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New Addition to the Holdings of the Arsenal of Argghhh!

By The Armorer on September 14, 2010 | | Comments (13)
 new-smle.jpg

Meet the newbie.  New to us anyway.  A rifle whose receiver started life as a Short, Lee-Enfield #III (no stars for those who know what that means), made at Enfield Lock in 1908.  Found itself in Australia, with new wood, and it was while in the hands of Australian armourers she got the holes in the sight protectors to let in some light to make sighting easier, as well as the lightening cuts in her rear sight protector wings.  She was FTR'd (Factory Thorough Repair) in 1954 and subsequently surplused out - probably to Pakistan, though possibly India or some other Pacific nation.  I say that because she's got a brass barrel band - something I've never seen before on a Brit, Canadian, or Australian rifle.

I picked her up because of the classic Aussie mods.  I've got two other Australian SMLEs, one of which has the front sight mod - but none, until now, with the other unit-level lightening cuts in the metal.

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13 Comments

By Neffi on September 14, 2010 8:43 AM
The No.1 MkIII remains the most aesthetically pleasing battle rifle ever issued.. IMHO. Nice find.
 
By John of Argghhh! on September 14, 2010 8:46 AM
Neffi - guys were selling generic Wilkinson M1907 bayonets at that show I went to this weekend for $150.  Is that the going rate for average common M1907s?
 
By Neffi on September 14, 2010 9:00 AM
Neg. As you know, Wilkinson was the most prolific maker of the P1907. A very nice one with scabbard should run less than $100, unless it has  a rarer unit marking... eBay usually has a bunch at any one time. Were they actualling selling them for $150 or just asking $150?
 
By Neffi on September 14, 2010 9:10 AM
Just had a quick look on eBay. There are some rather nice examples with fairly low low (at this time) bids, including a few with the proper early scabbard (oval frog stud, vice the later round style). And a rare Vickers manufacture, I'll be watching that myself...
 
By SezaGeoff on September 14, 2010 9:35 AM
Unfortunately, here in Oz the 1907 is going for AUD 150 to 175.  Luckily though, I think I have enough to go around (with some 1903 s thrown in).
 
By John of Argghhh! on September 14, 2010 9:45 AM
$150 was the asking price, for generic, average condition round stud types.  I didn't weigh in, as I wasn't really looking for one.  Just doing the usual "noting what things are priced" keeping an eye on the market walking about.
 
By BillT on September 14, 2010 11:55 AM
The barrel band looks like Indian brass -- dunno who adds more of what metal to the usual mix, but Pak brass is decidedly yellow, while Indian brass is more "gold" toned.
 
By ponsdorf on September 14, 2010 3:33 PM
Almost off topic...I heartily do respect the arsenal concept. We might disagree, though, about what makes an arsenal.

There's a [grin] attached. I have 5 types here. I stock repair kits and ammo. Think KISS.

I'm not a collector. <--- there's the grin.


 
By John of Argghhh! on September 14, 2010 3:44 PM
Xero - all I know is that when the Zombies come, everybody is coming here.

First come, first served.
 
By ponsdorf on September 14, 2010 4:35 PM
Ah well... Zombies are of some concern, I must admit. However, if they are the least of our worries... some folks are coming here, and bringing their own food/ammo/weapons.

I dunno if I'd wanna eat a zombie. YMMV.

 
By John of Argghhh! on September 14, 2010 6:05 PM

Xero - we have cannon, flamethrowers and mortars.  We'll attrit the bastages quite a bit before we unlimber the smaller caliber stuff.

Well, okay, the flamethrowers are a close-in wep.  But the fougasse...

 
By Justthisguy on September 14, 2010 7:43 PM
Flame-fougasses seem like good things against zombies. Yeah, you can put some rocks in there, too.
 
By Neffi on September 14, 2010 9:29 PM
Hmmm... on further review, I believe that so-called Vickers P1907 on eBay is a re-furbed fake. Note the grinding marks on the ricasso, removing the original markings so the spurious Vickers markings could be applied. Also, the pommel hole is too large, as are the grip scales. This is one of the modern Indian fakes of the P1907, suitably modified for the market...
caveat emptor, sic sempor