It is definitely not as pretty (or complete) as many others, but this one has some neat features.
I purchased it through consignment from a widow of an old arms collector. At first, I thought that the scope was junk because I couldn't see through it, but then I realized I was trying to look through 1/4" of dust that accumulated over the years of this thing sitting in his gun rack (he passed at 93, and I doubt touched this rifle for many, many years). I'll get back to the scope in a minute because this thing is neat.
Rifle has matching numbers in all the areas except for the front handguard is a replacement. The rear upper handguard does have the correct penciled in serial number (this is a 1945 produced rifle from BSA Shirley). The rifle bears all of the necessary Holland and Holland stampings, M47C markings, and import marks to make it legit. The sling is a 1942 Boyt's, which I think is correct too.
The king screw and magazine are also replacements. Maybe at some point this rifle was sporterized when it came to the U.S. and then returned to as much of a stock configuration as possible before being sold. ***This is NOT an FTR rifle***
The scope and mount are not matching to the rifle, and the scope is not matched to the mount. However the original rifle serial number was ground off and stamped with a 1943 era serial number and the screws were re-staked. I am assuming that there was probably some sort of field repair/combining of two broken units at some point...and then the obvious mismatching later on when the rifles were stored and sold in surplus.
The rifle is not in exceptional condition, especially given that it probably was not produced soon enough to see action in WWII...Maybe Korea? Who knows.
However, the scope is a No. 32 Mk1, manufactured by Kodak Ltd (at least regsitered in 1941, but I think that the scopes were made in 1942?). The Mk1 is pretty rare, and finding a working example is somewhat of a unicorn... This No. 32 Mk1 though is in PERFECT working condition as far as I can tell - the reticle actually moves with the elevation drum and the tactile feel is absolutely perfect...way better than some of my newer Leupold Mk4 M3 turrets on my M24R and FN SPR gen 1. I feel like I hit the lottery with this scope, especially because it is probably worth what I paid for the entire rifle. The mount is the correct Dalglish of Scotland mount, and is correctly sequentially serial numbered.
No, this is not a true collector's rifle, but I didn't pay close to collector prices either. What it is though is a great piece of history that I can enjoy and pass down to one of my kids.
Thanks for looking and for any additional input you want to provide.
I purchased it through consignment from a widow of an old arms collector. At first, I thought that the scope was junk because I couldn't see through it, but then I realized I was trying to look through 1/4" of dust that accumulated over the years of this thing sitting in his gun rack (he passed at 93, and I doubt touched this rifle for many, many years). I'll get back to the scope in a minute because this thing is neat.
Rifle has matching numbers in all the areas except for the front handguard is a replacement. The rear upper handguard does have the correct penciled in serial number (this is a 1945 produced rifle from BSA Shirley). The rifle bears all of the necessary Holland and Holland stampings, M47C markings, and import marks to make it legit. The sling is a 1942 Boyt's, which I think is correct too.
The king screw and magazine are also replacements. Maybe at some point this rifle was sporterized when it came to the U.S. and then returned to as much of a stock configuration as possible before being sold. ***This is NOT an FTR rifle***
The scope and mount are not matching to the rifle, and the scope is not matched to the mount. However the original rifle serial number was ground off and stamped with a 1943 era serial number and the screws were re-staked. I am assuming that there was probably some sort of field repair/combining of two broken units at some point...and then the obvious mismatching later on when the rifles were stored and sold in surplus.
The rifle is not in exceptional condition, especially given that it probably was not produced soon enough to see action in WWII...Maybe Korea? Who knows.
However, the scope is a No. 32 Mk1, manufactured by Kodak Ltd (at least regsitered in 1941, but I think that the scopes were made in 1942?). The Mk1 is pretty rare, and finding a working example is somewhat of a unicorn... This No. 32 Mk1 though is in PERFECT working condition as far as I can tell - the reticle actually moves with the elevation drum and the tactile feel is absolutely perfect...way better than some of my newer Leupold Mk4 M3 turrets on my M24R and FN SPR gen 1. I feel like I hit the lottery with this scope, especially because it is probably worth what I paid for the entire rifle. The mount is the correct Dalglish of Scotland mount, and is correctly sequentially serial numbered.
No, this is not a true collector's rifle, but I didn't pay close to collector prices either. What it is though is a great piece of history that I can enjoy and pass down to one of my kids.
Thanks for looking and for any additional input you want to provide.
