L42A1 Commercial Ammunition Advice

[Roger Payne]

Looks a very nice rifle. And the scope bracket looks sort of familiar too.....!

[Bindi2]

This is very broad and general. The bullet weight is only one aspect to keep in mind. Heavier bullets don't mean higher pressure except if you load it that way. Bottom line, be aware of the details of the cartridges you are using, either commercial which are often underloaded, or military which mostly aren't. Check the first few shots to see what the empty cases tell you.

Federal do not appear to be under loaded. These rifles have tight chambers so case pressure signs are not noticeable until they are up there. The suggested starting loads are about where you want to be safely.

[Micheal Doyne]

Looks a very nice rifle. And the scope bracket looks sort of familiar too.....!

Interesting, Fulton sourced it, did this come from yourself?

[Daan Kemp]

That is a handsome rifle!

[mrclark303]

Lovely looking build, it should shoot very well.
I can't quite see from the pictures, is the barrel stepped like the the later L42's, or is it an earlier barrel?

Any markings on it?

[Roger Payne]

Michael, yes, it's one of mine; current (& last ever!) batch by the looks of it......

[Micheal Doyne]

Michael, yes, it's one of mine; current (& last ever!) batch by the looks of it......

Well thank you, how did you fabricate them? I have no originals to compare it too but it seems markably preferable to my two chines RSM stems.

---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:15 PM ----------

Lovely looking build, it should shoot very well.
I can't quite see from the pictures, is the barrel stepped like the the later L42's, or is it an earlier barrel?

Any markings on it?

It shoots very well in my opinion! I sadly was only shooting it at 100 yrds but it was easily finding the vbulls, and leaving no doubt about where the weak link was between rifle and firer!

It is an early barrel, there are some markings but I stupidly didn’t note them down when it was last in my hands.

---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:22 PM ----------

That is a handsome rifle!

Thank you, I am extremely pleased with it! I know it isn’t a real L42 but it’s as close as I will be getting this side of the lottery!

[Roger Payne]

I've been getting small batches of around 100 done every few years since about 1989/90. They've always been made from either cast malleable iron (at first), & then when I could no longer get them done in that, cast steel. They have always been sand castings as were the originals, & they have always been entirely made here in the UK. I do the final finishing myself, & estimate that there must be around 700 of them scattered around the world by now! There are subtle differences but they are styled on the Dalgleish variants of the original brackets. I shan't be doing any more after this run is sold, though I shall continue doing small batches of other (Great War) sniping mount systems for the SMLE from time to time.

Enjoy your new rifle!

[mrclark303]

I've seen a few of your mounts over the years Roger, beautifully made and finished.

[Nigel]

Although the last two batches were cast with malleable iron because I organised that bit of the process. Therefore the last batch are made precisely to the military specifications. Get them whilst you can.