L42 Barrel or Later Commercial Variant? FB613

[Cold_Zero]

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Can one decipher a production date/lot from the mix number, FB613?

There is what looks like an "<" in the last pic as well. Thoughts?

Information

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[DanL96a1]

I have an lee enfiled enforcer with that barrle marking ...

[Thunderbox]

IIRC the barrels without the knox flat are a run of barrels Enfield did for commercial sale - or for specific order of Parker Hale. These barrels are commonly found on Parker Hale and AJ Parker target rifles.

[Lee Enfield]

IIRC the barrels without the knox flat are a run of barrels Enfield did for commercial sale - or for specific order of Parker Hale. These barrels are commonly found on Parker Hale and AJ Parker target rifles.

I have one just like that, dated 1968 or 69

marked RSAF in a cross formation...

[rgg_7]

The FB613 is the mill control number for the barrel steel. The barrel is a profile is not L42, Enforcer or Envoy. These were produced for target rifle conversions . A large number of these found their way to Canada and were sold by International out of Montreal, Qc. They were hammer forged barrels , threaded for Enfield, Mauser and a host of other actions. What is the length of your barrels? What are they threaded for? What is stamped around the muzzle end?

[Cold_Zero]

Will pull and check.

[Cold_Zero]

Managed to pull the barrels out of storage again. I used a 1942 Long Branch barrel to compare threading, looks like a match. The barrels are 4 groove, slightly over 27.5 inches on my tape measure. Chamber accepts 7.62 round.

At the end of each barrel they are stamped "NOT PROOFED".

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[Peter Laidler]

Thunderbox is dead right as usual. These barrels were made at RSAF on a commercial basis in order to keep the machinery and workforce 'gainfully' employed. Nothing to do with anything UK MoD

The FB prefix to the steel batch number is the manufacturer, in this case, Firth Brown

[Cold_Zero]

Thanks All. I supposed they could be used in a pinch if your L42 or L39 barrel was absolutely done.

[Peter Laidler]

The trouble with using one of these barrels, as I have done on my friends L39 is that there is no reinforce bearing. You'd think that on a barrel of this weight and diameter it wouldn't matter or affect accuracy but it certainly did. Even when the rifle was secured and accuracy tested on the Armourers strerile test range from the Enfield rest the bullets would form large diameter groups. The better news was that the reinforce section of the fore-end can easily be floated out, patched and the new reinforce section shaped to suit the new barrel reinforce.

Also fitted one to a No5 rifle too. The barrels were an absolute pleasure to machine down in the lathe to slightly oversize No5 spec (but correct diameter outside the fore-end of course). No accuracy problems there. It was crap beforehand and only slightly less crap after the 7.62mm barrel change!