Interest in reproduction L42/4(T) Mount?

[ReconScout]

Hello,

Wanted to poll this forum to see if there is some interest in the reproduction L42 mount to fit S&B (Or other non No32) scopes. I was going to manufacture a small run of these - will be manufactured out of steel with 1in ring diameter (would also love to hear if other ring diameters would be desired)

Will come with cap screws in 1/4 BSF to a more precise side torque spec.

[Roger Payne]

These mounts have been available for some time from two different outlets over here in the UK, although I think both only made smallish production runs (I know one consisted of fifty brackets). If you go ahead & do it, so long as the price is not too high, I'm sure you'll sell them as customers are no longer obliged to fit a No32 scope to their rifle.

[ReconScout]

Roger, any links to those? Have not seen them circulating in a while. I expect my run to be very small as well (I think the market is not large )

[Roger Payne]

I think Fultons of Bisley had a run made both in metric & inch diameter to offer choice to the punters. My pal David also had a batch of fifty made at the same time & most of them have been retailed either by himself or RWS Engineering of Devizes in Wiltshire. All of Dave's were precise copies of the originals, were metric, & even had the machining marks the same as the original SF brackets. If you Google RWS Engineering you'll find Richard's web site. I think the brackets get a mention in there, although I'm not sure how many photo's there are. I do know that there is only a few left now, most having sold steadily over the last few years.....

[Roy W]

Fultons still have them in their window. I think they are around £450

Google has plenty of images

https://www.google.com/search?client...&bih=745&dpr=2

[Alan de Enfield]

Of course you could buy a brand new L42A1 complete with scope and mounts for GBP £699

The Legendary Lee Enfield Rifle is a bolt action, magazine fed rifle that has served the British Empire and its Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and the British Army has adopted different variants of this gun from 1895 to 1957. The L42A1 variant was made as a designated sniper rifle after the British military adopted the NATO standard ammunition of the famous 7.62x51mm NATO, it was adopted during the 1970s and was only phased out in 1993 by the Accuracy International's L96 rifles. The ARES L42A1 Spring Sniper Rifle is faithful replica of this designated sniper rifle. Not only that the gun's metal parts are 95% made of stainless steel, it also has a really nice High-quality wood stock giving it a very rugged feel, the feel of a true battle rifle. Much like the real steel gun, the ARES L42A1 also features a smooth action, something this gun was well known for.

This particular version features a scope right from the factory, just like the real one.

Ares Classic Line Lee Enfield SMLE L42A1 with Scope ...

[ReconScout]

Fultons still have them in their window. I think they are around £450

Google has plenty of images

https://www.google.com/search?client...&bih=745&dpr=2

I have a bunch of images and have reverse engineered both a real No32 mount (for mounting points and tolerances) as well as the engineering drawings which can be found on this site. The isometric model in the first post is after all the design elements were done and actual mount made.

I was generally interested in opinion of how many people would want one (i.e. how large of a first run to make)

The price point will be around US$400 direct or US$450 on something like eBay

[Roger Payne]

As mentioned my friend had fifty made, probably about seven or eight years ago. He hasn't exactly marketed them aggressively, & when sold via a third party for him they were not cheap, selling for about the same as the Fultons' product. He is now down to about the last ten or so, but it has taken this time to sell 80% of them. There was an initial rush of people who would have bought one at almost any price, but once they were sated the sales slowed up to a steady trickle (& when selling them himself he has done so for a lesser price). His sale price in GBP pretty much equates to what you anticipate selling them for in USD.

In short, your original comment about the limited size of the market is probably correct. I never got these made but did get a number of batches of No32 brackets made over a thirty year period.......probably about 700 in total. Even these did not fly out, but they did sell steadily, each batch of 100 taking about three years to sell, give or take.

[Surpmil]

ReconScout if you're having them made in the PRC I'd suggest selling them for a much more modest price more in keeping with the actual cost. Price has a lot to do with demand.

When I did the IWS brackets I had them made here in Canada, and while they did a very nice job and I'm sure for a good price by local standards, but by the time the unavoidable hand finishing, blasting, phosphating and painting was done, there wasn't much profit in the venture.

Overall though, I doubt there is that much demand for another reproduction of the same bracket. I'd suggest you come up with something a bit different: perhaps a 30mm ID on the rings? That would meet a real potential need in the market.

The real question is will they collimate to the original pads on original rifles?! Not just zero, but actually collimate.

And BTW, your ring caps look too thick in the model you posted an image of.


If you want to take a stab at the original No.32 brackets, I'd suggest you use the very early rounded or Rose Bros.(?) casting pattern, rather than the rougher, squarish N.92 pattern.

[ReconScout]

ReconScout if you're having them made in the PRC I'd suggest selling them for a much more modest price more in keeping with the actual cost. Price has a lot to do with demand.

When I did the IWS brackets I had them made here in Canada, and while they did a very nice job and I'm sure for a good price by local standards, but by the time the unavoidable hand finishing, blasting, phosphating and painting was done, there wasn't much profit in the venture.

Overall though, I doubt there is that much demand for another reproduction of the same bracket. I'd suggest you come up with something a bit different: perhaps a 30mm ID on the rings? That would meet a real potential need in the market.

The real question is will they collimate to the original pads on original rifles?! Not just zero, but actually collimate.

And BTW, your ring caps look too thick in the model you posted an image of.


If you want to take a stab at the original No.32 brackets, I'd suggest you use the very early rounded or Rose Bros.(?) casting pattern, rather than the rougher, squarish N.92 pattern.

Good pickup on the thickness of the rings , they are indeed thicker (here is the original no32 mount, modelled from the blueprints, with correct ring thickness - ignore the cap head screws, I just didn't want to replicate the 4BA cone screws).
Once examined in the CAD (after modelling the blueprints), the original ring thickness leaves only 0.6mm between the screw and the inside of the ring, on the L42 mount I went with slightly thicker rings.
If I were to go with 30mm ring size this would be the approximate thickness of the rings.

On the collimation point, I think its hard to know the answer to your question as more pieces in play beyond the mount, specifically pads and their attachment to the host rifle and machining/shimming of them.

On the price point for the mount, you are absolutely correct, however one more ingredient is in play - quantity, on the small run batch (eg 50 units or less) every manufacturer (including China) does not want to lower the cost too much, hence as you have discovered it is really more of a hobby than a true business venture.... But I think anything which relates to this forum is, and for all of us on here is passion.

For me specifically its just about offering something which is extremely difficult to find (especially in US) and offsetting some of my cost.