Question about collecting old Enfield sniper rifles..
Hello everyone! got a question for any of you sniper experts. two of them actually.
saw a guy with a 1942 Longbranch No.4 MK1* T at a gun show. It had a matching bracket and apparantly all the rest of the correct for a Canadian sniper at that time. things causing a fierce debate between a couple of 'authorities' on military snipers at the show.
The rifle did not have a scope or sling and the front part of the original walnut stock was cut back to the middle sling ring to 'sporterize' it a bit. and the overall metal finish of the receiver and bracket was definately old. There was no 'history' or story to it other than someone owned it for dozens of years and dug it out of the closet and sold it.
one of the 'experts' says it lacks the S51 stamp on the bottom of the buttstock which makes it
questionable as to it's true originality. Another guys said this didn't matter too much with Canadian snipers, especially early ones in combat due to all the parts swapping in the field. (I certainly will personally attest to this phenomenon while i was in Nam) Either they didn't necessarily get that stamp or the stock could have been replaced later behind the lines if it were broken, but as long as it had a matching walnut cheekpiece, which all agreed it did, it could definately be 'original wood', in any case? It sure looked like original wood to me, but then I'm not an expert. One collector said because the stock could not be proven original, and no scope, it was not worth much than a few hundred dollars? Is that true? How do you judge the value of something like this then? Do they all have to be perfectly matching and 'correct' in every respect to be worth anything?