Irish (?) contract No4 rifles

[Frederick303]

I recall the sudden disappearance of 303 surplus around December of 1979. Prior to that you could buy surplus, at most gun shops. A firm called Paragon had it by the case, still in the 288 round chests. By late 1981 it was hard to get. By 1984 to 1985, I recall going to a store in an out of the way place to pick over their loss Interams .303 which had the 174 grain bullets pulled and replaced with 150 grain soft points from Finland. That all changed in the late 1980s, right around late 1988 when suddenly it appeared on the market again.


That said, back to the Irish connection: Where if anyplace doe the official documents provided by the Irish archives go wrong? I for one would like to know. None of the disposition records of the Irish Army support a sales date for any No4 MK II rifles prior to 1991. The Russians pulled out in 1989 if my memory serves me right. If a direct answer is not forthcoming, well I will have to respectfully disagree with Capt. Laidler’ assertions regarding the 50,000 order not being completed.