"ZF" marking on Enfields?

[Edward Horton]

I enjoy your humour Ed........... I show the other Armourers but make sure I blame you!

Mr. Laidler

I was told once by an Australian that beer can shims in the draws area were acceptable in Australian because beer cans are a very large natural resource in Oz.

I myself being a stickler for proper detail ordered a large supply of British shimming material for my Enfield’s. 'Guinness is good for you'

[Son]

Ok, guys... I've spent some more time going over the No4 and have spotted another clue (possibly) to the originality of the butt. The pic in my last post showed a stamping on the left side of the receiver below the wood line. The same stamping (although with a different stamp set) is on the top of the butt's spigot.

Does any one know what "C 28" means in this case....? Has anyone seen this marking, or even another marking in the same location on a No4?

John R, could it be a mark from the system within Canada?

[John R.]

Please ! A crash course at No25CAOD as a 15 year old underage Rfn recruit plus far too many years of collecting mostly Canadian Lee-Enfields HARDLY makes me an expert.Later in life I passed a Class 1 Armourer's exam but it wasn't in the Canadian Army.I am blessed/cursed with almost total recall and am a trained observer.I LISTEN to people like the late Elliot Campbell and keep what they related in my memory banks and also make notes.
The MOST experienced Canadian Armourer I know of who is still on this side of the daisies is Hank Holm in Calgary Alberta.Hank is a retired Reg Force WO 1 and suffers from incipient "packratism".He has no end of bumf related to Canadian Small Arms filed away.When I need info I call him and he either faxes or mails copies of the relevant publication or just tells me from memory.

Hank is the President Emeritus of the Alberta Arms and Cartridge Collectors Assn(AACCA) and ran the Calgary Easter Show until two years ago when Jack Wallace took over.

I don't know just how au fait Hank is with these infernal boxes but Barb his wife is VERY much clued in with them.This being the case I am going to get in touch with Hank and ask him to log on here so we can get the REAL Canadian perspective regarding 30 years of hands on "Gun Plumbing".

My command experience is more concerned with FN-FAL's,MAG-58 GPMG's and arcane items like Hotchkiss-Brandt Mortars and a few immaculate 25 Pdrs and the care and feeding of same.7.62x51mm NATO Brens (converted in South Africa by Lyttleton Engineering/ARMSKOR) and 90mm Guns on Eland Armoured Cars are also quite familiar.I have owned Brens,M1919A4's and AN/HB M2 .50 Cals and when you have your own to play with as well as a 3/4 mile long sand and gravel pit in the middle of nowhere to have" WWII with the original cast" if you like you also get to be fairly adept at keeping them all going.I ALSO had items like 3 different models of the MG-34,both variants of the MG-42,a M60(lousy when compared to a MAG-58) and a flock of SMG's and so called "Assault Rifles".Most of this was PRIOR to my going to work overseas in 1970 when life was MUCH simpler and the Police were our friends and not what they have evolved into ESPECIALLY the anti gun dipsticks you now see in England.All because of this never ending lust for POWER that they all have.
This crap where they figure that they are here to CONTROL the populace and are a race apart is what I mean.In Canada their forever wanting MORE power and trying to MAKE the laws instead of enforcing them is the road to perdition.At least in MY mind it is.

I have been actively COLLECTING Long Branch Lee-Enfields and anything Candian since I was 15 and did a LOT of personal research on the subject along the way.THAT is where I draw most of my anecdotal evidence from.

I'll have a crack at Hank tomorrow and see if we can't get him on board here.

Cheers,

JR