to it, but HV simply performs better for me.

If I wasn’t running HV, I’d probably choose regular or incendiary, or split the ammo types 50/50 for better ammo sustainability — since the Martini can run two types at once.

Overall, this rifle is incredible for the price — only 122 Hunt Dollars for the base variant and 159 for the Ironside — making it one of the most powerful budget rifles in the game.

It’s viable in most MMR brackets, but once you get into very high lobbies, you generally want something with a faster fire rate or more versatility.

The Martini Henry can hold its own if you land your shots, but it’s simply not going to compete with something like a Mosin-Nagant.

In conclusion, I recommend you run anything except the Ironside. Use High Velocity if you want consistency and cleaner long-range shots or split between normal and special ammo for better sustainability. And if you enjoy scoped variants, don’t sleep on the Deadeye — it was easily my standout pick for this mastery.

But now I want to hear your opinion!

What is your favorite Martini Henry variant, and which ammo types do you prefer to run with it? Let me know in the comments — and until next time, I’ll see you in the bayou!