No1 MkIII... I think?

[Brit plumber]

I used to think that such damage was unthinkable but as I’ve got older I’ve realised that most of this surplus was regarded as cheap and disposable in the past. They were regarded as tools by most and got treated as such.

My 42 jeep was a reasonable restoration project but I couldnt figure out why someone would do the mods they did. But, those mods meant it was being used and is probably the reason it exists today. I hate to say it but sometimes bubba is needed to keep some of these veterans going.

[mrclark303]

It's a Santa Fe Arms 1960's conversion of an SMLE to a so-called "Jungle carbine". They used a modified Mk.2 rear sight from a No.4 and the axis pin/screw is a sear screw from the SMLE. They butchered tons of them.

Did the Santa Fe arms examples originally come from the huge Parker Hale/ Interarms buy Brian?

[Brian Dick]

I really don't know but since it was well prior to 1968, there's a pretty good chance the majority were imported by Interarms. They managed to buy the vast majority of the war reserve No.4's in the 1980's from both the UK Mod and South Africans. I used to get a chuckle listening to all the exspurts at gun shows poo-poo them because they were import marked, (post 1968). The fact remains that the majority of No.4 service rifles released prior to 1968 were culled because something failed the gauging standards. They usually sported British commercial proofs too which no one ever complained about. Go figure.

[Tromas]

Well, I have finished my project rifle. All in all I am very happy with it, it certainly isnt as nice as an origional no1 would be, but I think it is a lot better than it was from when I bought it, and most importanly, its in shootable condition now. The front upper handgaurd is either a new piece or unsed, so it doesnt match the other pieces exactly in color, but it is close. It was one of the only ones I could find that still had the narrow parts that go around the rear site block, most hand gaurds for sale had them broken off. I never was able to find a charging guide, so I cut a piece of square tube to length, welded it in place, and filed the weld flush. Not the most ideal solution, but I like it better than haveing a charging bridge that is cut into two pieces. All in all, I have 500 to 600 in it for the rifle and parts, which is not to much more than I see them going for down here. Thanks to everyone here that helpt to answer my previous questions, I really enjoyed this project.
Attachment 107408

[browningautorifle]

Looks presentable now, thanks for coming back and finishing up this thread...showing us the rifle after.

[Singer B]

Looks really good to me! Most of those rifles didn't survive as "original" so yours just has a new "experience." It still has its history, but with a few new parts. If you wanted it be more original, you could swap out the cocking piece for the rounded version which would be more "original" for that model.Enjoy shooting and sharing it!

[lithgow1918]

Looks really good to me! Most of those rifles didn't survive as "original" so yours just has a new "experience." It still has its history, but with a few new parts. If you wanted it be more original, you could swap out the cocking piece for the rounded version which would be more "original" for that model.Enjoy shooting and sharing it!

Sorry for the newbie questions, but when was the squared cocking piece introduced? I see English smles with the rounded version dated later than Australian smles that have the squared one. I understand they may be mixed, but I'm still curious to know.

[BurtonP]

Hi Tromas,

I love the work you've done to the rifle. Definitely a huge improvement, and well worth the effort IMO, even if it can be expensive. You may have seen my post about a similar "un-economic" No 5 carbine restoration. With that in mind, do you still have the Santa-Fe flash hider from your rifle? If so, would you sell it?
Cheers,
Burton

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The "model" marking is interesting, as well.

My old eyes see what looks like a "equals" sign after the "lll".

That would suggest that this is one of the Mk lll* rifles that were re-graded to proper Mk lll spec. by putting all the "fruit" back on and striking out the "*". This apparently happened in the 1920's.

Any other ideas out there?

[Bindi2]

The only fruit put back on was the cutoff