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Finally received a recently (blindly) purchased No. 5 Mk.I rifle, to find out that it dates 1945. It is fully matching, including the magazine. However, I was amazed to find out that it has a stamped rear sight. Is this common with this year of manufacture? And are they commanding a premium or less than normal No. 5 rifles?
It looks a good solid rifle Promo.
I'd think the sight is worth a bit less than the machined one, but they turn up if you want one.
Do check your firing pin protrusion before you fire it. It appears to have been screwed out a bit.
Also, I see you need the locking screw for said firing pin. No big deal but you need it.
Nice clean rifle.
Is the chamber and bore in good order?
I ask, as there are a couple stars on the knox form.
Best,
Richard.
A 1945 gun with one of the fabricated rear sights is kind of rare. I have never seen one outside of a book, and I have seen a lot of Jungle carbines. I would think the stamped sight is worth a premium.
It's not the firing pin protrusion that's the problem there - although that could be a fault, but what we call 'the lift' of the cocking piece. The gap between the rear face of the bolt and the face of the cocking piece shoulod be, as I remember off the top of my head, between .016 and .060". This ensures.......... anyway it's all written down elsewhere. But this 'lift' roughly translates to the fact that when you screw the bolt head in, the face of the bolt head must contact the collar of the striker at somewhere between the last 3/4 to 1/2 turn inwards.
Peter, the rifle is firing proofed and has been used by the previous owner. Up to the end. But will check that in detail, saw it myself. I bought the rifle mainly to have something to put in a trade, or for a resale - as far as I know they are quite sought after in the UK, are they?
But to get back to the original topic, the rear sight: are the stamped rear sights earlier, or are the milled ones the earlier ones? I have no reason to believe that it was changed afterwards, wouldn't make any sense.
The milled sights are the common and early ones.
There are at least 3 different rear sights for the No5
The early milled type with a small aperture "battle sight"
The later milled type with the large aperture "battle sight" the most common encountered type
& the stamped type, there could be more??
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...cksight2-1.jpg
I would say that solid and fabricated were both in equal measure and were both concurrent issue. It didn't make any difference to us as there was no shooting beyond 30 yards in Malaya! In fact even in the competition shoots - such as they were - were only up to 100 yards or so. (Except at Nee Soon in Singapore where there was a long distance range and later a 600 yarder somewhere else)
5thBatt, is it only the picture, or is there no checkering around the peep hole on your stamped No. 5 rear sight?
Just checked, yes it has the checkering.Quote:
Originally Posted by Promo
Note that the left hand backsight has the full length No4 type screw, adjusting. I bet that was one of ours. We didn't differentiate at all. The backsight screw was the backsight screw to us and 400 still read 400 regardless!
Peter, can you confirm that the part way threaded screws for the No5 are actually a different thread to the ones threaded the whole way for the No4. I have a bucket full of dismantled No4 rear sight leaves in my garage, together with a generous quantity of thumb screws, cursors, springs etc. It looks to me as though the thumb screws are interchangeable, but only if you change the little threaded locating nut as well. Or at least, this is how it seemed to me when I was assembling a few sights.....
In fact, if you look carefully at 5th Battn's two rifles with the machined rear sights, you can see that the one on the R of the photo (No5 type) has a larger diameter screw than that on the rifle shown to the L (No4 type).
The standard and shortie were different threads as were the matched nuts. Quite why is a total mystery to me! After all, the slide was interchangeable and as I said, a reading of, say, 400 was the same on either slide, regardless if it was screwed there by a short thread or a long thread!
Looking through a load of old photos today and found a picture of Armourers inspecting the last No4 and 5 rifles prior to being withdrawn in Malaya in 1968. It says '....... from arse enders - Signals and Transport! Sorry if you were Signals (the bleeps) or Transport (cabbies). I'll see if Badger can't put it up
Just tried out both sights, the one on the left takes 32 clicks to go from 200 to 800 the one on the right 55 clicks.
We had the mathematiucs of it on another thread I seem to remember. But 400 yards is STILL 400 yards through either sight leaf.
The No5 it's on is a early rifle a 4/44 Faz s/n 524 no prefix, would the screw be original or more likely changed out, i'm already picking the latter.
Nice gun Promo. Any plans for it?
Yes. Sell it to someone interested. The same as with the three No. 4 rifles I currently have ;). But of course preferrably within Europe.
Ah, Hopefully you find a good price and someone worthy to have it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Promo
I tell my wife, these are good investments; her response is that I've never sold any of them!
Hey, you're saving for the retirement! Or better not, otherwise you then really have to sell them when you're retired! :D Well, I should then consider it an advantage that I'm not married yet? But she goes with me to gun shows aswell, however the problem is that the only rifle she likes is rare like a unicorn, and has the price of a hoard of unicorns..
But to get back to the rifle: it should be somewhere in the range of € 550, which would translate as $626 or 400 British Pounds. For that I can part with it. And as long as it's with me, I'm also fine. There are worse things to have.