1941 Lithgow Range Rifle

[aussietomcatter]

G'day guys,

After my new found interest in the preservation and care for these rifles, I've been looking for an SMLE to "plink" with to preserve my rifles from wear and tear. Here is what I have gone with:



















The bore is just excellent, it looks fantastic.

What do you reckon fella's (and ladies), for $500, am I in the clear?

Information

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[Ridolpho]

AT: That's a beaut! But your "plinker"? That would be one I'd want to avoid wearing out and use for limited target work. I've concluded the only answer to the preservation dilemna is to own so many that you can shoot them all a bit without putting undue wear and tear on any one (haven't tried that one out on Mrs. Ridolpho yet). On your rifle I see expanded clearance between barrel and nosecap and a beautiful tight fit between forend/ cheek on the right sided. What other "accurizing" modifications have been made? How is it bedded?. Thanks.

Ridolpho

[Homer]

Always a gamble buying a heavy barrelled range rifle unless you know the previous owner or you can strip it to inspect the bedding. Often these have been done by novices who havent fully understood the concept of good bedding and accurizing, and the workmanship is disgraceful. Ive seen some total abortions.

[ssj]

Always a gamble buying a heavy barrelled range rifle unless you know the previous owner or you can strip it to inspect the bedding. Often these have been done by novices who havent fully understood the concept of good bedding and accurizing, and the workmanship is disgraceful. Ive seen some total abortions.

Yes, I saw one this month.....ikky. However re-doing it "properly" can be a lot of fun. From what I can read the cork and paper methos needed replacing evvery season anyway. So a good receiver and H barrel and central sights and you are away.

[aussietomcatter]

I think for $500, even IF it does shoot like ****, I still have the basis of a good "chassis" so to speak. It looks to have been very well done, but time will tell if it shoots well or not. Here's to hoping!

[aqbill]

Dear aussietomcatter, I have the exact same set-up for sale here in the States. It was given to me to sell by a good friend and former member of several shooting teams. Truth is - I'll probably buy it from him - and your $500 is about what I could get for it here, too. Now that our Club has a new 200 yd range, perhaps I'll be able to stretch its legs a bit. Will probably send it off for a good going over. Keep in touch and let me know how it shoots!

AQBill

[Bindi2]

Dear aussietomcatter, I have the exact same set-up for sale here in the States. It was given to me to sell by a good friend and former member of several shooting teams. Truth is - I'll probably buy it from him - and your $500 is about what I could get for it here, too. Now that our Club has a new 200 yd range, perhaps I'll be able to stretch its legs a bit. Will probably send it off for a good going over. Keep in touch and let me know how it shoots!

AQBill

The 303 is only just on song at 300yds ,sweet at 700 out to 1,000yds.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

It is not exactly rocket science to fit a rear sight bed and leaf onto a heavy barrel.

In Oz, give Allan Hibbs at Kingaroy Firearms a call: he "has the technology" to machine standard ones out properly; not that there is a huge demand for it these days.

My very first SMLE, circa 1972, when I was still at high-school, was just like this one; a retired range rifle. It also had a "customised" nosecap: i.e., a previous owner had opened out the barrel hole with what was probably a rat-tailed file and belted a short piece of rubber hose in to form a "soft" bedding ring between the muzzle and the nosecap. The resulting "improvement" was not exactly round or concentric.

With a bit of machining assistance from my dad, I fitted a rear-sight assembly onto the heavy barrel, removed the dodgy old bit of hose from the muzzle and pumped in black silicone rubber to fill the gap after reassembling the rifle. It shot very nicely with the "white-label" FN Mk7 ball "pour Bren" that was abundant at the time. The "pink-label" FN stuff provided additional entertainment in low-light conditions.

B12629; where are you now?

[Homer]

It is not exactly rocket science to fit a rear sight bed and leaf onto a heavy barrel.

In Oz, give Allan Hibbs at Kingaroy Firearms a call: he "has the technology" to machine standard ones out properly; not that there is a huge demand for it these days.

My very first SMLE, circa 1972, when I was still at high-school, was just like this one; a retired range rifle. It also had a "customised" nosecap: i.e., a previous owner had opened out the barrel hole with what was probably a rat-tailed file and belted a short piece of rubber hose in to form a "soft" bedding ring between the muzzle and the nosecap. The resulting "improvement" was not exactly round or concentric.

With a bit of machining assistance from my dad, I fitted a rear-sight assembly onto the heavy barrel, removed the dodgy old bit of hose from the muzzle and pumped in black silicone rubber to fill the gap after reassembling the rifle. It shot very nicely with the "white-label" FN Mk7 ball "pour Bren" that was abundant at the time. The "pink-label" FN stuff provided additional entertainment in low-light conditions.

B12629; where are you now?

B12629, 1924 action. Quite rare these days.

[aussietomcatter]

Well I pick her up on Monday, can't wait to see how she runs!

I'll get around to fitting the rear sight, it shouldn't be too hard to fit.