musings while in the middle of a bout with boredom

I was just sitting here bored to tears so I decided to clean the dust off of my guns. It occurred to me that firearms must by nature be some of the toughest mechanical contrivances made by man. The Winchester Model 70 that has been my primary hunting partner since bought in 1984 has been beat around in the cab of trucks, fallen from tree stands, dragged through swamps and so on without a hiccup. I have a Remington 870 that has been through even worse for almost as long and still it functions as new maybe even a little better. Then we come to the Enfields. upwards of 70 years old and still kicking. Appearing to be almost eager to get out there. I can only imagine the hard use and even abuse these things have been subjected to as military issue weapons. I know the M-16 I was issued did not get the pampering my personal firearms do by a long shot.

You should see the number of old sporterized enfields that come up for sale here in NZ that have had a long life as hunting rifles, usually down south in Fiordland where they get something like 8 yards of rain every year,(true) and most of that on the day you get the rifle, tent and backpack out,(seems true) they look like they'd have an easier life as a fence post.

A lot of them, usually 1895 to 1910 ish, are described in the for sale ads as having no rifling left.
Its not so much that they've got no rifling left, but ... someone used that rifle until it got that way. Some of those bullets must fall through the barrel. They must still be somewhat accurate too, or the shooters would be missing the deer and go get a younger rifle, so until the last they keep on getting used on and on and on.
Seeing as we don't have a death list from exploding rifles, enfields have a deserved reputation for just keeping on keeping on.
I've read that the life of an enfield barrel, given average conditions of use and care, can be about 35,000 rounds, whether thats true or not I don't know, and of course it makes no reference to the declining accuracy beginning at ? how many rounds etc. but interesting just the same.

I have been a deer hunter for 50 years with this upcoming season. My primary rifle for at least 30 years has been my sporterized O3-A3. Nearly new condition when I got it in full dress military, but back then sporterizing wasnt the sin it is now!! I honestly lost count on the deer it has brought down along with a bunch of woodchucks and just punching paper. It is in it's third stock, a Richards thumbhole with a Leupold 6.5-20X scope sitting on top. Very accurate rifle. I have been using my #5 Mk1 for the last 5 or 6 years for woods hunting and use the Springfield if I anticipate longer shots. I have owned and sold or traded many rifles of all makes and models but my Springfield is my go to gun.

That looks like a beautiful rifle. Very nice hunk of wood you have on it though I could never get comfortable with thumb hole stocks.. I have a 6-24 on a Remington 700 SPS Varmint. I don't think I could use it deer hunting but I move a Lot.

Thumbhole stocks are not very popular for stalking rifles. I use this one mainly for hunting over natural gas pipeline clearings out to 400 yds. I had a fajen classic on it until I fell on it and broke it thru the pistol grip. I really like my JC and it has gone with me more in the past few seasons. Last year I used a Lee 186 gr. cast slug and the #5 only needed 1 shot @ 80 yds for a good whitetail buck. Very fast handling rifle!

I know what you mean about these ol' military "you can't hit a barn door at 5 paces with that thing" rifles. I was at the gun range this weekend with my trusty old 1944 No.4 Mk.1 that I have a cheap Tasco scope on, and I was getting tighter groups than the guys with their fancy hunting rifles/AR15s and expensive optics (range report posted elsewhere on this forum). Yes, I allowed myself to smirk.

The hunting club I belong to is full of rich guys that won't have anything but top of the line hunting equiptment. They get a little peeved when their Brownings and Blasers and Weatherby's with the $2000 Zeisse scope gets out shot by a 74 y/o '03 Springfield NM and it's egually old Lyman STS scope. :D

I've got a 1918 No 1 MkIII* in mint condition that i've had for years that i rarely shoot and have only ever used for a bit of fun. I'd never actually used it at the range off a bench and tested how it grouped because i just assumed because of the age of it i'd struggle to even hit paper.

Boy was i wrong!
I took it to the range on tuesday because i was bored, and actually shot it off a bench on rests. Open sights it shot a 8 shot 2 inch group at 50 metres, and a 6 shot 5 1/2 inch group at the 100.
I couldnt believe it when i went down to check the targets, i honestly thought it wouldnt hit a thing! 93 years old and still going strong.
I'll be using this for service rifle comps now.

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Originally Posted by vintage hunter

The hunting club I belong to is full of rich guys that won't have anything but top of the line hunting equiptment. They get a little peeved when their Brownings and Blasers and Weatherby's with the $2000 Zeisse scope gets out shot by a 74 y/o '03 Springfield NM and it's egually old Lyman STS scope. :D

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That's got to be satisfying! Aside from a Savage 110 I keep because I can switch barrels quickly, I only have old military rifles. They have rich historys behind them. Commercial sporters are whipped out fast on CNC machinery. No hand work is involved, and certainly were'nt carried in heroic times by heroic men. But that's just me. To some a rifle is like a shovel, as long as you choose the right type it will do.

I have to agree about the historic nature of milsurp rifles. It is a source of much wonder to me. I do however have a few commercial rifles that have charms all there own. The above mentioned Model 70 in 30-06 was the first firearm I purchased new back in the summer of 1984. A couple weeks after I bought it I had the person who owned the shop where i got it do a trigger job on it. I bedded it, free floated the barrel and added a Pachmayr recoil pad a couple years later. It has consistently put 3 shots under an inch at 100 yds with factory Remington 150 grain Core Locks ever since.
I have a Remington SPS Varmint in .308 that now has a Timney Trigger, H-S Precision stock and a 6-24 Bushnell Elite 4200 Scope. It will do at 200 what my Winchester does at 100. I consistently holds 5 shots under 3/4 at 100 yds with both Federal and Black Hill 168 grain match ammo. I have only had this rifle a little over a year and I have not fired it as much as I would like.
I am just now getting restarted in reloading after about 8 years of all my equipment being in storage so I should be able to get both rifles shooting better.
I also just got a Marlin 917V in 17 HRM to do some plinking with. It has a Bushnell 10x elite 3200 on it.
I love the triggers on both of these rifles but actions on my two Enfields function much smother and quicker than ether the Remington or Winchester. I think I need to combine an Enfield No.4 action with a Huber Concepts Trigger and a heavy match barrel then I would have the best of all worlds :thup: .

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Originally Posted by Pablo

I've got a 1918 No 1 MkIII* in mint condition that i've had for years that i rarely shoot and have only ever used for a bit of fun. I'd never actually used it at the range off a bench and tested how it grouped because i just assumed because of the age of it i'd struggle to even hit paper.

Boy was i wrong!
I took it to the range on tuesday because i was bored, and actually shot it off a bench on rests. Open sights it shot a 8 shot 2 inch group at 50 metres, and a 6 shot 5 1/2 inch group at the 100.
I couldnt believe it when i went down to check the targets, i honestly thought it wouldnt hit a thing! 93 years old and still going strong.
I'll be using this for service rifle comps now.

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Keep in mind Enfields are very good at putting round holes in square heads through two world wars.:D

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Originally Posted by John Sukey

Keep in mind Enfields are very good at putting round holes in square heads through two world wars.

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A very fine quote you have there:D:thup: