OT 303 SMLE
- Thread starter jeansy
- Start date
Since we're talking bolt guns....View attachment 33016View attachment 33017
Hi, Is that a M17 or a P14 in the first pic ?
I used to have a MAS 36 too (many years ago) but could not get the ammo for it.
And that's an interesting Mosin-Nagant in the second pic
I know the 3rd one down in the second pic but I can't recall what it is (a Steyr 1895?).
Nice set of rifles
peter12213
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love the Mauser98k such a nice looking weapon that!
peter12213
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Yeah your right Its the Steyr Mannlicher M95 Carbine used by the Austro-Hungarian Army! :salute: Really nice weapon!
That is a Eddystone M1917 (P-17), in 30.06
The Steyr is indeed a M1895, in 8X56R. Odd looking round. And the rifle is a straight pull bolt, no turning the handle up or down, just pull and push. The recoil pad is not standard, it came off my MAS 49/56.
The Mosin Nagant is a Finnish Sako-built version.
I did have 7.5mm French ammo, but I ran it thru the 49/56, and didn't save any for the 36.
P.S Also got the sword bayonent for the SMLE No.1 Mk III. Gotta be careful in the house!
The Steyr is indeed a M1895, in 8X56R. Odd looking round. And the rifle is a straight pull bolt, no turning the handle up or down, just pull and push. The recoil pad is not standard, it came off my MAS 49/56.
The Mosin Nagant is a Finnish Sako-built version.
I did have 7.5mm French ammo, but I ran it thru the 49/56, and didn't save any for the 36.
P.S Also got the sword bayonent for the SMLE No.1 Mk III. Gotta be careful in the house!
peter12213
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I'm one of the few that like the Spike bayonets! Just like the Fairburn Sykes fighting knives used by the Royal Marines Causes massive loss of blood pressure and death, horrible, thats why were pilots! we don't have to see our brothers dieing we just see a flash and some smoke! Cannot imagine it! :salute:
P.S. I hate Firearms, I see no reason to own them unless your in an army, yes I've fired them and found it highly exciting but owning one for home defence is mad to me! cannot see the point at all!
Really enjoyed this thread though!
P.S. I hate Firearms, I see no reason to own them unless your in an army, yes I've fired them and found it highly exciting but owning one for home defence is mad to me! cannot see the point at all!
Really enjoyed this thread though!
That's fine, Pete.
I happen to consider myself pro-choice on self defense.
Just because we here have the right to determine our own fate, and then to properly equip and train ourselves, for such a situation, it isn't a mandate. There are plenty of people here, who think like you.
Having that option is the difference between being a citizen and a subject.
Nice!!
I should break out the commonwealth members of my collection this weekend, for a family photo. Here's just one:
The spike bayonet was just that, round like a six inch nail with no sharp edges to cut, the first spike for the Mk 4 blade was made in cruciform shape to lighten and strengthen but gave way to the nail shape nothing like a Fairburn Sykes fighting knives.
The No1 Mk III never had a spike bayonet.
The No1 Mk III never had a spike bayonet.
As long as we are having a little OT discussion........
Matt, I trust your SMLE is a pukka "Made in Australia" model?
Rather than go down the Mk.IV route Lithgow did a first class job of improving the Mk.III, personally I do not like the Mk.IV in any shape or form and the Mk.V was just a pig of a weapon.
I'd lay even money that the 'Enfield Carbine' in Cirrus N210MS's collection dates from around 1907 or thereabouts, I doubt many ever saw service in WW.I.
Nice restoration BTW.
Its a true OZ stick, marked Lithgow but built and inspected in Bathurst
peter12213
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Yeah I wasn't actually saying the bayonet was like the knife just saying that the effect is much the same for stabbing rather than hacking or cutting!
norab
Charter Member
Marvin Carter
Charter Member 2015
When I was a kid in Hight school my brother was playing around with a Sykes Fairburn knife, and you gested it, stab me in the arm with it, came out all the way trough. Dam nere blead to death. So I can say they do work vary well for what they were made for!!!
peter12213
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Yeah there deadly probably one of the finest fighting knives ever made! What happened to your brother Marvin bet he got a fair whack on the ass for that lol!
SMLE - Rifle No. 1 Mk.III*
I have a Frankenstein version of this rifle:
The receiver is an Ishapore No.1 Mk.III*
The barrel is from an Irish gun marked FF at the reinforce. It is also the tightest .303 I have ever seen. It is basically new and could probably use .308 bullets without serious loss of accuracy
The muzzle cap is from a No.1 Mk.III (No Star) pre-Great War era gun. It has been opened slightly to clear the barrel and front sight.
The trigger guard is also from the pre-Great War gun
The butt stock is from a No.4 Mk.I with broad arrow marks
The bolt is new from an Australian No.1 Mk.III* I bought 3 and installed the one that gave the best headspace. Headspace on this gun is very tight.
The rear sight guard is also from the Great War veteran
The magazine is a new one military issue
The spring under the loop on the barrel is a cut down piece from a M1 Garand.
This spring is VERY important for accuracy. I have never seriously tested this gun for accuracy, but I have shot quite a few sub 2-inch groups with it. The Great War veteran was bought for $30 from a fellow on the range who was getting keyholes at 50 yards. That gun was WORN OUT. It's bolt was so loose the bolt head would not stay in its track. Its serial number matched the receiver, so I knew it wasn't a mismatch. In fact another bolt fit better in this receiver than the original.
Frankenstein looks very good as long as you don't look at any of the markings.
BTW, The distinction between the No.1 Mk.III and the Mk.III* is whether or not the gun has a magazine cutoff. A lot of the guns had the cutoff removed at some later date, but you can still tell the guns apart by the slot on the left side of the receiver. The idea was that you load the magazine and engage the cutoff. At this point, you load and fire single rounds. When the Huns come out of their trenches, you pull the cutoff ouy and have 10 magazine fed rounds to repell boarders.
- Ivan.
I have a Frankenstein version of this rifle:
The receiver is an Ishapore No.1 Mk.III*
The barrel is from an Irish gun marked FF at the reinforce. It is also the tightest .303 I have ever seen. It is basically new and could probably use .308 bullets without serious loss of accuracy
The muzzle cap is from a No.1 Mk.III (No Star) pre-Great War era gun. It has been opened slightly to clear the barrel and front sight.
The trigger guard is also from the pre-Great War gun
The butt stock is from a No.4 Mk.I with broad arrow marks
The bolt is new from an Australian No.1 Mk.III* I bought 3 and installed the one that gave the best headspace. Headspace on this gun is very tight.
The rear sight guard is also from the Great War veteran
The magazine is a new one military issue
The spring under the loop on the barrel is a cut down piece from a M1 Garand.
This spring is VERY important for accuracy. I have never seriously tested this gun for accuracy, but I have shot quite a few sub 2-inch groups with it. The Great War veteran was bought for $30 from a fellow on the range who was getting keyholes at 50 yards. That gun was WORN OUT. It's bolt was so loose the bolt head would not stay in its track. Its serial number matched the receiver, so I knew it wasn't a mismatch. In fact another bolt fit better in this receiver than the original.
Frankenstein looks very good as long as you don't look at any of the markings.
BTW, The distinction between the No.1 Mk.III and the Mk.III* is whether or not the gun has a magazine cutoff. A lot of the guns had the cutoff removed at some later date, but you can still tell the guns apart by the slot on the left side of the receiver. The idea was that you load the magazine and engage the cutoff. At this point, you load and fire single rounds. When the Huns come out of their trenches, you pull the cutoff ouy and have 10 magazine fed rounds to repell boarders.
- Ivan.