7.62 NATO No4 barrels

[Bruce_in_Oz]

I was offered a couple of ".308" barrels for No4s the other day. The price was not at all silly given the price of any barrels in Oz.

They turned out to be essentially new in their rather tatty brown paper wrappers.

Not wanting to buy a mummified pile of junk, I unrolled the wrapper for a look.

Bores are NICE; 6 groove, RH twist; appears to be 1:12" twist.

External finish is blast / grey parkerize.

There is a tiny proof mark (crown over crossed pennants over an unidentified tiny squiggle), on the Knox form.

Just forward of the Knox Form, the letters " A W " are stamped on the left side in characters about 3mm high.

Breech thread shank is longer than a standard No4: space for a breeching washer?

Front sight base lugs but no bayonet lugs

Any clues as to what I coughed up for?

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Are these not Canadian barrels? Did we have any that were not marked with Canadian Arsenals? It sounds like our earlier marking...

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Interesting possibility!

The six groove RH twist is a clue, I guess. All they needed to do was ream to .299" / .300", adjust the cutter box on the rifling machine and use the same drive setup as they did for the Bren barrels.

[ssj]

Since you are in OZ my only guess is (or it was a MAB / TSE Engineering, a 303 barrel, they are 6 groove. Someone somewhere commented that they were really 308 barrels so tight which target shooters of 303 like. TSE recently quoted my about $350AU for a new blank barrel (so I assume it needed chambering as the final cost was $950NZD), but I also had someone else comment that the new TSE barrels they have seen are not up to much quality wise. So if it was a good unused 303 target barrel ready chambered etc I'd pay $350AU.....If I had a Fulton's 308 sterling conversion target gun I'd certainly pay that and store it.

[Maxwell Smart]

I have two of these "AW" marked barrels; they do not clock up even close in any of the No 4 actions I have, so breeching washers would seem to be needed.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

I figured that they had some sort of "official' background or had come from UK or Canada. The only people in Oz who put proofs on stuff seem to be Thales / ADI / Lithgow.

Definitely 7.62; dummy rounds and 7.62 headspace gauges won't fit a .303!

Extractor slot is a little wider than .303 type, as well.

Definitely need a breeching washer.

The question now is; where do these fit with the "purists" if I bundle up a bunch of parts and build myself a clone of an L8 for competition work?

Despite having a "real" ordnance produced and proofed barrel, will it be even less Kosher than my old "bitza" No4 Mk2 with its .30" / .308" barrel (chambered for .303 but custom throated for .30 cal 168gn Sierra Matchkings)?

Is .303 service rifle shooting going to wither because nobody can get decent quantities of "real" .303 ammo and thus resort to commercial, boat-tailed bullets that will eat their barrels?

Are the "rule nazis" going to insist that the " club regulations" are more important than getting people on the mound and safely shooting the MATCHES? Great way to make people walk away.

[tbonesmith]

I've had a couple of AX marked barrel (7.62 No4's) with the same long shank that I believe came from Lithgow SAF they were heavy profile. And I had a standard profile No4 7.62 with the long shank that came from Lithgow, and it came unused with a couple of washers, .070" and .004" if I remember correctly. I am pretty sure that was 2 letter marked

[tbonesmith]

The question now is; where do these fit with the "purists" if I bundle up a bunch of parts and build myself a clone of an L8 for competition work?

There are tonnes of full wood 7.62 No4's around, and noone thinks they are fake anything. They are just 7.62 conversions. I've done a a few and they shoot great. My No4Mk2 with the standard profile 7.62 barrel, centre bedded shot like you wouldn't believe, as do all the heavy barrel versions when they are set up well.

[muffett.2008]

SSJ, I can vouch for the quality of TSE barrels, in 303,7.62 and other calibres.
I would not caste dispersions without firsthand experience, it only belittles the individual doing so.
Have a nice day.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

I was just having a bit of a snark about "gamesmanship".

Every so often, you run into the odd character on club "committees" who likes to wax obnoxious about the "rules", whils flexing them as much as they can for their own benefit.

It certainly occurs in lots of other fields and is sometimes called "psyching out" your competition. Fair enough at the "big kid's" level, but it tends to put off newcomers who witness it unexplained.

I have shot rifle and pistol at international "Shooting Games" and "Master's Games" (somebody has to take home the wooden spoon), as well as international REAL military matches, (throw in machine-gun matches) and the "games" are definitely not all conducted on the mound!

However, if you are trying to encourage a steady stream of new shooters, it is not productive to play these silly games on the "prospects".

Apart from all that, thanks for the advice, T-Bone!!