serial number question

[Tertle]

i have a nice old 1942 Longbranch, No4Mk1*, rather promising two grove barrel, but it has had a couple of questions asked that I'm not 100 sure on, mainly around the lack of serial number, well what we would refer to as a serial number we expect to be in the usual places

when i compare it against the raft of other No4's i have the serial is not evident at all on the wrist, however there is a serial number unlike another that i have on the side of the receiver

the last three digits are also on the bolt, although on the top of the bolt handle, it is a base (NZ Wigram) rifle. it has a disk with WIG 25 inlayed in the butt.

My question is, i thought all LB rifles were serialised, or is this not as uncommon as i thought?

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[Peter Laidler]

I'll tell you what has happened - probably, as I see it. It is what we call a 'ringer'. That is it certainly started its life as a Mk1* XL XXXX serialled Long Branch rifle and for some reason or another, probably for nefarious accounting reasons, it has been 'swopped' or 'ringed' for a Savage Mk1* rifle, serial number 49C 0960 and THAT rifle number, 49C 0960, has been slightly wrongly engraved with a scratchy-pen on the body side.

It used to happen with us a fair few times but NOT for nefarious reasons I hasten to add. 60 rifles would come in and go through the bead blaster, phosphate and paint system. A couple would come out with the serial numbers obliterated - usually Fazakerley guns but BSA too - So you look through the AFG-1045 to see what the numbers were, then number to suit! Hence, that particular rifle might have come in as AB 12345 but it's gone out as BC23456. But importantly, the quantity remains the same.

Easy........