My L1A1 has been saved!

[Mako275]

Just got my L1A1 back from the gunsmith. Loving it!

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AFTER

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Well, it looks a little closer to standard now...might be a bit noisy though. Let us know...

[mrclark303]

Is that a rock and roll fun lever I see there on your shorty? As Jim said, let us know how she shoots!

[Mako275]

Is that a rock and roll fun lever I see there on your shorty? As Jim said, let us know how she shoots!

It's not an active fun lever. This is Century mix build, but the receiver is an Imbel.

[mrclark303]

She looks good, assuming you wanted to restore original barrel length, how much would that cost in the US? Are original barrels with plenty of life left in them still available at an affordable price?

[enbloc8]

Original L1A1 barrels are getting hard to find now. Seems to me that British ones are most common, with Australian following distantly. Canadian barrels in any condition are simply nonexistent.

Many original barrels (especially those on rifles built up by Century Arms during the "assault weapon ban" of the 90s) were "neutered" for legal compliance by cutting off the threaded portion of the muzzle for the flash eliminator. They can still be found, but restoring them to service often involves a bit of work (re-crowning, re-threading, new keyway slot)...and even then, it's still 1/2 inch short of what it "should" be.

There have been some new barrels made domestically, of varying quality. I understand the best ones (and they are impressive in my experience) were made for a special order years ago by DEZ Arms...they used rifled blanks intended for Remington 700 sniper rifles, and were reverse-engineered from a NOS Aussie barrel.

Cost? Hmmm...since the 922r rules grant advantage to buying an American barrel, I haven't actively pursued original barrels, but from what I recall seeing in sales an intact, used, run-of-the-mill Enfield or Lithgow barrel seems to run around $250-350. Late Parker-Hale barrels and 1980s Australian barrels (especially the hammer-forged Lithgow or Black Mountain barrels) bring a premium, and I want to say the last Canadian barrel I heard of selling went for something like $700 or more. In contrast, a new DEZ barrel with installed Australian NOS gas block retailed for about $350.