No. 4 MK I T Sporter *PICS*

[thrawnformbi]

Hello chaps - finished up this restoration and thought I'd share some photos. I still need to make the appropriate colored 1907 sling but this repro will do for now. I have the bridle leather on order from the Baker tannery in the UK to fashion up a set of lens caps and some proper linen thread from Barbour as well. I aged up the scope quite a bit because hell its a repro and that RSM finish is just off looking to begin with. Will be making some metal scope case straps today for Henry as well.

Thanks to Brian Dick for the rebarrel, Roger Payne for the bracket, Warren for the scope rebuild, and Henry Baxter for helping me track down a proper swivel.

Fitted NOS Savage forend (all I could find) but managed to save the original matching buttstock so very happy to keep those scope numbers intact. I've also replaced the Zamack buttplate with a proper brass.


Laminated breakdown of repro parts and sporter origins under the buttplate. Posted here as well to help keep its de-sportered provenance as crystal clear as possible.

Very happy with it for what it is. Enjoy and thank you all again for the help.

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[Roger Payne]

She looks great. Well done..........another classic rifle dragged back from the precipice & restored to her former glory!

[smle addict]

outstanding job, sir!

[Alan de Enfield]

Tidy job - put a proper butt - plate on her (get rid of that 'orrible zamak and replace it with brass) and she'll be another step closer.

[Roger Payne]

Entirely your choice, but every BSA 1944 4T that I can remember coming across in unadulterated condition actually had a mazak butt plate on it, so it might be worth keeping & may well be the 'factory original' component.

[Singer B]

Very nice!!

[CINDERS]

Nice recovery top job, but I did notice in the last set of pics #2 of the butt to wrist socket fitment there is no gap and with using the rifle eventually the recoil forces will start to chip the wrist where it meets the socket.
You can just make out the efforts in line with the 47C stamping, Peter Laidler made note that there should be a very small gap around the socket there to stop this happening as it is a wedge fit up with the butt to socket.
I am in no way picking on your efforts which is a great save , just outlining a possible condition that may come from repeated use.

[Daan Kemp]

I have read about lack of the gap in the wrist socket leading to chips, but in shooting thousands of rounds through my No 1 Mk III* and No 4 Mk II that don't have the gap I have yet to see it happening.

Are there pictures of what it looks like? I'm not doubting what PL says, I would just like to see what it looks like, especially with detail of what activities caused the chips.

[Alan de Enfield]

Entirely your choice, but every BSA 1944 4T that I can remember coming across in unadulterated condition actually had a mazak butt plate on it, so it might be worth keeping & may well be the 'factory original' component.

Interesting, you have seen way more 4T's than I but I have not seen one with a Mazak butt plate - maybe they have all been 'messed with'.

Did H&H remove the BSA butt plate and replace it with a Mazak one, or did BSA change all of the T-rifles with one before despatch to H&H.
Where did H&H or BSA get the Mazak ones from ?

When PL viewed mine he did 'sign it off' as all original and didn't make any suggestion that it had the incorrect butt-plate - have I been conned ?

[Roger Payne]

Yes, but how original is 'original'? Peter might not even have considered the butt plate worth mentioning.

I have a small quantity of original 4T butts in a drawer in the garage. I think some still bear their original (?) butt plates. I'll have a look at the makers for you Alan, if you would like. I had always simply assumed that with the UK in full scale wartime production brass/gun metal was by then (say, mid-warish) being conserved for where it was absolutely essential & mazak had become almost the norm. Part of the problem is how DO you tell if a butt plate is a replacement, especially if it has been fitted well & a long time ago?

I don't think there would have been any changing of butt plates at H&H or BSA. I'm sure both facilities had better things to do in the middle of a war. I just suspect that......let's just say 'a significant number' of No4's bore factory fitted mazak butt plates at this time so still bore mazak butt plates when they came out of H&H as finished 4T's.