My Lithgows

[CW Mock]

Hello all,

Thought I would share a few pictures of my Lithgow SMLE rifles and ask a few questions at the same time. I don't think either of them are terribly remarkable from a collector's standpoint, but they are pretty fun to just have around and shoot.

The first is a 1941 that was overhauled in 1947 from the stamp on the buttstock. It's finish is in decent shape, with some wear on the high spots. The bolt and receiver numbers do match, which is nice. Stock obviously has some dents and dings. The bore is clean and bright, with crisp rifling. It's a straight shooter. I picked it up from a gentleman who was cleaning out some stuff in his collection. I suspect he wanted to let the rifle go because he could never take it apart - you can see where he certainly tried though. Some of the screws have heads that are destroyed. I have never tried to, as I don't think I could get it apart without the services of a smith, and destroying what was left of the screw heads. The armorers obviously punch/peened them tight, and probably didn't want them coming out anyways ... It had some cosmoline on it when I got it, and probably still does under the handguards, etc. It DOES have the copper recoil plates for the coachwood. It was imported by the Jovino company, as evidenced by a faint stamp on the bottom of the charger bridge.

Here is the FTR stamp on the stock:


And a few pictures of the overall rifle.



Here is what I mean by the chewed up screws. This is the worst one. I suspect that whoever tried to take it apart gave up here, and left the rest be for the most part. Its sad really, but it shoots fine.


The second rifle here is my "Frankenfield." It's another Lithgow made rifle, this one in 1945. It has a serial number with no letter before it. It's a straight up Jovino parts gun. Nothing matches at all, and its been refinished in a deep black parkerizing. It has a distinct JJ CO NY stamp on the receiver at the wood line, near a row of 5-6 asterisk * . It's intack, minus an extractor spring that broke and needs replaced. The stock ... well ... its wood.

The front end has been heavily sanded. It was probably a coachwood DP rifle stock at one point, as it has some of the yellow paint still in the recesses for the rear handguard clips. It's been sanded down so far the bottom stock bolts are nearly flush. It's very thin, and some people like it. I don't, as I prefer the "beefier" feel of an unmolested stock. It does have the copper recoil blocks fitted at least. The buttstock is made of walnut, and has a unit disc in it. No idea if its a repro disc or not, but it does have some unit markings there. It's also shorter than the 1941 stock, and not nearly as comfortable to "shoulder up."

The upsides are that the barrel looks brand new. It has no serial number like some rifles I have seen, just the manufacture date of 9/45 on it, as well as several stamps like an arrow, and several asterisks. It's bright and shiny all the way through, and the rifling is sharp and muzzle crisp. It CAN be disassembled, as I did that when I got it to see if anything was out of place or missing. Nothing missing but the extractor spring, which I hope I can track down reasonable someplace. As its just a mutt, a repro spring would be fine as long as it's durable.




Here is the stock disc.



So I guess now that I got all of the photos out of the way, I'll ask my questions ...

Concerning the 1941, anything remarkable about it at all? It shoots great, and I love it for that. But if there is any reason in regards to collector value, I'll curb that a bit.

Now for the 1945 ...

A source for the extractor spring on the cheap? It's just a tiny part, and I hate paying a premium if there are aftermarket or reproduction pieces for just a parts gun.

The bolt closing on a live or fire cartridge encounters "resistance" on the downward stroke/close. It feels tight, like the rim is really thick and it really squeezes it in there. This is with no extractor spring or the extractor engaged. I have not fired this rifle, but it will close and snap on an empty casing, just feels tight. Potential headspace issue? When I got it, it was advertised to me as unfired, but missing some parts. Only missing piece is that extractor spring.

Does anyone make a reproduction SMLE stock set? Everything is mismatched, so I don't feel bad about replacing that either. The buttstock is short, and the forestock a sanded down shadow of itself. I'd rather have a replacement that looks as clean as the refinished metal that fit me a tad bit better. My 1941 has a noticeably longer butt. As I understand it, they came in 2-3 different lengths over the years. I wish this Jovino parts gun would have had the brand new stocks like some of them have.

If I can get the stock replaced, and extractor spring in I'll make this one my shooter rifle for the WW1 style matches and foreign service rifle matches in my area. Figure why not, as it has what looks to be a new barrel.

Thanks for all the help and feedback ahead of time.

Information

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[paulseamus]

Nice looking Aussie rifles.

For your missing parts try Brian Dick at http://www.bdlltd.com

For checking your headspace, read the article written by Peter Laidler. Here is the link

Headspace Article by Peter Laidler (PDF File).

Cheers

Paul

[Badger]

Also, check the MKL ..

Headspace 101 for .303's (click here)

Regards,
Doug

[CW Mock]

Thanks for the info!

BDL doesn't have any stocks listed on their webpage ... I'll keep looking though. With all the countries, and the length of time the SMLE served around the world, I am surprised there are no reproductions made anywhere, or at least easy to find ones.

[paulseamus]

CW

For quaility repro SMLE timberwork you can start here. EFD Rifles - The Enfield Specialists