Custom order C1A1?

[enbloc8]

As far as I know Peter, we were hogs with our rifles. Only Canada. There are others here I expect to join this discussion but I'm certain we didn't sell any. Not like the C7. That's why when you talked about working on CDN rifles in workshop in Europe it surprised me.

That was my understanding too. Strict policy of no foreign sales of either rifles or "Inglis" pistols, though I understand they were willing to supply spare parts. Which didn't work out well, partly because CAL's prices were so high compared to either Enfield or Lithgow (or FN for pistol parts), partly also because many C1 parts were different compared to the rest. And I also imagine the lack of foreign sales meant Canada didn't even come to mind when it came time to buy spares...it was easiest to just contact whoever you'd dealt with in the first place.

End result being, Longbranch essentially lost its reason to exist after the C1A1s were completed.

Australia offered the cheapest prices for allegiant nations to buy L1A1's so they got the business and the profit and so I'm lead to believe, the largest sales too.

@Peter, so that was the reason. I'd always figured that it was a matter of available production capacity...that Australia, having a full production line and a comparatively small military, had the capacity first, while Britain didn't start offering foreign sales until its (much greater) armament needs were filled.

---------- Post added at 05:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:53 PM ----------

Took a look at that bill of sale...a new-production 8L from Canadian Arsenals Ltd. cost $225.00 in 1972. No idea how to convert that through inflation, but that can't have been cheap.

Managed to crunch it through a Bank of Canada website...it would work out to about $1250 Canadian today. Not a cheap "toy", then or now.

In comparison, I recall reading that a brand new Lithgow SLR, in a gun store, cost $700 AUD in the early 80s. In comparison, a new Remington 700 was priced at $350 AUD.