Plugging holes in a LE1* receiver

[Devils Own]

Thanks guys,

I'll plug and file I think.

Pretty sure it came on recently from SA. It was only 120
GBP and had a 9c BSA sight. The bore is good..


Steve

[Devils Own]

OK, I plugged the holes and it looks pretty good.

The holes on the receiver wall are almost invisible now. I'll post some pics if anybody is interested but you cannot really see anything different from a normal receiver.

I used the screws that were holding on the sight blocks. They were countersunk steel screws (4BA, I think). I degreased the holes and screws and cleaned them with alcohol. Coated the threads of the screws and holes with Loctite Threadlocker 248. Put the screws in as far as they would go with the countersunk head of the screw entering the hole. I put the screws on the receiver wall right through into the bolt channel. to fill the holes from the inside too.

I used a Dremil to grind the screws down and also lightly Dremilled the immediate surrounding receiver to blend in the plug. Then sanded the area of the plug and surroundings with increasingly finer paper, finishing off with wire wool. I then cold blued with Phillips Gun Blue paste (the best IMO). Also ground down the inside of the plugs in the bolt channel and treated in the same way - you wouln't know they were there. It all worked out very nice and the LE1* is back to original spec. The dust cover and lug had been removed and a 1912 BSA 9c sight added but I have seen these mentioned as used in WWI so I will not be changing this aspect

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Steve

[RobD]

I hate to be the bearer of news of a discrepancy. This is apparently a LE 1* dated 1902? But the Bushveldt Carbineers (notorious because of "Breaker" Morant) were a tiny unit, and they disbanded on 1st Dec 1901. They merged into the Pietersburg Light Horse. And the ABW ended on 31 May 1902. By my calculation, any Boer War rifle should probably be dated pre-1901 - or am I missing something? Can you post detailed pics of the rifle?

[Devils Own]

Thanks Rob

That's useful information. I did think there was a bit of time overlap. And it has BC on it rather than BVC and the rack number is quite high for a small unit. It doesn't really bother me as I am more interested in its potential to have been used in WWI. Irrespective of that. it's a really nice rifle, in good nick. I haven't taken any pics but will get around to it.

It has South African 'U's and arrows on the receiver. On the butt plate it has

2
MBFA
76 (all crossed out)

And, re-stamped underneath
BC
1172

I assume MBFA is Mounted Brigade Field Artillery (or Ambulance). Possibly BC is some kind of other mounted unit but I don't know. What other South African units were labelled BC? If you have any ideas that would be interesting.

Cheers

Steve

[RobD]

Hmm... that's a tricky one. You can search the list of all known SA units at
List Units
Here's what I think:
If the rifle is U marked, it was certainly in the SA forces post 1910 and pre 1961. You may well find other signs of SA army use, for example a rearsight or foresight upgrade, a BSA commercial re-barrel, missing rear volley sight. Any of these?
Now, assuming the butt is the correct one for that rifle:
MB probably is mounted brigade - as far as I know, this is either a WW1 or a WW2 unit - there were two. If this preceded BC, which is logical if MBFA was struck out when the rifle changed to then BC is not Bushveld Carbineers. But there is no other locally raised SA unit with the initials BC (just forget about the Baca Contingent and Buffalo Corps).. Thus BC may indicate a school or college (cadet corps) or just possibly a post-WW2 militia (commando) unit, such as Berea Commando, though I don't think commando weapons were marked as such.
The other distinct possibilities are that the rifle was unit marked outside of SA and imported into SA as part of the strategic war reserve. Large numbers of Long Lees, Martinis etc are U marked, and this dates from WW1 and WW2. If so, then BC and MBFA are not SA units, and I am no good at those.
Or, the butt comes from outside of SA and was fitted to your rifle in a depot or by a civilian. SA did not have a very rigorous FTR programme, so residual markings from earlier units are frequently seen.
The expert in this area is Terry Willson (posts here as TerryLee) in Joburg, you should PM him and post some pics of the butt tang here.

[Devils Own]

Thanks Rob

I just replied to this and then pressed the wrong button so I have to do it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a mystery but that's what makes these things interesting isn't it?

I think that MBFA and BC are in the same font.

I was wondering if BC was British Columbia Reg, as it was in the ABW.

The dust cover has been removed and so has the lug. The rear volley sight had been removed and replaced by a 1912 9c BSA military sight. I believe that some colonial units in WWI used these primitive 'sniper' rifles.

I would think that a butt replacement might more likely have been with the SMLE type wood?

I WILL post some pics as it might be interesting for the SA boys.

Cheers

Steve