Group Comment -Which No 4 Should I lean towards?

[22SqnRAE]

Depends on what your going to use them for if on an open license then you may have a bit of explaining to do I have 2 on open a No.4 & MkIII and that's it, the other 4 are on club support and with that you can wiggle around a bit say the Savage & Faz or the L/B may have 2 different battle sights just make up a shoot like a 3-600m flip sight say it is for that type of sight, the Singer say its for that type of shoot over varying ranges. When I brought my 1944 BSA M47C T I put down WWII sniper rifles only match leaving wiggle room if I can afford to get a HT for WWI sniper rifle and a post WWII sniper rifle as I would dearly love an L42 even though it is in a different caliber but that is just dreaming.

There are allot of things to consider with them Frederick is on the right track but you really have to dig into them preferably getting down to stripping is right down and fully inspected. This may sound OTT but with the price of them here in Aus and spares in short supply you need to be granular.
The worst thing I did was shove a bore scope down my 303's as in the day barrel care was not on the priority as long as it grouped their service life may have been measured in days with attrition at the front they were making plenty more believe me, as PL says if it is grouping well but the bore looks cruddy then why change something that is working.
The draws need to be looked at as my T's were flogged out and buying from the east I had to go on face value and what I was told by the owner, an all matching would be nice but chances are they may not all match but better if they do, I have seen POS No.4's that you say holy cr*p what a dog but shoot they do and very well I have seen prima donna ones that just group no better than a handle full of wheat.
I like Long B's for some reason followed by Maltby the only reason I have Savages is because they were at a good price and local plus I knew the rifles as well as having shot them, both have helped me come 2nd for 2 consecutive years and 1st last year in state run as issued shoots last years was a 3 range multiple position shoot.

Take your time if you have some one that is experienced in them it may help to seek their input by looking at them first hand etc if you have a gunsmith friend who can assist all the better.

Cinders,

Excellent comment, thank you. You've gone above an beyond.

You raise a very good point here in Oz, re: the small and expensive market. We pay way too much and I'm really envious of the Yanks and their large and very competitive market. Also, the approach of many collectors on here, they are sticklers for value in their sales, which is a good thing. We seem to be bound by 'take it or leave it, there's little choice otherwise...' attitude.

The difficulty in serious inspection is distance. I've handled one of the rifles and feel comfortable knowing a little about its feel, look and maintenance. I used the borescope and got a good feel for the quality of the barrel and it's life (much better than my No 1 Mk III*s) and pulled out the head space gauges to see how it fared, but am only going to be able to handle one other. The final one is too far away and the owner seems knowledgeable enough, but they have a vested interest in selling the rifle, so 'salesmanship' tends to cloud critical judgement from years on the range with the rifle.

I'm probably competent enough to be able to manage most initial mechanical inspections without a gunsmith. Not suggesting I know all they do, not implying I have all the details ready for a methodical inspection. But certainly feel confident to go looking for the main wear points and assess the overall condition, maintenance and originality of the rifle.

As for the holes in paper down range, well, therein lies the largest and most uncontrollable variable - the firer! I won't be putting my hand up for the next Queens Shoot.

Its interesting how many are on the market at the moment because they've sat in the safe for '... many years...' untouched. I suppose the real rifles are not as attractive as plastic and high powered optics? (OK, that probably wasn't called for and those whom raised to the bait, stand down! Just levity, folks...)

Your comments on assessing from the East coast are thought provoking, as I've bought two from the West. How do you go about narrowing down the variability in what the seller is trying to have you accept, without being able to hold it? Photos are certainly the essential component, so how do you get past the usual "...Oh, it's god a good shiny barrel, mate..." when you know full well that it's the dark areas of the grooves that you want to know about, not the immediate bearing surfaces of the lands which should be polished if working properly? Few punters are equipped with a borescope, so they're not in a position to send you down bore piccies...

All good information, and I think your final comment is one that sits well with me. I'll take my time and talk to each of the vendors patiently and see how much they want me to buy their rifles. I doubt any of the three would be a dud.