And it isn't even an auction sight... Original British SMLE .22 Short Rifle Mk III Dated 1898- Serial No.1324 ima-usa.com
Ishapore screw and all.
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And it isn't even an auction sight... Original British SMLE .22 Short Rifle Mk III Dated 1898- Serial No.1324 ima-usa.com
Ishapore screw and all.
Unless i'm blind there is no Ishapore screw there, only screw i can see is the one that holds the front volley plate in place. To me thats a pretty scarce rifle in nice condition.
Yes, that's a very nice rifle...very old, hard to find.
It certainly is. However, no matter how long I look at it I still can't make it all add up to 2.5k.
when I was with Ian Skennerton in 2006 we stopped in Godstone the then English headquarters for IMA they than had at least 300 of them maybe more, they all looked in good shape. I collect trainers and so was hoping they might sell some here, but that price is a bit steep.
Glad I stopped in...I've been pacing the floor over this one, trying to find a way to justify that price. This helps...:D
It's easy actually...if you think you can find it cheaper, then OK...but when you search for a couple of years and don't see any more of them, you'll think back to a time you could have got this one... Yes, it's expensive but...Quote:
Originally Posted by jrhead75
Forgive my ignorance here. I did not know the front volley sight screw went all the way through the stock.
Yes, it is old, rare and collectible, but the price still seems unrealistic.
In the UK you would be looking at around £600 -£900, but its like Jim says when your looking for one you can't find any ..........
IMA generally know their market. About 3 yrs ago they sold MLM Mk I*s at about $2000. Howls of indignation on the forums. Sorry, fora. But those rifles had pristine Metford bores. They sold out quickly. And now they look distinctly cheap.
Rob
So put it next to any Sniper T's or HT's price and the cost of that one will seem very reasonable...................:eek:
I suppose it also comes down to how much you'd like one. If I bought one it would be as a stock item to sell on, & my retail would be considerably less than theirs; so, I just don't buy it. Someone else who simply can't live without it can have it, & will no doubt be very pleased with it. It might sound mercenary, but there's not much out there that I can't walk past these days if the price is not right.
It is a nice girl and as a butt man I love multiple cartouches, an added bonus is that it is a harder to locate BSA conversion. The bid downer, beside the price, it is the m/m bolt.... This is the 3rd or 4th example they have posted for sale in the past few years so someone is spending big bucks on them.
I agree with Roger, I don't have to buy too much any more. But these guys have them and sit on them until they sell. And in the end, they WILL sell...slowly you'll see their supply run out. Then they'll cost twice that. I'll bet they bought them for scrap weight.
Like the Grand Funk Railroad song says.............."picked a bad time to fall in love" (with early Lee Enfields!). Have seen pretty typical No, 1 MkIII's listed for as much as $2,300 here within the last year while purchasing much more exclusive Lee Enfields, etc for significantly less. Pricing is often baffling which I attribute to newcomers to the field with large disposable incomes and little patience- "gotta have a Great War No. 1 to mark anniversary of the conflict". I recently bought one of my biggest missing pieces, a Lee Metford MkI* (upgraded from '89 Mk I) and now have to find a second job for Mrs. Ridolpho and defer her retirement.
Ridolpho
Off to the oil fields...driving trucks...Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridolpho
Believe me...I know the drill. It's not a case of expecting to find it cheaper, but of justifying the cost relative to what I collect...which ain't trainers (at least for the moment). I have been keeping a peeled eye out for ConD SMLEs for a while now though.Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
Hit the nail on the head with that one, but I think it covers all collecting etc, I seen a SMLE No1 MkV today for £3575.00Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridolpho
That's it exactly. If one collects trainers - which I don't, or if one is just starting out collecting - and I'm not; then it may be a bargain. And yes, IMA is definitely clued in of the collector market. After all, it is their bread and butter. I admit all that.
I have to say though, that I'm a bit long in the tooth. That means that anything I collect now will most likely only end up in my boys hands a few decades down the track after the reading of the Will. Will they be interested? Will they even care what it is?
Then too, I'm primarily interested in WWI/WWII SMLEs, have more rifles than I can shoot. I'm not particularly interested in trainers and have passed up several over the years.
Good God! Was it at least in nice shape? I've concluded you have to try to be out of synch with the rest of the collecting world. When LE's are popular, buy Mosins or something else. Last year while Great War SMLE's were priced out of reach here in Canada, I found relative bargains on a Martini Mk I and a SMLE MK V- both in superb condition and, apparently, attracting little interest.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigduke6
Ridolpho
It would appear from the photos that someone has cut the bottom out of the magazine so that the magazine that was stripped out to catch the empty rounds now just lets them fall straight through!!
If this rifle had been fitted with its Parker Hiscock magazine the price would have made a little more sense, see Skennerton "The Lee Enfield" page 484 .22 Short Rifle MkIII Magazine capacity 5 rounds Parker Hiscock. So this is a rare rifle that is incomplete and over priced in my humble opinion, but then as has already been said someone might decide it's a real bargin:madsmile:
I once tried to sneek a new acquisition in under the radar....................and got burned real bad, once the guys stopped laughing at me where I shoot they gave me the nik Cinders after being flamed by my other half so just to ensure my demise from grace completely I went out a couple of years later and brought a Sniper T, I now know what it is like to be a penguin in Antartica...................sometimes the ones we married do not understand the other love one has in life! :bow:
Reply to Col E I thought I was the most sneaky pelican and had actually got the rifle in and secreted but alas the debits did not match the credits curses Moriarty foiled again..........
Did you make the rookie mistake of thinking the Minister for War & Finance wouldn't notice the arrival of an envelope with O.H.M.S. on it and the words "This Permit Authorises..." visible through the address window? :pQuote:
Originally Posted by CINDERS