1942 Fazakerley No4 Mk1. Really nice rifle

[Brian Dick]

I think it's honest. My guess is that it's a post 1986 rifle imported directly from the disposals unit at Donnington via Interarms in Manchester, England to Alexandria, VA. It's their import mark from that era on the bottom of the left butt socket. I bought a couple of loads of those rifles in 1990 when I first got licensed in Florida. Another established dealer and I drove to RSR Distributors in Orlando a couple of times buying 20 at a time which was all we could afford. Many were original WW2 issue rifles taken back through workshops, inspected, gauged and repaired or refinished when necessary. Some got full blown FTR treatment and are marked as such. Others just got a coat of Suncorite baked over existing finish. The woodwork was cleaned and treated with raw linseed oil. Later Interarms imports were marked with a dot matrix engraver on the front left side of the body. They came from South African reserve war stores. I bought a few hundred of them from the now defunct Ellett Brothers Distributors in Chapin, SC in 1994 after I moved to SC. There was a block of Savages, (33 to be exact), along with some early original Long Branch rifles and a sprinkling of British wartime manufactured rifles from BSA and Maltby as well. The majority were post war ROF Fazakerley Mk.1, Mk.1/2 and early Mk.2. There were some Mk.2 rifles from the first months of production. I've seen the serial number stamped on the top of the wrist before. I think the few I've seen were Maltby manufactured rifles, not that it makes a difference.

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[Daan Kemp]

They came from South African reserve war stores.

When sold they were just surplus stock taking up storage space. For many years serving soldiers used to be able to purchase the No 4 rifles from the Defence Force for about R60 with bayonet after the No 1 Mk 3 [R15 with spare wood and bayonet] were sold out. The new 'government', horrified at 'arming the population', stopped that quickly and sold the entire stock and ammunition in about 1996 I believe.
All the ones I've ever seen were Fazaker.y and 1947-49 dated. Work out the exchange rate in the late eighties/early nineties.

[martin08]

If there are any particular areas you would like to see photographed, let me know in the next hour or two from this post time stamp when I will have time to take more pics. Thanks.