Un-serialed LB Mk I

[boltaction]

Superb looking rifle I must say. Two comments: it appears the receiver was refinished after the markings on the left wall were engraved, which suggests some contact with Long Branch post-WWII. The "56" date on the barrel, if that is what that represents, must indicate either the year the barrel was made or the year the rifle was assembled.

My guess would be this was a presentation or someone's retirement gift to themselves or something along those lines. What is interesting is that either these MkI parts were still in stock at Long Branch as late as 1956, or else someone had squirrelled them away gradually over time and assembled this from those parts somewhere else: a LB worker, a military armourer, or anyone who had access to stocks of these parts in the 50s or 60s.

I haven't read the whole thread so if someone has made those points already no plagiarism intended!

I've seen the "56" mark on other barrels, and it appears to be a proof mark, not a date stamp. I have another rifle with that stamp and a standard date stamp on it. Also, in the Knowledge Library there is another #4 Mk I LB and in photos 130, 131, 132 and 137 the same stamping can be seen, with the normal date stamp adjacent to it. This link might work (or might not)......
1941 No.4 Mk1 Long Branch Rifle


Ed