A couple of shots across the bows today.

Down in Sydney for the Queens, ran into a couple of mates that wanted to show off their new scores, so I'll throw them at you for your perusal.
Attachment 56089

The top one is a BSA 1945, reworked at Fazerkerly in 1948, it has scope No.11345 Mk.2/1 and has appeared in one of P/L's publications, all bits seem to be in the right place, however it has a solid bolt knob.......bit unsure of what to make of it, as it seems to be ground around or straightened.
Attachment 56098Attachment 56097Attachment 56096Attachment 56095Attachment 56094Attachment 56093Attachment 56092Attachment 56091Attachment 56090Attachment 56099

The lower rifle is also a BSA 1944, S/N E34470, it appears all matching, steel buttplate and the fun part...... the scope is Israeli S/N F33775.
Attachment 56101Attachment 56102Attachment 56103Attachment 56104Attachment 56105Attachment 56106Attachment 56107Attachment 56108Attachment 56100Attachment 56109

Feel free to comment, more pics can be made available for the next few days.

Whew! Very nice rifles. Interesting stamp on the one scope having the star of David!

With all the paperwork, that's what I'd call a full house. Photo 2, top line. Those little heavy canvas bags called 'calico bags (?)' were what the replacement telecopes used to come in - if you needed a new telescope during a Base workshop rebuild. They usually had a few numbers on them because the old scrap/ZF telescope would go back in that (if you sent it back or just sent covering paperwork back!).

Just observations/ comments (as I'm not an expert by any stretch): The '45 may have been through two refurbs. You can clearly see an earlier No. 4 Mk I....... just below and a little right of the Faz FTR. I've been informed by those that know that a BSA came from the factory with no lettering (or scribbling!) on the left receiver wall. In fact, the earlier lettering duplicates precisely, in style, lettering I have in that location on a '45 T and a regular '44 BSA (both in extremely good condition but from refurb). I wouldn't think it too surprising the bolt was replaced after two refurbs. The '44 rifle has that little X below the front pad that JMoore has been pointing out for a while (but hasn't yet revealed the significance?).

Ridolpho

There's something very familiar about that handwriting:

https://www.milsurps.com/attachment....0&d=1410248166

S'funny, I thought that too.......

He's not admitting to much.:)

He probably would comment if he thought so.............

This rifle was imported from Kiwiland, previously owned by an ex armourer/collector, hence the red/green dots on the safety as required by customs in Oz.
The second rifle has one of the roughest scope mounts that I have seen(makes RP's early ones look pretty..........sorry Rog.)

I'll take it on the chin muff! - fair comment, but could you get some pics of the butt socket markings & maybe the draws (barrelled action lifted out of forend) of the first (FTR'ed) rifle, if possible? It has aroused my curiosity..........

ATB.

No worries Roger, that rifle once belonged to Bruce Gorton from the Shaky Isles, Pete would remember him.
Can't provide any Butt socket pics with butt removed, target rifle shooters don't have a use for screwdrivers that big, but here are what I've taken, all timber has S/N and dates in pencil in both rifles.
Attachment 56162Attachment 56161Attachment 56163Attachment 56164Attachment 56165Attachment 56166


This is the scope bracket from the second rifle, pic's don't do it justice, but if the Khyber Pass boys were into these, this would be a good example.
File marks, misaligned covers and a basically unfinished bracket, I guess it was made to fit the Israeli scope, it's centre casting is just as rough......are they all like that Warren?
Attachment 56169Attachment 56168Attachment 56167Attachment 56170

Cheers Muff. You've triggered a few old memories there - Yes, I knew Bruce pretty well. When he came over to the UK about fifteen years ago as part of one of Ian's European tours I picked him up from the Pattern Room (in Nottingham as it then was), & he came over to mine to compare notes & for a general natter. IIRC I then chauffered him down to a certain armourer's place in the Abingdon area....... We used to chat on the phone a lot & exchange faxes (emails being in their infancy then) as well as doing a number of deals together. A great loss of a very knowledgeable & unassuming mate when he passed away. I'll always remember it; my dad, Bruce, & another good mate all succumbed within a three week period in June/July 2002.

Sorry, I've digressed. Thanks for the pictures. Most informative...........& if your pal ever does get to take a photo of the old lady's draws (sic) I'd love to see it - just out of curiosity.

Cheers.

Attachment 56171Bit worn.

Sorry, mea culpa for being ambiguous. I meant the 'male' parts - the downward projections on the rifle body that mate against the draw recesses in the forend.

But not important, so no worries.

ATB

P.S. Isn't there a market for 'worn draws'..........?

Only if you sniff bicycle seats:rofl:

Bugger! My secret's out.......

I hear you can get them in vending machines in Japan. Allegedly.

While I was an apprentice, answering endless pedantic trade test papers, we had to refer to them as DRAWERS as they drew or would draw the body rearwards so to become firmly bedded against the butt socket. Pedantic nonsense but that's how it was. And I shudder to think what'd've happened if I told Mr Ayley that I was tightening the king screw. He'd have said '...... I can't repeat it on a family forum but some of the words would have ended in '........king'

Bruce wasn't an Armourer by the way. He told me that he was a 'tinkerer'

Sorry Peter, I stand corrected; I should have said I was interested in photo's of 'worn drawers'..........