MLE/Shortened range pattern barrel bedding

I MUST BE BORED......Attachment 77870

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Frederick303

The only caveat is 5 of the 6 rifles were purchased from Robert Tiffin of Christchurch, and there is some evidence to indicate he would replace post 1898 actions with pre 1898 actions to allow for dealer free exports in the late 1990s. As such I am not sure which are original and which might be put-togethers.

---

Robbie was not the only one there were a couple of guys doing this about 10 or so years ago & they drove the price up for Long Lees here, when they stopped the price fell by at least half, the worst thing about it is they made a lot of grey areas when it comes to any doing any research on the markings but for the most part if you have a butt tang marking C14 it should be a 1896 MLE Mk1, if a E14 mark then for the most part should be a MLM MkII & if marked 1901on the tang then it should be a MLE MK1* & from what we have seen from good examples left a 1901 BSA

Thanks for the replies gents. This gives me a bit to go on. My thinking is that I will stay away from having the barrel bands touching the barrel. My reasoning is that I can always add packing in if I need it.

It is interesting with the barrel band packing though. Im trying to figure out how to post a couple of photos from my iPhone of the barrel bands from my BSA commercial CLLE. It has grooves machined into the top of them to allow them to be packed with asbestos back in times gone by. It is a beautiful rifle!

The barrel band and nose cap with asbestos packing were patented by BSA and were marketed in their catalog as an accessory for target shooting.