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Hello Milsurps,
Im wondering if any of you guys with No.4T's could take sum pictures of the 2 x 4BA and 1/4BSF screws from inside the action.
Ive looked everywhere and cant see what the finish is like inside and how close the screws are to the bolt locating lug pocket.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Just thought i would add a little more info here...
Im looking to mount the pads myself, i have all the tools and hopefully the skill. Im not embarking on the job until i have gathered ever ounce of info i can muster!
I have all the books, an armourers perspective, Ian Skennertons the British sniper. I have read all of Peters articles and pad mounting walk throughs on here. Im still not happy until i can see the screw holes for the rear pad as viewed from the inside.
My Longbranch 1943 the bolt lug pockets seem large and will push the pads back so the front pad will not sit hard against the front ring.
This is mentioned in peters book that pads can sit back 3/16 or so due to the pocket. Anybody else have this dilemma?
Thanks
Hi
Some pics of the fronts and rears of the pads on my Long Branch 4T. Hope they help - the inside of the rear is difficult to get a clear shot of given its position.
Do I take it that you'll be modifying a non 4T Long Branch? I'd have thought that LB No4's are rarer in the UK relative to BSA and other makers so seem a shame to be building a 4T on an original LB?
Thank you very much for that, surprised to see the rear pad sitting as high and screw as high as it is. Put my mind at rest regarding punching through into the bolt lug pocket.
I really like the Long Branch rifle and have ties to Canada in my family so just felt right that i make that my T.
But i fully take onboard its probably a shame to alter it. Maybe i will look into doing it to a BSA and keep the LB as is.
Appreciate the info and guidance.
You're welcome.
Don't let me put you off using the LB - for me there would be lots of factors that would influence which donor I would use such as overall condition, originality, etc,etc. and converting to a 4T may be a good course of action for your particular rifle. I'm sure others more knowledgeable than me can provide some thoughts on the relative desirability of the various makers of wartime No4s.
Good luck and do post pictures of your project once you get going!
Totally agree but I would use one of the thousands of Sporterised, target rifles etc out there, I know its so tempting to make a repro out of a decent rifle, I always think back to when I was looking at a Martini Henry, lovely rifle crisp markings etc on the butt and action, but someone had at some point used there artistic license and drilled it here and there for a rear sight.....Quote:
Originally Posted by desperatedan
There will be gunshops all over the UK with rifles that are not advertised and kept in the back ready to go to auction or to be scrapped.
A few pics of the areas you wanted to see. First four are of a 1945 Long Branch T, and the last four of a 1943 BSA T.
Once again, many thanks for the pictures! Im happy i now have seen what i need.
Just need to put it all to good use!
Im looking forward to the machining and dreading it all at the same time. Hehe...
Machine time booked for next week...
Will try to get pictures of it on the mill.
Would anybody with a Long Branch be happy to tell me the height of the letters and provide nice pictures of the action 'T' & butt socket 'TR' markings?
Many thanks.
the actual answers to your questions are complex, but...if you're building a fake/repro, why reproduce the markings exactly "correctly" ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Scout Sniper
there are plenty of photos on this site, (and even in this thread) already.
The Long Branch sniper rifles do not have the “TR” and “S” markings.
May I respectfully point out that faking the markings is forgery., even if you tell everyone it is a clone. A future owner might well not be so scrupulous. Making a clone of a No.4 (T) is fine, just do not add any fake markings.
The idea of converting a rifle that has already been “violated” by conversion to a sporter is a good one. There are lots around where the barrels have not been cut and no extra holes drilled etc. Messing up a full-military and correct one is the sort of thing that “Bubba” would do. The full No.4 military rifles, once dirt cheap, are now scarce and getting expensive. Original Long Branch No.4 Mk.I* rifles are especially desirable today.
There are even genuine No.4 (T) rifles that have been sporterized, had pads removed etc. and would make interesting restoration projects.
surely you’re not planning to counterfeit inspection marks? Generally creation of an honest made up T is limited to the functional items, e.g. sling point, pads, cheek rest, ect. Adding accurate fake inspection marks is straying rather close to forgery. I have had a couple of rifles made up as clones of sniper rifles, but would always leave the markings honestly there to show what it is, a functionally accurate copy, the only stamps I have added are marking the stems to the rifles for practical reasons.
I take it on board and will not add any makings.
Interesting the Long Branch examples were not marked TR, how did the the Canadian selection process differ from British rifles?
Thanks for the info...
The initial rifles were selected for conversion in a similar manner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scout Sniper
That quickly presented problems.
Then they assembled snipers separately in the tool room or model shop.
You could describe it as:
basically an LB sniper is a scratch built custom rifle.
The pads were fitted yesterdays, the front pad was a breeze.
The rear pad wasn't the action was really hard towards the inside, im guessing the case hardening by the bolt lug pocket was the issue.
All my drills were brand new cobalt type. I was able to thread all holes through except the 1/4 BSF, could only tap 3/4 of the way through before the tap stopped dead solid.
The screw in the mount does fully screw home tho so this isnt an issue.
Phew, glad thats done
How was the final columniation?
Collimating wasn't an issue...
For anybody who is interested, here are pictures of the mounts fitted. Very happy with the results, haven't got around to staking the rear pad screws yet. But as you can see its all nice and aligned and tight fitting to the action
Attachment 102948Attachment 102947Attachment 102949Attachment 102950