Wild Tiger Corps No.1 MkIII* Rifle.

[Pablo]

Hi fellas,
Just after some advice.

My local gunshop has just got in one of those wild tiger corps No.1 MkIII* rifles. Its in pretty good condition and apparently been in someones closet for over 40 years so has seen little use.
He's asking about $900 Aussie dollars for it.
I know these things are pretty rare and i know nothing about them so i just thought i'd ask if anyone knows whether the price he is asking is a good deal or not.

The metal all looks pretty tidy and the barrel is bright and got a lotta life left in it. The timber work has a few scars including a little piece out of it on the butt...nothing major though.

It has a lot of markings on the butt including a crown sitting above what looks like a shield with letters on it - looks like the early Lithgow logo with a crown above it. Has "DP" on it in massive letters so its been used for drill purpose at some stage in its life.
The butt still has the disc in it with siamese lettering on it.

The only thing that threw me a little is both the butt disc and the the bolt have the lithgow mark of an 'A' with the star around it........so its been inspected at lithgow at some stage but not FTR markings on the rifle.
I'm thinking maybe the stock isnt original, only the metal is.

I'm not a collector but having not seen one of these before it caught my attention. I thought maybe someone on here might be after one.

Any help/info would be appreciated.

Thanks

edit: General Information Markings (Wood Types) pg4 The butt in the pic at the bottom of this page where it says queensland maple are the exact markings on this rifle

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Badger]

There were 10,000 of these rifles made made in 1920 by BSA for the elite Siamese "Wild Tiger Corps", with a cute logo of a tiger on the butt socket along with the BSA markings and the serial number (in Siamese characters).

Check the United Kingdom - Milsurp Knowledge Library (click here)

1920 ShtLE (Short Lee-Enfield) Wild Tiger Corps No.1 MkIII* Rifle.

Examine the 106 picture photo montage, which might help you with some of your questions.

Regards,
Doug

[Pablo]

Thanks Badger, plenty of good info in those sections.

Just need some info now from someone that knows what sort of dollars they are worth.

[Todd303]

I have a few of them and have never paid more than $450, (all matching with original stock ) I think $900 is way to much.

[Pablo]

is that aussie dollars?

[tbonesmith]

I'm with Todd303, $900 is far too much for that rifle in that condition. I'm in Sydney. Can't say where you'll get one for less, but that ain't a good buy at all.

[Pablo]

Thanks fellas.

Like i said, i'm no collector so didn't even know a ball park value for something like this.
They musn't be much of a collectors item anyway then if they sell for that cheap.

Its been 12 months since i added a lee enfield to the gang so i've caught the bug again and i'm doing the rounds looking for something good.

I'll keep looking then!

[Jollygreenslugg]

Sounds like a post-service bolt and buttstock to me. Quite a few of these rifles came into Australia in (IIRC) the 70s, most of them tired and mismatched. I picked one up for $50 in the typical cndition, mismatched bolt, tired bore, wood painted with some preserving goop.

It's possible that a Siamese rifle somehow entered the Aussie supply chain if it was captured by the Japanese and picked up after the war by the Aussies. Extremely unlikely though, and the odds are well against it.

The DP marking makes me wonder though. Is that on the butt? If it's on the butt, sounds like a replacement butt, as the other marks on the butt would also suggest. If the DP is on the receiver, then it'd be a mystery. It doesn't appear to be a Siamese/Thai thing to mark their rifles with DP marks so that'd add a little mystery if it was on the receiver. Is the bolt numbered?

I'm guessing it is a rifle that came to Australia in the 70s, and has been prettied up by a civillian owner with (at least) an Aussie butt and bolt.

Anyway, $900 is too steep for one of these, unless it is matching and in really good nick.

Cheers,
Matt

[Pablo]

Thanks Matt,

It seems to be the norm to over charge for enfields here on the central coast. Another shop here i was at last week wanted $600 for a 1940's Lithgow that looked like it had been draged behind a car.
And even more scary was the $1500 asking price for a '43 long branch no 4 mk1* with matching bayonet. Great looking rifle but c'mon!

I see on here that people always seem to find really nice rifles for cheap, i basically have to rely on usedguns.com.au to find rifles but they always seem to want $400+ for a decent MkIII and $600+ for a nice no 4.
Where should i be looking to get these bargains others seem to be finding? The country?
The penrith gun show is coming up in a few weeks, i'm hoping there will be some good ones there.

[tbonesmith]

Bargains come around but mostly I pay the going rate for the really good stuff. For the most part people talk about the bargains, and don't talk too loudly about the stuff they pay top dollar for.
Gun shows are a good place to look for deals. I think I'll go to the next Penrith show.