Ishapore SMLE MKIII* - What's the Prognosis?

[deadwood83]

How many times did you hit and miss the 24" x 24" steel plate?

That has to be one of the nicest Indian MKIII's I've seen. Not sure what all the fuss is about. Wipe it down, oil it and enjoy it. It isn't a new rifle and never will be one again.

Those pics are a good argument for not buying a borescope! It just worries you but doesn't make the rifle any better.

Seriously, that looks like a case of clean...shoot...clean...shoot and see what it does. I have a couple of bore-scope nightmares (see "Pickelgewehr", for example") that perform quite satisfactorily. One is an original Winchester 94 in 32-40 that a bore-scope expert told me was only fit for a display cabinet. It shoots beautifully. Clean...shoot...

There's a whole lotta truth in that statement. I got it out of morbid curiosity, and so I could differentiate fouling from decay. No sense scrubbing the rest of the 'fouling' out if it's actually pitting and you take the rifling with it XD. I got a better look and the 'buildup' is just pitting. THe way the light was reflected by the mirror created the illusion of buildup.

Sometimes they have nice surprises too. I scoped my K11 without swabbing out the automatenfett and was greeted by a bore over 100 years old that booked brand new (orange is the grease and some copper in the grooves)
Attachment 117702


I now own a mini lathe that I am slowly getting into shape. trying to fit everything to within a few tenths. After that, I'm going to custom build an expanding mandrel (2 points of concentricity) and a bushing for my 30-degree neway cutter and put a bit of life back in that crown. Dave Manson only offers an 11-degree cutter and there's no way I'm putting a flat target crown on a milsurp. I may also have a 1-hp 8x22" vertical mill en route.