Research assistance requested ........

[Ian Skennerton]

Hi from Australia, 44-40.
Very interesting, I've never seen one like this before, especially from the Anglo-Boer war.
To be a bullet channel, the rifle would need to have been held vertical. Or could it have been a piece of shrapnel?
Thanks for the contribution,
Ian Skennerton

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[Badger]

Hi from Australia, 44-40.
Very interesting, I've never seen one like this before, especially from the Anglo-Boer war.
To be a bullet channel, the rifle would need to have been held vertical.

I think it's a bullet based upon the grooves in the cut out channel. (see pic enlarged). I've seen similar patterns on other pics on the Internet.

Perhaps he was in motion with his rifle holding it vertical as he moved and the bullet grazed through it that way.

Regards,
Doug

[Ian Skennerton]

A puzzling feature seems to be the channel curve rather than a straight line as one would expect from a projectile.
Would not life be boring if one knew the answer to everything?
Ian

[Badger]

A puzzling feature seems to be the channel curve rather than a straight line as one would expect from a projectile.

That's interesting ...

Hadn't thought of that ...

Regards,
Doug

[jmoore]

I don't think this qualifies as "battle damage", maybe it was "practice" damage? At any rate, this bayonet scabbard from an early-ish Type 38 rifle bayonet (Type 30 bayonet? I forget the nomenclature, sorry!) saw many impacts with a very sharp blade wielded w/ a fair degree of force. It's as close as I can come to any sort of blade weapon usage:






That's all I've been able to photograph so far. Hopefully it's of some use.

[Ian Skennerton]

We often hear 'If only that rifle could talk', but given an objective look at markings we can make assumptions in many cases. There was not much damage done to ex-service rifles after their wartime days so we can assume wear, marks and scratches in most cases were done already. Where there are later additions such as peep or telescopic sights, the fore-end or handguards cut or removed, &c. there is little credibility, but when items remain virtually intact and the wear appears to be generations old, we are at liberty to make assumptions.

As posted originally, this can be an interesting study as it covers all types of service rifles... Mausers, Arisakas, Enfields, Carcanos, Mosin-Nagants, &c. Keep looking through your collections and adding posts!
Cheers, Ian Skennerton