Quote Originally Posted by Thunderbox View Post
Peter,

Just to dig a bit further:

Was there any sort of universal policy to preserve salvageable rifle parts when ZF-ing a rifle, or was it normal for the whole thing to be chucked away?

E.g. stamping "ZF" on a butt is presumably going to lead to that butt being scrapped as well as the receiver - whereas stamping "ZF" on the actual receiver would ensure the receiver was scrapped, but would not necessarily condemn the other component parts.


Without intending to throw fuel on the barby, I've seen a couple of rifles like Son's - "ZF" on the butt, but absolutely nothing to indicate any sort of damage. One was clearly "FTR-mint-in-cosmoline" condition, evidently surplussed out from some country's holdings. I did wonder whether there is another type of "ZF" (property mark?) floating around out there - maybe a cousin of the mysterious "FR".....
I'll chip in here to start with an bit from Peter's earlier posting where he says that harvested parts go through a process before being re-issued. I get the drift from his post that a butt would not get through with the ZF still on it- just think, the first person to look at the rifle would have to send it for scrap...

Here's the entire bit concerned...

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Now, the mystery of the ZF butts on ‘good’ rifles. I’ll ask you the obvious question with a statement first. Do YOU or your gunsmith have the gauging and examination kit that we have at even the lowest echelon unit Armourers shop? I doubt it but you never know… So the question is ‘just how do YOU know that the butt has been changed? The answer is that you don’t. Try to understand when I read constantly that the ZF butt has been changed! If it has, then remove the bloody ZF and be done with it. But don't let it stand there chuckling at you like a set of Christmas lights.

Jona is NEARLY right about us using our kit over again. When your rifle goes back to Ordnance as a ‘scrapper (or a ZF in Armourers language ……get it…., it’s that word again…?) it is disposed of by torch or gulllotine as a whole complete unit or sale as scrap to some dealer who wants to earn a fast buck. Some parts are cannibalized and returned to store but they go through a RSSD, attached to a REME workshops – again! That’s a ‘returned stores sub-depot’ for you non Armourers, where the parts are examined, tumbled etc etc etc parkerised and painted to new condition and re-packaged, returned to the shelf and re-issued in the fullness of time with the packaging marked PW (for Part Worn). That’s where we get our reconditioned engines and refurbished Bren gun butt slide assemblies, right down to foresight protector screws. But all ASSEMBLIES, and major parts, like Bren barrels, breech blocks and the like are re-packaged and it is made clear on the packaging that they are re-worked parts. They are sent out again like NEW. Can you imagine a reworked butt being sent through the system still bearing the ZF paint on it. Just think of the confusion…………… Come on!

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Mine fits your description. Immaculate, all matching with grease under the wood! Unless something was done in Canadaicon which Peter is unaware of, but then, mine is painted, not blued- a trait I understand indicates some re-work in Gt Britainicon, but no markings evident.

Still, in the absence of irrefutable conclusive evidence to the contrary, mine is a wallhanger.