-
Legacy Member
Whitaker Special Register
-
Thank You to Strangely Brown For This Useful Post:
-
05-15-2012 06:00 PM
# ADS
Friends and Sponsors
-
Contributing Member
I hope you have good luck with that, you should as you mention No.4T's, I requested info on Omark model 44 serial numbers here because I knew that a few members here had one and we have discussed them in this forum, but even though it superseded the L.E's in the target game and was set up to their spec's, it was moved elsewhere to die a quick death.
Not everyone follows the other forums on this site.
(No offence Mod's.....)
-
-
-
FREE MEMBER
NO Posting or PM's Allowed
Last edited by RJW NZ; 05-16-2012 at 03:51 AM.
-
Legacy Member
The first link is for a rifle converted by Geoff Hart, at least I think it is. The dealer concerned has so far ignored my request for more details.............
The second link comes with my apologies!
I had ommitted to pay my Fototime account and so the pictures were unviewable, they can now be seen, thanks RJW for providing the links.
-
-
Legacy Member
Originally Posted by
muffett.2008
I hope you have good luck with that, you should as you mention No.4T's, I requested info on Omark model 44 serial numbers here because I knew that a few members here had one and we have discussed them in this forum, but even though it superseded the L.E's in the target game and was set up to their spec's, it was moved elsewhere to die a quick death.
Not everyone follows the other forums on this site.
(No offence Mod's.....)
I think the association between Omarks and Endfield's is sometimes overlooked by those who don't understand the history and concept of target rifle from 1968 onwards; and to be fair it's very much a Commonwealth thing!
-
-
There's a name from the past....... My old boss here, Lt Col TW and his opposite number Lt Col TB were looking into the pre trials stage of the L39 and as a result, they were called in to look at the L81 rifle later. As a result of this experience, it was suggested that they look into the what he called 'flat body bedding' concept as applied to the Mauser/L81 and Whittaker Enfield Rifles. (Forgive me if I've got the terminology wrong but I've just tried to phone him and he's out.....). After lengthy discussions at the DD Enfield and Shrivenham, they concluded that this design, when applied to the Enfield body was what you'd politely call simply fuzzy logic. A better description was that it was a frill, if not a complete fraud.
I'll ask him for more details when I see him next if anyone is really interested.
On the plus side, my friend bought a butchered Whittraker ex- 'T' version megga cheap, just for the body pads and good-ish barrel
-
-
Your mate did well DPL if he got the pads on the WS. Of the few complete that I've seen all the ex-T's had had the pads removed & the 4BA screw holes filled. As an aside, (& I think I may have mentioned this to Strangely already), but twenty years ago I was introduced to a then ageing Geoff Hart by my cousin who used to shoot with him. He was coming to the end of his gunsmithing days then. He told me he had been using a source of No 4 receivers (I think acquired from Bert Whittaker), that he used for his conversions. As he was giving up, & as my cousin knew I'd be interested, I did a deal with Geoff for the last 4 remaining receivers. They were all No4 T's & all retained their pads. One was a 1931 Trials rifle complete with mag cut-off & the other three were 'ordinary' BSA's. I know I robbed the world of four more 'Hart Specials' (by the way, do they differ in any material way from the Whittakers?), but I'm glad I saved four T's to live again, albeit rebuilt.
ATB
-
-
Legacy Member
Yes Roger I remember the conversation!
Essentially Geoff was working after Bert Whitaker had done all the ground work; and therefore had the ability to see what was new in the market place.
In this case John Light (Brindles Sights) had produced a trigger for the No.4 which was a vast improvment for the TR shooter over the service two stage and Geoff incorporated this in his conversions.
This is one area, and whilst I haven't done all the ground work I suspect longer (heavier??) barrels were very much more in evidence when Geoff started to convert No.4's & P17's.
I met Geoff's wife Ivy at Bisley last year when a memorial plaque was put on the clock tower wall, she's in her nineties and still enjoying a fa g!
Geoff's eldest daughter has found his RFD register which she has promised me sight of when we next meet up.
I'm looking forward to that because it will put Bert's & Geoff's work in a time frame along with George Swenson's Swing design.
Edited because it won't accept British slang for a cigarette!!
-
-
Thanks Mick. That's certainly clarified one or two issues for me. If you get to go through Geoff's register then take a look around 1992/3 & you'll no doubt see those four receivers booked out to yours truly! I hope you do get to see it as it should fill in a lot of gaps for you. Good luck with the research.
ATB
-
-
FREE MEMBER
NO Posting or PM's Allowed
I found those Whitaker links by doing an image search and then following them to their home, an increasingly interesting way to 'hunt'.
Can anyone explain how the receiver is attached to the forend? I saw a locally gun smithed rifle with a similar concept, wrist removed, and the rear of the receiver had a 1 inch tang welded on, similar to a musket, and a hole drilled and tapped for the rear anchor of the receiver.
It was a sporterised hunter style rifle, for $275? which is pretty good money, and it sold quickly, I gather an Auckland gunsmith had made several and they were well known, perhaps even desired, judging by how quickly that sold.
Removing the wrist on an Enfield would be a very interesting proposition, considering the hours that have been spent discussing its role in an Enfields accuracy, excepting that the designers weren't idiots and would have tried this for accuracy improvements and didn't order its removal on the No4 rifle.
There's almost room for a a whole book on the philosophy behind the design of the Enfield, lol.