To shoot or not to shoot.

Hey all,

About 7 months ago I picked up an unissued 1950 Longbranch in unissued very "minty" condition. Since then it has been a safe queen, only taken out on occasion to admire. The previous owner did fire it so this is why I describe it as "minty" and not mint but it is in almost flawless shape, I have a couple photo's to give you an idea.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...080a84_z-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...0a5f9c_z-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8728d9_z-1.jpg


The 1950 is the one with the grooved upper hand guard, sorry the pictures dont capture the details very well but you get the idea.

My delima is that I have shooter grade No.4's that I frequently use and perhaps I am being a bit impulsive in wanting to shoot this one. I am 21 now and have only been at this milsurp game for a year now, so my point being I still have plenty of time to aquire and shoot these wonderful peices.

So what would you do? shoot and enjoy? or preserve and let appreciate?

D-Bomb: I would recommend that you do all of the above- shoot, enjoy, preserve, and let appreciate. These things aren't delicate and it would be fun to see how one in this condition shoots. My own Longbranch is nothing like yours, having been well used and FTR'd in the 50's with a 6 groove replacement barrel but it shoots nice groups at 100 yards with a Parker Hale sight temporarily installed. By the way, where do you shoot in Calgary? I'm having trouble accessing a range with longer range shooting.

Ridolpho

I currently have a membership at the Calgary district target shooters association (CDTSA) but the longest range is 100M. I would love to find a good chunk of crown land and stretch their legs out.

if your "unfired" 1950 Longbranch has survived for 62 years with no firing other than the test firing at the facory, why would you rush to shoot it?

As it stands it is something special, once you put a few rounds through it, it will become just another rifle*, and there will be one less "unfired" Lonbranch rifles in the world. (* a Longbranch with only a few rounds through it is still something very desirable and not just another rifle)

My suggestion is that you should focus on shooting your other Enfield rifles and leave shooting your safe queen for as long as you can. If you do eventually shoot it, down the track, it will seem even more special.

Paul

I'm inclined to very slightly disagree with Paul and yourself D-bomb. The term 'unissued' and therefore, by definition, 'unfired' (except for proof of course that we all accept) is subjective and a matter of opinion. Opinion that is, until an Armourer or skilled 'in-examiner' gets his hands and gauges on it on the bench. That is when fact takes over.

A very well cared for spotless barrel won't fool one of the eagle eyed examiners. He's looking for every little nuance or blemish that only his well trained eyes and glasses can see. Only then will he let loose with his gauges. Suddenly a mint and unfired example can suddenly become a 'heading for a second quarter' example.

Just my thoughts based on nothing more serious than experience.

I'd use it, but sparingly and ensure that it's perfectly cleaned and boiled out after every shoot

Previous owner did fire it and have range trips with it, so it deffinatly has had more than a proof round.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

I'd use it, but sparingly and ensure that it's perfectly cleaned and boiled out after every shoot

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I,d go with what Peter says, and handle with care also, you mention 100 yards, give it a run out and enter the milsurps target comp/shoot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by D-BOMB

About 7 months ago I picked up an unissued 1950 Longbranch

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Sorry to be a bit dense, but how does one know it is "unissued". Low mileage maybe, but unissued? For my cautious way of thinking, only a mummy-wrapped example sitting on the factory shelf can be said to be unissued.

Peter, I appeal to your insider knowledge: were new rifles delivered to the intended unit (i.e. "issued") in the wrappers? If so, I would presume that ALL rifles no longer in the wrapper were issued, in the sense that they were taken from factory stocks and sent to a specific recipient organization or unit, where they would be unpacked, degreased and inspected. Quite possibly to then sit in a rack for years, but issued, even if hardly used.

:wave:
Patrick

My opinion is shoot it and take care of it as you would any of the others. I have four in my collection of roughly fourty that I haven't shot. Two that are not milsurp that I bought because the price was right and I just didn't do it yet a gahendra martini henry that I need to slug the barrel,and an old mauser that bubba had ahold of many years ago. Some day the mauser will be fixed or restored and the gahendra will have shells made for it. I don't own a firearm I won't shoot and don't think that I ever will. Some day that may change but not for now.

