Ok. Hope some of you are still up like me. Some time ago, I posted a thread about my 1917 LSA No I Mk III that had found it's way into Australianicon service at some point during it's service life. Well, I thought it was an interesting enough rifle on that alone, but have found a marking on it which, if it turns out to be this, will absolutely floor me. Having read Charles R. Stratton's excellent book on the SMLE, I discovered that Colt, during the years 1912 through 1915, manufactured rifles for the land down under. The marking identifying these rifles is a C under a broad arrow, both of which are inside a vertical oval. These rifles are, understandably, few and very far between. Any encountered are expected to bring premium prices, and that may be an understatement from what I have read regarding these LEs. So here's the catcher..I have discovered a mark not identical, but very similar to this described marking on this hybrid Brit/ Aussie rifle. It is a C inside a circle, but not inside an oval, and the mark is stamped on the rear sight. My question is this...I know that Colt made rifles for the Australian govt. just before and during the Great War, but did they afterwards? Is this a modified Colt marking? This rifle, as stated, started life as a Britishicon LSA in 1917, but ended up with the Aussies at some point. It was rebarreled in 1940, but has early Lithgow star markings all over it, along with MA markings as well. I cannot help but think that this a later Colt marking. The similarity is too great, plus it is on an Australian rifle. There's too much coincidence here, I believe. Has ANYONE heard of this, or seen this marking? Any information will be greatly appreciated. I have included two photos, one is a really bad pic, but you can just see the circle above the HV SC marking. Also is a drawing comparing the markings. The one on the left is the 1912-1915 mark, the one on the right is what's in the photo. Thanks!
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