As the Long Branches flood in...

[Cantom]

SO you bought the 41 LB on CGN....

I figured that would go quickly...

I'm hoping to have it Monday. I'll post pics of course.

[Claven2]

FWIW, the hinged bands were only used on very early 1941 LB's. they are VERY uncommon.

The LB with the restamped serial number looks like a typical Indian refurbed No.4 to me. Or possibly Pakistani... but you get the idea.

Bead blasted and blued will somewhat emulate post-war parkerizing, powder blasting and blueing would be a close match to wartime LB factory finish.

[stencollector]

FWIW, the hinged bands were only used on very early 1941 LB's. they are VERY uncommon.

Darn, thats going to make it tough for me to find the middle one then. Oh well, if it weren't for these little quests for holy grails, what fun would the hobby be?
My apologies to Granite, with whom I horsetraded for that band...I didn't think they were that hard to come by.

[Cantom]

Darn, thats going to make it tough for me to find the middle one then. Oh well, if it weren't for these little quests for holy grails, what fun would the hobby be?
My apologies to Granite, with whom I horsetraded for that band...I didn't think they were that hard to come by.

Hehe...maybe the middle band wasn't hinged, only the front one as in that diagram you posted.

I agree, I've always found looking for (and finding) the obscure parts the most fun part of the whole hobby, and that was also true in my other hobbies of fixing up Triumph motorcycles and VW buses.

At this point I have $237 in this rifle including a brand new LB butt I bought on ebay that's coming. Would it be worth it to spend $200 more to put the metal and barrel length right, with the Indian refurb serial number desecration factored in, or just leave it as is? It has the right bands on it, right rear sight, wood is mismatched.
It's actually not bad looking at that...funny thing is I put an Ishy screwed lower forestock on it...might be the right place for it eh?

[Claven2]

I've never seen a hinged middle band - only the front one.

[stencollector]

Has anyone seen a LB no4 middle band hinged? Sure save me a lot of hassle not looking for unicorns.

[Cantom]

This is a beautiful rifle! Virtually perfect from one end to the other, mint bore, all the s/n's match, bluing is like new. Barrel is stamped 41. Lots of interesting proof marks.
Only complaint, as I knew- the Long Branch 1941 is almost polished right off the left side, but can still be made out.
This is definitely a Mk I, not a Mk I*. It has the little spring latch for removing the bolt head at the rear. A great acquisition.



The 41 is a Whitworth Sporter from England. Here's the writeup on it from CGNTZ EE.
Whitworth No 4 Sporter in 303. Assembled post war with surplus parts. (no Enfields were harmed in the production of this rifle) Witworth and Manchester are stamped on the barrel. Action is Long Branch Mk 1, 1941. Early bolt design. Magazine is the proper 5 round "Made in England" stamped on the bottom. Bore is bright and shiny. Wood is VG, metal is VG. The bolt, action and barrel have all matching serial numbers. "56" on barrel indicating year of manufacture. Not drilled and tapped for scope mount. Nice little hunting rig or bush gun. EMT preferred.

[Cantom]

Are sporters really my thing? Not at all, but this is a pretty nice one...

[sdh1911]

Utterly beautiful! I only have a few common wealth rifles but would add that one in a heartbeat-SDH

[Cantom]

Utterly beautiful! I only have a few common wealth rifles but would add that one in a heartbeat-SDH

Thanks. I'd like to perform a wee gonadal adjustment with a frozen mukluk on whoever polished the left side of the receiver though...