What a rifle to own Jim, a really rare beast! I trust she headed back over the border before the ban?
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What a rifle to own Jim, a really rare beast! I trust she headed back over the border before the ban?
Back in 1976, I co authored an article for Guns Illustrated which was part of the Gun Digest publications, it was titled "Whatever Happened to the T-48 ?" . The first group of around 3303 rifles were manufactured by FN and 200 of these were the heavy barrels with a selector the others being semi auto. High Standard of Hamden, Connecticut also manufactured a small number of T48 rifles, I saw serial number HS 13 which was a lightweight example designed to reduced the total weight, the other High Standard T48's were the standard model. I could never determine the magazine used by High Standard but believe it might have been the FN.
H&R also manufactured 500 T48 rifles all with the standard weight barrel and with HRA marked magazines.
Winchester also had an example of a double barreled T48 chambered for the necked down 22/7,62x51mm cartridge too
I seem to recall a cache of T48's at Marine Corps depot Quantico, the same store had brand new in the wrap British L1A1's procured for some trial or other, but never used..
I can't remember where this story came from, Fal-files I think...
Attachment 80395
Some units of the US Army took basic training with the HRA T-48 (the HRA was marked T-48). The USMC has a number of T48 rifles still at Quantico, you are correct. Photos from an original FN T.48 Rifle manual
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It was in the military collection I built up in Camp Gagetown. It's military owned so it's safe. It came from one of the regimental military museums and had a cracked forend wood and no breechblock. I used a standard FN C1A1 BB and took the wood home for some Microbed from Brownells and some curing time. The rifle was about new. Not beat right down like test rifles normally are... I knew what it was then too...
Nice one Jim, do you know if it's still there?
I can't get a no BS answer out of anyone, Sentryduty is about the closest to having been through there lately...no one seems to know ANYTHING about a foreign weapons collection down there. That was 21 years ago now. Absolutely anything could have happened. Sadly...
What's a 3303 rifle?
There were 2 privately owned H&R T48 rifles registered to the same address in Alberta.
I'm told that the regimental collections were largely "cleaned out" shortly after the FLQ crisis - most of the "good stuff" was destroyed to remove temptation from potentially rebellious QC'ers.
There were a decent number of Ex1 trials rifles manufactured as, or traded for T48 and X8E1 type rifles. This is probably why while the US trialed the folding trigger guard, the UK trialed the charger loading top cover, but Canada adopted them.