LB No4 TP Sniper ?

[rgg_7]

On a Long Branch No4 TP (Trade Pattern) is the bracket solder to the receiver body. I look at one the other day in which is was just screwed and pin. No evidence of solder? What's correct?

Information

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[Warren]

They were not soldered. They were pinned with dowel pins.
As were the early 32 pads.
The British insisted on them being soldered on the Longbranch models however the first several lots were not soldered.
Any found soldered were done by the British.
This might explain the galled screws found on most of the trials rifle pads.

[rgg_7]

Warren - your awesome! another ?. Is the rifle serial number stamped on the butt socket? This one is not.

[Seaforth72]

Yes, the rifle serial number was in the usual places on the Trade Pattern Long Branch sniper rifles.

If there is no serial number on the body, then it is a put-together set, almost certainly using one of the scopes with bracket/slide/rings that were sold surplus out of Holland. Apparently the rifles were destroyed when they were surplus to Holland’s needs, but the scopes were sold and several dozen of these came back to Canada. Reportedly some have since been remounted on other rifles.

Warren - your awesome! another ?. Is the rifle serial number stamped on the butt socket? This one is not.

[Peter Laidler]

Not sure about the UK pads being dowelled Warren. Or did you mean the REL pads? Dowelling was tried with 6 or so UK examples to prevent the front pads from working loose but as I seem to recall that '....this measure showed no worthwhile improvement over.......' and it wasn't pursued. Mind you, loose pads definately were a problem with the L42. Eventually there was a tacit agreement that to prevent further deterioration of the pad, the screw head should be staked into a convenient and earlier stake mark in the pad.

[Warren]

All the Canadian made 32TP scoped rifles were not soldered, just dowel pinned. The the early 32 Mk.1 Canadian REL scoped rifles made in Canada were not soldered nor dowel pinned.
Canada and the UK got into a bit of a ****ing match over this after the UK claimed screws were shearing off and then Canada started to solder them; all except the 32TP.
I have the date and will try and find it.
I am assuming the trials rifles in the UK were never soldered at the first, just due to the galled up screws on sees, but I would have thought they would have replaced the galled screws when soldering the bases.
I do not think I have seen a trials rifle without galled screws
Just another Lee Enfield mystery.

[Promo]

If that helps, my trials 4 T has had the bases crudely torn off with the screws without screw heads still in place. You can still see all of the silver solder left on the receiver. So it originally has had bases soldered on.

[Lee Enfield]

If that helps, my trials 4 T has had the bases crudely torn off with the screws without screw heads still in place. You can still see all of the silver solder left on the receiver. So it originally has had bases soldered on.

Lead solder not silver solder

[Roger Payne]

Peter B acquired thirty of the scopes with rings still attached direct from a Dutch dealer contact. They were all perfectly genuine scopes & rings & in superb condition. I had eight off him IIRC & he sold the majority on 'that internet auction site' (in its early days!). He asked me if I could get a few bases made so that they could be sold as 'kits', which is what happened with quite a few. My eight have now all long since gone & I only know of the whereabouts of one; I had a second TP rifle & let my pal have it. He subsequently also had one of the scopes to complete it. No doubt all of the others are still out there somewhere......

[Lee Enfield]

Peter B acquired thirty of the scopes with rings still attached direct from a Dutch dealer contact. ...snip........

Just a matter of interest, Pete B told me (yes I asked) that there was no way of providing a list of scopes matched to rings because the scopes were obtained separated from the rings.