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Originally Posted by
longebow
1. 10,000 L42/L39 barrels were made.
There were some spares (whether "new" or pull-offs I don't know) sold in the US about the time the big shipment of L42s were imported into the US.
Can't remember now if it was Sarco or Numrich that had them advertised. Gone by the time I saw the advertisement and attempted to order a few! Pretty sure it was Numrich. Early '90s Shotgun News advert, IIRC. Still wonder who squirreled away those bits!
Last edited by jmoore; 04-21-2014 at 02:51 AM.
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04-21-2014 02:49 AM
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There can't have been that much JM because it was the shortage of spare parts and the cost of that was the cause of their demise. The No4 type spare parts were fine. It was the lack of L42 specific stuff that was dire and the limited numbers meant very limited spare parts orders. Such as fore-ends and handguards and to my knowledge, brackets. Nobody wanted to tool up for these small quantities. You all know my views on the dire quality of the fore-ends
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There can't have been that much JM because it was the shortage of spare parts and the cost of that was the cause of their demise.
Didn't mean to imply that there's possibly 10,000 spare barrels hiding somewhere! Just a WAG but it was probably no more than 100-200. But more than a tiny handful or they wouldn't have bothered to advertise them. The 10,000 number seems hugely optimistic!
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Legacy Member
Here's the old ad from Century International with some "Irish Contract" rifles .
There was a NOS hammer forged barrel for sale here some years ago. It was packaged in a wooden crate, about 3" square with a thin removable top cover.
I have the full page Shotgun News ad on my other computer. I'll try to post it sometime.
It may be here already.
Originally Posted by
jmoore
There were some spares (whether "new" or pull-offs I don't know) sold in the US about the time the big shipment of L42s were imported into the US.
Can't remember now if it was Sarco or Numrich that had them advertised. Gone by the time I saw the advertisement and attempted to order a few! Pretty sure it was Numrich. Early '90s Shotgun News advert, IIRC. Still wonder who squirreled away those bits!
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The replacement L42 barrels that came from Ordnance came in a similar plywood box with the top nailed down and now that I think about it, I don't recall that there was ever a shortage of barrels. We did replace a load because the had sticking chambers with megga hard extraction that gave the impression that the chamber was bulged. It wasn't(?) of course but nobody ever got to the bottom of it! Polishing didn't make any difference
Last edited by Peter Laidler; 04-21-2014 at 11:52 AM.
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The Following 2 Members Say Thank You to Peter Laidler For This Useful Post:
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Legacy Member
My L-39 chambers a round like it's 3/8" of an inch too long. Really wears the palm of my hand out closing the bolt.
I should have bought that barrel.
hah.
limpetmine
The replacement L42 barrels that came from Ordnance came in a similar plywood box with the top nailed down and now that I think about it, I don't recall that there was ever a shortage of barrels. We did replace a load because the had sticking chambers with megga hard extraction that gave the impression that the chamber was bulged. It wasn't(?) of course but nobody ever got to the bottom of it! Polishing didn't make any difference
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Advisory Panel
What ammo are you using? The L39/L42 was tolerenced tighter than a normal 7.62 military rifle. More along target/match spec in US terms. It shouldn't chamber hard with factory ammo though.
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Legacy Member
Radway Green 7.62. I was able to buy a full case right after I acquired the L-39. That's all it gets to eat.
What ammo are you using? The L39/L42 was tolerenced tighter than a normal 7.62 military rifle. More along target/match spec in US terms. It shouldn't chamber hard with factory ammo though.
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Advisory Panel
Well, it shouldn't chamber or extract hard with that. Have you inspected the chamber to see any roughness or problem there? I have to wonder if someone has changed the bolt head trying to tighten it up. In other words, over headspaced it. Is the bolt head marked with the 19T proof?
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Legacy Member
Yes, the bolt head has the 19T proof. I've not tried to inspect the chamber. I'll borrow a tool from work and see what I can see.
Thanks....
Well, it shouldn't chamber or extract hard with that. Have you inspected the chamber to see any roughness or problem there? I have to wonder if someone has changed the bolt head trying to tighten it up. In other words, over headspaced it. Is the bolt head marked with the 19T proof?
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