Buy the rifle not the story!!!!!

[Buccaneer]

If anyone missed the "Phoenix" show at Bisley last weekend don't worry you probably saved yourself some time and money as there was not a great deal there for the Enfield collector, a couple of over priced 4T's one in a case, the normal collection of SMLE's and No4's and a few Long Lees. I did find a very nice "Envoy" serial no E40 that had been prepared by Fultons for the "Palmer" match in 1970 all nicely engraved "Palmer Match Bisley 1970", the only downside is that it has the magazine from E181.
We have all heard the phrase "Bullsh1t baffles brains" well on one stand there was buckets full of the stuff, I overheard conversations, not difficult as there were so loud, along the lines of,"when we get a rifle it is completely stripped, if it needs a new barrel we fit one we also fit new woodwork and anything else that may be worn". So now having destroyed most of the originality of the rifle they now apply a price tag that resembles a phone number.
This was all rather comical from where I was standing as brains won out over all the bull as nobody was prepared to part with their hard earned cash for a pretty rifle made up of parts that was now trying to be passed of as very expensive "original".
However one conversation did bring me down to earth when someone appeared with a Long Lee rifle, I think he wanted to try and make it more "original", you know the thing, "I have a rifle but this piece or that piece does was not match so I want to change it.
It appeared that the offending item this time was the bolt, this did not appear to be a problem for our team of experts apart from the fact that they said "we won't need to get it re-proofed as there are proof marks on the rifle and although there should be marks on the bolt and bolt head nobody really checks them".
It is an offence in the UK to sell or even advertise for sale a gun that is not properly proofed with very stiff financial penalties for those who get it wrong.
There is the more important fact that even though head space ect might be done there is no guarantee that a re-match bolt is safe until it is proofed with the rifle it is fitted to.
I am pleased to say that the individual returned his rifle to its slip and left which made Brains 2 Bullsh1t 0, in fact brains won out all round as I don't think they sold a thing to a member of the public all weekend.

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