No4 Mk1* LB

[K31]

My rifle supposedly came from a supply depot. Most LB's in Canadian service were marked with the "C BROAD ARROW". Does the NZ have all matching #'s? Every NZ arm I have seen has been mismatched, even my WEBLEY. My unused LB has the Mk II sight installed, as my NZ LB does, too. It is very nicely put together, with nice reddish matching wood. It had never been cleaned when I bought it, and it was basically just dusty. No cosmoline. Several patches of HOPPE'S in the bore, to check for copper or cupro-nickel, showed no traces of either. Just a lot of lint. The old guy that owned it wasn't a gun guy, he just wanted something to take home. I don't understand why people always think that these unused rifles are faked. Here in Canada, it just isn't worthwhile to build fakes. There just isn't enough of a market for them. I only paid 200 bucks for mine, because it was "just an old .303". There were quite a few CNo.4 Mk1* rifles sold here as unissued, and they were obviously used. Canadian supply depots were not very secure, either. Many vets have all manner of military gear that they took home in '45. An old vet just gave me a huge quantity of Canadian 1919 MkVII ball, in chargers. He told me that he swiped them in '45, and always regretted not stealing more stuff. But he was so sick of the war, he just wanted to leave. According to Skennerton, the NZ warehouse where the Charleton rifles were stored was known for having things disappear, too. Maybe the NZ rifle was stolen from there?

[tiriaq]

There is a quanity of LB rifles with NZ marks in Canada. They were released as a batch, sold as surplus. This has nothing to do with a rifle being liberated by an individual.
There was also a quantity of LBs supplied to Australia.
Remember that SAL at LB manufactured many more rifles than were needed by Canada, and most went into the pool for issue as required. IIRC, the Brits underwrote 50% of the cost of bulding LB.

[K31]

NZ probably kept most of their No. 4 rifles at home, like we were doing. Waiting for the Japanese invasion.

[berger]

My rifle supposedly came from a supply depot. Most LB's in Canadian service were marked with the "C BROAD ARROW". Does the NZ have all matching #'s? Every NZ arm I have seen has been mismatched, even my WEBLEY. My unused LB has the Mk II sight installed, as my NZ LB does, too. It is very nicely put together, with nice reddish matching wood. It had never been cleaned when I bought it, and it was basically just dusty. No cosmoline. Several patches of HOPPE'S in the bore, to check for copper or cupro-nickel, showed no traces of either. Just a lot of lint. The old guy that owned it wasn't a gun guy, he just wanted something to take home. I don't understand why people always think that these unused rifles are faked. Here in Canada, it just isn't worthwhile to build fakes. There just isn't enough of a market for them. I only paid 200 bucks for mine, because it was "just an old .303". There were quite a few CNo.4 Mk1* rifles sold here as unissued, and they were obviously used. Canadian supply depots were not very secure, either. Many vets have all manner of military gear that they took home in '45. An old vet just gave me a huge quantity of Canadian 1919 MkVII ball, in chargers. He told me that he swiped them in '45, and always regretted not stealing more stuff. But he was so sick of the war, he just wanted to leave. According to Skennerton, the NZ warehouse where the Charleton rifles were stored was known for having things disappear, too. Maybe the NZ rifle was stolen from there?

Hey,

Yes, the NZ LB has all matching numbers.

Berger

[K31]

Lucky lucky! Do you have a NZ bayonet, too? They were crudely marked with an electropencil.