New acquisition. Ugly but salvageable I think.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...114_4774-1.jpg
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https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...114_4772-1.jpg
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I offered the guy at the gun shop $50.00 and to my surprise he took it. I figured I had a decent extra magazine and a cocking piece to use until I get a proper replacement for my Savage so I was not loosing anything at that price. When I got home and checked it out closer I found that it has a very nice bore and the head-space was good according to my gage. The only real hard to fix problem I can see is that who ever did this to it did a some what heavy handed polish job.

If you bead blast and park it will look close. My only thought is...why did you remove the pistol grip?

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My only thought is...why did you remove the pistol grip?

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I'll sell it to you. ;)

I think you did great! I would like to come across a 0L s/n Long Branch #4 mk1 (no *) to fix up. Especially if the barrel is intact and in good shape. Does the bolt match?

yes the bolt matches but I think I read that it should have a 2 groove barrel and this one has a 5 groove one. I am a long way from knowledgeable about these things so I may be wrong. I suppose it could have been an arsenal refit.

bubba didn't take a lot of time cleaning cosmoline before he worked his magic.

Great project for restoration. What is stamped on the left side of the receiver wall? I can read "No4 MK1"; "Long Branch" however not the year and the stamping near the front of the receiver. Is the bolt, reciver and barrel all stamped the same?
I'd source Long Branch parts , used or new in good condition for this restoration. Ron

The year is 1941. The stampings to the front are hard to read because of the bubbaised polish job but I'll give it a try.
303 BRIT then two characters that are illegible
UNITED K N then four more illegable characters.
IAC ALAX VA

Perhaps import markings?
The reciever, bolt and barrel match.
I found a lot of Long Branch stuff at Springfield Sporters I just have tyo put in an order.

Could someone tell me if this should have a grooved rear hand guard?

The Knowledge Library on this site will be a great help to you in a restoration effort. Here is a link to a 1941 Long Branch

https://www.milsurps.com/content.php...g-Branch-Rifle

And here is an e bay link to the correct Long Branch rear sight - these aren't that common and this one is at a good price!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

and its ending in 14 hours - the seller is a member of this site (and no, its not me :) )

I've been looking closely at your pictures, and I blew up the Knox form..... looks like your rifle does not have its original barrel, but that it was re-barreled in 1961 while in South African service.

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Originally Posted by Amatikulu

And here is an e bay link to the correct Long Branch rear sight - these aren't that common and this one is at a good price!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

and its ending in 14 hours - the seller is a member of this site (and no, its not me :) )

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I'm also in the process of restoring a 1941 Long Branch, and I have been VERY lucky to find all of the replacement metal parts in less than 2 months (some people I had been talking to on other forums had been looking for correct parts for 5 years or more - yikes!). The LB Mk.1 rear sight I bought cost $75 (which I think was pretty good, seeming that 1 week later the same type of rear sight sold on ebay for $250!). The rear sight currently on ebay is, at the moment, a very good price. You are lucky that ou don't have to find the right cocking piece (again, 1 sold on ebay recently for about $120).

As the barrel has been replaced, would it be reasonable to restore the rifle to 1941 configuration?

Spinecracker, if it is reasonable or not depends on what you want. If you want "as issued", no. If you want "correct", yes. The barrel change is just part of the rifle's history. I would do it, but I like fixing up derelicts anyhow.

I would definitely restore it. Like Scout7, the fact that the barrel was replaced in military service does not detract in my eyes from its desirability -it's simply part of its history. If you should decide that the project is too great for you, I would be willing to take it off your hands for a fair price (you can keep the pistol grip :) )

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...cture068-1.jpg

This is the bottom of the barrel. I don't know why I didn't post it before.

This is turning into quite a project for a rifle I originally bought as a parts source.

Then why not sell the receiver to someone and let them restore it?

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

Then why not sell the receiver to someone and let them restore it?

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I have wanted to do something like this for years. It looks like now is as good a time as any.

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Originally Posted by scout7

Spinecracker, if it is reasonable or not depends on what you want. If you want "as issued", no. If you want "correct", yes. The barrel change is just part of the rifle's history. I would do it, but I like fixing up derelicts anyhow.

