Another "treacle rifle" - FTR No.1MKIII*

[Patrick Chadwick]

Up to now, the only No.1MKIIIs I have seen here in Mauserland were very worn objects, and I never gave any of them a second look...
...until today.

It is what I call a "treacle rifle" - a rifle which has been smothered in varnish, apparently applied with a brush last used for painting the fence.

I eagerly await the comments of the experts on what seems to be a complete arsenal rebuild of a No.1MkIII before stripping off the varnish, which I cannot imagine was ever applied in a British arsenal.

The buttplate is practically mint. It has certainly never been exposed to square-bashing, where the first things to be spoilt are the screw heads.
Attachment 36072

The butt has been expertly lengthened from a "B" (bantam) 12" length to a full 13". The spliced-on piece adds about 1 1/8" in length, with a 5/16" dovetail.
Attachment 36071

The butt markings also appear to have been overstamped. Not clear, because of the varnish.
Attachment 36069

There is another repair just in front of the buttstock ring.
Attachment 36070

The receiver has been renumbered. Old number X-ed out and new number applied above.
Attachment 36066

I am not sure if the "P", which is somewhat detached from the number (above and to the left) is a part of the number or indicates something else. And note the outlined F on the top of the receiver ring.
Attachment 36068

Bolt handle and nosecap have the same number, with the oddly separated P. Note the "low-mileage" bolt face.
Attachment 36349

The backsight appears to be practically new.
Attachment 36073

And the muzzle is perhaps the best I have seen on any military rifle, bar none. Darker areas are shadow from the roomlighting, not rust or dirt. If you hold it in your hands and rotate in under a watchmaker's eyeglass, it looks spotless - new, in fact.
Attachment 36067
That was the "unique selling point" for me. Old bangers are plentiful, but this one appears to have had a complete makeover, including a new barrel, and then gone into storage, only emerging for a misguided owner to pour varnish over it. But as ghastly as that looks, experience has taught me that the wood on treacle rifles is often excellently preserved underneath the gunge, so when the dealer named me a price that would be two-figures in pounds, I only hesitated long enough to be sure that my ears were operating correctly.

First - a clean-up, custom-made ammo, a shooting test, and then - off with the varnish!


Patrick

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