Keep or Return (No. 4 Mk1*)

[SightNSqueeze]

Originally Posted by AimHigh

Alan and "Squeeze":

I went to: PROOF MARKS
and my proof marks look like what they say is "early long branch"
but my letters are in the "wrong places" The "D" is to the left, the "P" is underneath, and what looks like a "C" is to the right with nothing on the top. Also the "flags" look more like sticks. I did some research and found that the non-firing Enfields given to cadets for training purposes were made totally inop with no chance to restore to firing order.

To answer a previous question: Neither I or the dealer fired the rifle. I wanted to clean the barrel as much as I could first.

-AimHigh

"Dominion of Canada" according to PROOF MARKS which makes sense considering the rifle was made in Canada and has no import marks which means it probably never left North America. Not an absolute certainty, but likely perhaps. Just the same, Alan has a point; let a gunsmith look it over. That is something we all should do with our mil-surp guns but rarely do. Some gunsmiths might not charge anything if you return the favor and make a purchase. Just a thought.

[AimHigh]

The guy I bought it from is a gunsmith who owns the gunshop. He is also a long-time friend of my brother in law. He did check it out, just didn't test fire it. I'm not worried about firing a piece of "dangerous junk".

I did slug the barrel with fishing sinkers last night. Looks like a 2 groove barrel (maybe why the barrel was stamped "44 II". Who knows?). Was kind of tough getting an accurate reading as one sinker was .3115 and one was .313. Even though I caught both in a towel, anything could have happened to cause the difference.

Will shoot this weekend. -AimHigh

[SightNSqueeze]

I believe both figures are well within diameter ranges. Perhaps a more knowledgeable member here at G&G would know better than me in that regard.

[R5CYA]

i hadn't noticed anyone implying it was a "dangerous piece of junk".
i agree that it should be headspaced before you shoot it. did the smith say it was headspaced? if not, ask him if he has the gauge to do it.
my brother bought a real nice enfiled a few months ago and had lots of problems at first. the headspace was bad and it was having case seperation problems. good thing he allways wears eye protection. those hot gasses would have been hitting him in the eyes if he hadn't.
looks to be a very nice rifle for the money! i'd keep it, if it could hit the barn!