Good question Pat and one that everyone should take note of. In fact, the term 'unissued' is one that I sit a chuckle at whenever I see it. The still-in-wrap rifles are the exception in my opinion.

Rifles tend to be delivered from Ordnance to the unit is green plastic sealed bags with the usual labels tied of threadad through them. When you open the bage, the rifles are bount at the ends and extremes, like foresight blocks, backsights over the cocking handles - you know the sort of thing - with cream coloured heavily waxed 'amalgamating tape' that's difficult to pick apart when it's amagamated.

Once at the unit, they'd be unwrapped, cleaned down by the Arms storemen, serial numbers checked and entered on the quartermasters master ledgers. They'd be allocated to a person and that would be 'his' rifle while he was at the unit. It'd be used in the everyday running of the unit. Ranges, shooting exercises, parades etc etc and it'd be his.

When stuff goes back to the main Ordnance stores it's usually for just a few reasons, such as the unit is going off to Germany let's say and will be re-equipped there or it has been returned because it's worn out, beyond the scope of Field repair. For the latter reason, once it gets to Ordnance, it is examined and sent either for Base workshop repair at the Ordnance depot workshop, disposal or scrap.

Those disposed of that are wrapped in their green bags aren't new or unissued at all............. they're rebuilt to sit in the Ordnance Depot. Ordnance depot's only KEEPS, RETAINS and ISSUES PERFECT stores.

When large stocks of ex Australian Brens and Vickers guns were disposed of in the UK for the deactivated market, many new owners were telling all and sundry that they were new and unissued, just because they looked new and were covered in grease! What a load of pure horse sh......, er....., manure. They'd been withdrawn from service, gone through the Ordnance refurbishment system and put back in store in A1 condition ready for re-issue.

Nope.............. I share your coments to a tee Patrick. We don't buy this stuff to keep in stores forever. Ordnance stores full of unused stores is just an expensive way of storeing fresh air

Alright I used a poor choice of unissued to describe it. Let's call it minty low round count.

We call that a 'first quarter of lifer'

A small observation. I've never seen an unaltered 1950 production Long Branch with a grooved handguard. It's been through workshops or changed by a civilian owner at some point. I've had a few hundred of them so that's just my observation. Shoot and enjoy it. I'd bet money you can't hurt it in a lifetime with a bit of proper care.

Hmm interesting, can anyone else confirm that? The wood seems to be matching and original to the rifle. I have seem them before with the grooved hg but who knows if it was original or not.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

Rifles tend to be delivered from Ordnance to the unit is green plastic sealed bags with the usual labels tied of threadad through them. When you open the bage, the rifles are bount at the ends and extremes, like foresight blocks, backsights over the cocking handles - you know the sort of thing - with cream coloured heavily waxed 'amalgamating tape' that's difficult to pick apart when it's amagamated.

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Did it look something like this?

I should probably clarify. There are lots of unaltered factory Long Branch No.4's with grooved handguards but they are WWII dated rifles. I've never seen a 1950 production rifle with one as produced at that time. That doesn't mean that they don't exist because anything's possible but ALL of the late Canadian Arsenals marked handguards I've seen have been smooth. That goes for both walnut and birch. You should pull them and check the markings underneath in the barrel channel. I'd bet it's wartime woodwork marked as per Long Branch and not post WWII Canadian Arsenals marked with the "A inside the C".

That's JUST how they looked when issued from Ordnance. But that doesn't mean that they were NEW. It indicated to us that they were used, refurbished/rebuilt to new standard and put back on the shelf for re-issue.

The green bags were vacuumed then heat-sealed top and bottom but those I used to see always looked as though some blanket stacker that didn't quite inderstand the reason for vacuum sealing, would dig a hole through the sealed bag and put the label through!

Since the previous owner shot it I can't think of a reason not to continue to do so.

I will update with a range report soon, thanks for the wisdom everyone!