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I'm on your side, scout :) I was just asking as I am working on a 1941 Long Branch restoration (receiver, bolt and barrel are original and match) at the moment and have bought parts to put the rifle back to correct 1941 configuration.

I think that the issue of the wood will be the most challenging. Any of the "new" wood that I have tried looks wrong and is usually too large (proud of the metal?). Any "old" wood will probaby be beat up or DP stuff that will have to be repaired to work. A fun opportunity to have...

You guys should understand that this rifle is far from pristine. Though functionally it seems to be in great shape it has been polished to within an inch of its life and had a half assed re blue job applied. I think any attempt at refinishing it to resemble its original finish would render most of the markings unreadable. It does not look all that bad but it is far from the original military finish.
I am going to restock it with as much Long Branch stuff as I can get but I don't think this will ever be as desirable as it could be because of what was done to it.
Bubba should be castrated so that he can not breed to save future generations of milsurp collectible firearms.

The good thing is that it is yours and that you don't have a lot in it. Do as little or as much as you want and enjoy it. Bubba is not so bad, he makes original rifles more valuable every day!

Like I said, if you silica sand glass bead blast it the marks that are there will remain. Parkerize with some sacrificial steel(steel wool) submerged in the bath and it will come out black and perfect.

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

Like I said, if you silica sand glass bead blast it the marks that are there will remain. Parkerize with some sacrificial steel(steel wool) submerged in the bath and it will come out black and perfect.

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This sounds like a plan. I have been thinking about trying ether the Brownel's or Shooters Solutions home parkerizing. I have two other guns that need refinishing also so this just might be the answer. I was worried about more loss of markings on this rifle but the bead blasting would do the trick.

A LIGHT bead blast and phosphate finish followed by a proper Suncorite finish would be entirely proper for a rebuild with it's current barrel. It would follow that the wood would be newer than 1941/2 as well, easing your hunt for parts. Lots cheaper, and less frustrating. Nor would it be "incorrect" esp. if you hunt for whatever parts you can find w/ South African ownership marks. That would be a good project on it's own! No real sense in trying to wind the hands of the clock back to 1941, when it's 1961 configuration is obtainable.

Does Brain Dick still offer the Suncorite finishing service?

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Originally Posted by jmoore

A LIGHT bead blast and phosphate finish followed by a proper Suncorite finish would be entirely proper for a rebuild with it's current barrel. It would follow that the wood would be newer than 1941/2 as well, easing your hunt for parts. Lots cheaper, and less frustrating. Nor would it be "incorrect" esp. if you hunt for whatever parts you can find w/ South African ownership marks. That would be a good project on it's own! No real sense in trying to wind the hands of the clock back to 1941, when it's 1961 configuration is obtainable.

Does Brain Dick still offer the Suncorite finishing service?

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A 1941 Long Branch rifle should be a blued finish. Parkerizing (phosphating) was not introduced until midway through 1950 production. Canada never used suncorite....

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Originally Posted by Lee Enfield

A 1941 Long Branch rifle should be a blued finish. Parkerizing (phosphating) was not introduced until midway through 1950 production. Canada never used suncorite....

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I understand all that, but the rifle was in service past 1961! Ended up in South Africa. So whatever finish would be best for a 1960's SA issue weapon seems the way to go.

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Originally Posted by Amatikulu

I've been looking closely at your pictures, and I blew up the Knox form..... looks like your rifle does not have its original barrel, but that it was re-barreled in 1961 while in South African service.

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Esp. considering it'll never look "new" again and the minor shortage of 1941 Long Branch barrels with no serial number...

Agreed a light bead blast. That's what silica sand does. anything harsher can obliterate markings and change sharp corners to round. I can't vouch for the home parkerizing solutions, the only one I used was the Brownells Parkerizing solution. Before you get to serious work with the critical guns, have a sacrificial barrel or receiver you can do first to check for results.

I have a Long Branch mk1* thats park'd so i assume this means it was refinished at sometime in it's service life?

That's '43 Long Branch mk1* by the way..........

The marks should be present for the rebuild. And yes, I'll bet it was rebuilt at least once.