Do you have a 1950 Long Branch?

[aus-hunter]

Sorry mate, as unlikely as it may seem, Blue is Blue. This rifle is blued a very dark blue with no green tinge at all. If you look at the photo above my post - that is identical to my rifle. There are no parked parts on my rifle. So guys here is one late built rifle which is all blued.

[Cantom]

No problem mate. BTW, found this pic in my files.

Sorry mate, as unlikely as it may seem, Blue is Blue. This rifle is blued a very dark blue with no green tinge at all. If you look at the photo above my post - that is identical to my rifle. There are no parked parts on my rifle. So guys here is one late built rifle which is all blued.

[aus-hunter]

Thanks Cantom - I actually had a chance to put my rifle next to a parkerized one just the other day.

My rifle is that real blue-black of the upper rifle in your photo. The metalwork on mine is really well finished and the bolt fit is amazing. The Mk 1 sight and all screw heads looks factory new.

There are a few very minor and character-building dings on the wood but otherwise it shows very minimal signs of use.

I will try to put some photos up when I can get hold of a good camera.

[Cantom]

Thanks Cantom - I actually had a chance to put my rifle next to a parkerized one just the other day.

My rifle is that real blue-black of the upper rifle in your photo. The metalwork on mine is really well finished and the bolt fit is amazing. The Mk 1 sight and all screw heads looks factory new.

There are a few very minor and character-building dings on the wood but otherwise it shows very minimal signs of use.

I will try to put some photos up when I can get hold of a good camera.

Well, like anyone else, I can guess.

We know that Canadian Arsenals switched over to parkerizing some time in 1950-51, around the 93L and up s/n range. It's unlikely that they picked one rifle near the end of production to blue...

Perhaps over the years, someone in Australia didn't like that bilious green parkerizing and had it blued!

It's not the nicest colour really...

[aus-hunter]

I have now shown this rifle to many people and the consensus is that it is very dark parkerizing on the action and barrel, and blued safety catch and bolt handle.

It is a hard call to make though because it is an almost black finish.
This rifle has a 1950 action and a 1951 barrel and it is just conceivable it was made up of what's left towards the end of the run maybe? I fired this rifle at the range today and it is a tack-holer with 3 shots touching at 100m.

[bearhunter]

cantom, I just emailed you some pics of my 94L1xxx, 1950 Long Branch No4 MkI*. It has a beautiful dark blue on all of its metal, other than the magazine. It still has cosmo on it and other than a few tiny storage dings, is minty. That makes it a bit later than 93L. It could also mean that the stamped dates on the rifles don't really coincide with assembly. I suspect just about any date after 1945 could be found with either parkerising or blue. Just luck of the draw.

[Cantom]

cantom, I just emailed you some pics of my 94L1xxx, 1950 Long Branch No4 MkI*. It has a beautiful dark blue on all of its metal, other than the magazine. It still has cosmo on it and other than a few tiny storage dings, is minty. That makes it a bit later than 93L. It could also mean that the stamped dates on the rifles don't really coincide with assembly. I suspect just about any date after 1945 could be found with either parkerising or blue. Just luck of the draw.

Your rifle Bearhunter is a very standard 1950 LB late production done in the standard greenish park. (shown are the 4 pics of it he just sent me by email)

I've had Long Branch rifles that I didn't even realize were parked, till I suddenly put it beside a blued rifle and it stood out! It can be very subtle.

I also had an early 1950 and a 1949 that were definitely factory blued. There's a huge difference.

My similar like new 1950 also shot very well, with a very tight chamber- the brass barely expanded when fired, unlike many .303's with their extremely generous chamber dimensions.

Aushunter- if you wish to send me some good clear pics showing the finish in good light, I can also post em if you like.