It's finally here! And as good as I could have hoped for, for $185 anyway. $150 for the rifle, $20 shipping, $15 transfer fee.
The rear sight is missing, the receiver's been tapped for the scope mount, and Bubba installed the wrong screw in the front sling mount/stock clamp thingie (can't think of what it's called), and the sling was an old leather belt (trash now).
But the sight mounting ears look unmolested, the sight is obtainable (from what I hear), and I can live with the holes, I might even leave the scope on...who knows. I'm sure the screw can be replaced too.
The stock appears unmolested, correctly shaped, and has lots of stamps on it, the stock and bolt are both stamped with the serial number (yes!), and the rifling looks great! The rubber butt pad is even in good shape. Needs a good cleaning, but I can't wait to shoot it. Having the bolt with the same s/n, I'm not worried now. Even the extractor claw looks great!
I'm pleased, I think it was a great score!
Let the photos begin, I hope this isn't too many.....
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I child-proofed my house, but they still keep getting in!
Rondog - I guess comes from "Ron your a lucky old dog"
Looks the part and with a bit of TLC will be an excellent buy - I guess you'd get 3x your purchase price as it stands.
Dont sell it - its a hell of an investment and think of the history / stories it could tell !!!
If you want to get rid of the scope mount you can put screws in the holes, grind them down and blue them - you'd almost not know they are there.
Thanks! I'm a buyer, not a seller. I've sold a lot of guns in my past, and regret them all. I'm hoping this will turn out to be a good shooter, if I can find ammo.
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I child-proofed my house, but they still keep getting in!
Congratulations.Just love to hear from a man that is proud if his new acquirements and has a plan as to what he is going to do with it.Thanks for the pics. ,,,sam.
I'm hoping this will turn out to be a good shooter, if I can find ammo.
Prvi Partizan make a 174gn FMJ boat tail round (sold under the "Highland" brand in Australia) which duplicates the military round and from my experience (with an SMLE) comes pretty close to shooting-to-iron-sights (I've used it between 300 and 600 yards fixed distance and the back-sight was good enough for elevation). It's commercial ammo, yes, so not cheap - but at least as sold here in Oz it's reliable, Boxer-primed, noncorrosive and reloadable.
You did good! I'll keep an eye out for a #5 rear sight for you. Those scope mount holes can be plugged and made invisible. A little TLC and it's a $600 rifle. My #5 came off the same line 7 months earlier, and has identical markings. I paid twice what you did.
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Wow looks like you ought to be arrested for blatant robbery! Congrats on the purchase, that looks awesome! Of course, you know we will all be interested in a range report. Good pics, man you ARE a lucky dog! I am envious and jealous all in the same post
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Mosin Nagant evangelist on a mission to convert YOU!
Dang, Alan, that one's almost too pretty! Is it plated, or just highly polished? An actual "user", or a parade/ceremonial blade? And what kinda money are you talking? PM me with the details, willya? If you're really serious about selling it, that is.
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Of course, you know we will all be interested in a range report.
No problem, I just scored a bunch of ammo for it today, details to follow......
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I child-proofed my house, but they still keep getting in!
Location: Between Homer, Alaska and Wrington, Somerset, England. (Toledo, Ohio... a long way from where I want to be)
Posts: 605
Hello
For a sling...try this link. If the link is a no-go, then search for "Bayonet Inc. Militaria", or something like that. Go to "WWII", then to "British", then to "Weapons Related" section.
They sell the sling for $9(US). They sell them as "used", but the one I got a while back was almost unissued.
Another thing they have that might be good to have is a bandolier for 50 .303" Mk. VII Ball Cartridges. I'm not certain if they have the Chargers though. You would need 10 Chargers for a 50 round bandolier.
The original bayonets...I have not seen to many of the real things for sale. They are out there, but spendy. There are reproductions made if you can't find the real thing. Then having a frog for the bayonet would be good to have. I think either the Pattern-1937 Bayonet Frog (if it has the hole for the No.4 Spike bayonet in the top loop, some of them do not have the slot) or the Pattern-1944 Bayonet Frog will work.
As for the 800 Yard rear sight?...just have to look, maybe Numrich, Sarco Inc. or Springfield Sporters might have them.
Location: Between Homer, Alaska and Wrington, Somerset, England. (Toledo, Ohio... a long way from where I want to be)
Posts: 605
Hello again.
I just checked the link and it worked for me. The bad news...it looks like they are out of slings. Slings are not that tough to find, but I think they had one of the better prices offered.
Mark
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[QUOTE=rondog;1004101]Dang, Alan, that one's almost too pretty! Is it plated, or just highly polished? An actual "user", or a parade/ceremonial blade? And what kinda money are you talking? PM me with the details, willya? If you're really serious about selling it, that is.
QUOTE]
PM on its way :
And I think I've got a No5 rear sight in my 'bits box'
No its not plated, not ceremonial, not polished and not sharpened, its just "an as new" original No5 bayonet by Wilkinson. They only made 136,450 No5 bayonets so originals are not easy to come by.
The 'brightness' is just the flash.
How about an ever rarer No7 bayonet ? (only 100,000 made - fits the No4 and the MkV Sten)
