Well after a very long wait I collected my L42A1 from the importer on Wednesday. After all of those months of anticipation I was a little disapointed when I opened the transit case. It had obviously been stored badly as the contents smelt very damp and there was a large amount of mildew on the inside of the case and to a lesser extent on the rifle stock.
Also patches of rust on the bolt and other exposed metal.
The scope turrets were both seized and there were traces of white silicone sealant spilling from under both turret flanges and the cover over the erector lens locking segment.
You may remember from the auction photos that the previous owner had covered all and sundry with the stenciled rifle serial number as well.
After the initial deflation i managed to see through all of this and noted the good points.
The rifle was built on a '44 dated Shirley rifle with a correctly marked L1A1 converted 1945 Kersaw Mk3 scope housed in a JG marked bracket.
The scope was in a nice, but badly dented 1973 dated tin.
Surprisingly the bore looked immaculate.
Since I have had it I have spent hours carefully cleaning everything. The rifle has been completely stripped, cleaned and oiled. The hideous stencilled serial number has been (very carefully & painstakingly) removed from the butt and the woodwork has had a couplr of light rubbings of BLO.
The inside of the transit case has cleaned up beautifully despite all of the mould.
And now the scope.... it has taken hours to strip, clean and free the turrets and removed all of the white gunk that someone had applied. They now work a treat.
All of the sealant has also been carefully removed from the locking segment.
The optics are crystal clear
All of the dents have been removed from the scope tin and that wery badly stencilled number removed.
I think it now looks fantastic, and I'm extremely pleased it
I have attached a couple of pictures of how it looks at the moment - I'll post some more detailed pics of the rifle and scope later.
The Scout telescope, sling and lens brush weren't in the sale - I already had those in my collection.
Hoping to get to the range with it next Sunday..........
Looks good Neil, looking forward to a range report, and if you get a chance on the 100 mtr range then have a go at the Milsurp comp, its on the range reports forum.
Didn't use grease Peter, but Breakfree CLP - a milspec oil/preservative that I've been using for many years on my firearms with very good results.
Its excellent on external components and I always run some on a patch though the bore after I've cleaned it
Originally Posted by bigduke6
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