Buckshot Bear Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 What was the reason for Full wood furniture on Military Rifles of the past? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 handholds for bayonet and club , nice mkIII/III* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Tradition, too. The Brown Bess had a full length stock, so by God (or Vishnu if it was made in Ishpore) the SMLE ought to have one, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Most plastics weren’t very durable until after WWII. There were a few weapons that got folding wire/metal furniture. Much was made of the plastic furniture on the M16 when it first appeared. I remember comments about “Matel” back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I'm surprised that you didn't post a pic of a Lithgow made Smelly. Every one I've see had grooves in the upper forearm. The one in the pic is smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bear Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 2 minutes ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said: I'm surprised that you didn't post a pic of a Lithgow made Smelly. Every one I've see had grooves in the upper forearm. The one in the pic is smooth. I've handled literally thousands of Lithgow SMLEs I can't remember seeing one with grooves (or I have early onset dementia ) P,s if your ever near Sydney,,,,,its REALLY worth the visit - https://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 based on the location of that thru bolt its for the front volley whether or not its intact would require added photos , i do see the cutoff so was willing to make the III/III* notation thus not going with ishy made or refurb , not at all sure what grasping grooves are being referred to , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Just now, Buckshot Bear said: I've handled literally thousands of Lithgow SMLEs I can't remember seeing one with grooves (or I have early onset dementia ) P,s if your ever near Sydney,,,,,its REALLY worth the visit - https://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/ You folks released a bunch of late WW2 manufacture No1, MkIII's onto the surplus market in the '90's. Every one had grooves on the top handguard and the wood was a wierd red color. The fascinating thing about them were never issued and that they had been store dry somewhere in the interior, so none had never been dunked in cosmoline. After growing up handling a wore out 1918 vintage SMLE, the tightness of the action was an eye opening experience for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bear Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 2 minutes ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said: You folks released a bunch of late WW2 manufacture No1, MkIII's onto the surplus market in the '90's. Every one had grooves on the top handguard and the wood was a wierd red color. The fascinating thing about them were never issued and that they had been store dry somewhere in the interior, so none had never been dunked in cosmoline. After growing up handling a wore out 1918 vintage SMLE, the tightness of the action was an eye opening experience for me. Interesting, this is what I'm familiar with - https://ssaagunsales.com/listing/14050 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 12 minutes ago, Buckshot Bear said: Interesting, this is what I'm familiar with - https://ssaagunsales.com/listing/14050 The color might have been the original color of the wood sine they were advertised new, as never issued. Every one of the stocks were a matte red and looked like it should be rough to the touch. We must have sold 100 of them and all of them were numbers matching and tight as a drum with the occasional bright spot on the woodwork where it had sat on a rack or in a crate for almost 50 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocWard Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Well, why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tex Jones, SASS 2263 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I picked up an Enfield "Jungle" carbine, probably around 1958-60, when they were on sale at Macy's in NYC. They had them muzzle down in cardboard shipping barrels for $25 each. This was back in the days when rifles and shotguns were easily purchased in NYC without a permit. I still have it, although I messed up the wood by removing the finish. The action is as smooth as any bolt action I have handled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Joker Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Fire a couple hundred hundred rounds then grab the barrel so you can buttstroke somebody you'll appreciate that wood furniture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 38 minutes ago, Texas Joker said: Fire a couple hundred hundred rounds then grab the barrel so you can buttstroke somebody you'll appreciate that wood furniture Fire a half dozen and the purpose is readily apparent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, Texas Joker said: Fire a couple hundred hundred rounds then grab the barrel so you can buttstroke somebody you'll appreciate that wood furniture There is a reason it's called a shoulder thing that goes up hand guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 I picked up a SMLE several years ago as part of a 4 gun acquisition, but it had been "sporterized" by cutting the forward handguard and stock back. The top wood, nose cap, and a couple other small pieces were easy to find, but a decent replacement stock for a No 1 Mk 3 is hard to come by and pricey. So one day I picked up a broken splitting maul handle out by the wood pile and says to myself, "Self, you can make this work". Wow, getting the radius and inletting for the nose cap, mounting hole, and exact overall length to fit was... tough. It's pinned, epoxied, and fiberglas reinforced and probably stronger than the original stock now, but it's lots of different colors. I always figured I'd strip it someday and finish it dark brown to make everything somewhat match again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Strength Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Cuz it looks cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D. Daily Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 22 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said: I picked up a SMLE several years ago as part of a 4 gun acquisition, but it had been "sporterized" by cutting the forward handguard and stock back. The top wood, nose cap, and a couple other small pieces were easy to find, but a decent replacement stock for a No 1 Mk 3 is hard to come by and pricey. So one day I picked up a broken splitting maul handle out by the wood pile and says to myself, "Self, you can make this work". Wow, getting the radius and inletting for the nose cap, mounting hole, and exact overall length to fit was... tough. It's pinned, epoxied, and fiberglas reinforced and probably stronger than the original stock now, but it's lots of different colors. I always figured I'd strip it someday and finish it dark brown to make everything somewhat match again. SMLE's are ruined by sporterizing. Not only because it reduces the collector value. It also kills its' accuracy. The SMLE rifles have thin barrels & require that upward pressure be applied to muzzle end of the barrel to have decent sized groups. Check Bloke on the Range YouTube channel. The bolt action rifle bedding shibboleth doesn't apply to SMLE's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 When I first joined the GGFG's the SMLE was just phased out and replaced by the FN/FAL It wasn't liked, by the old timers, for ceremonial duties, because the Changing of the Guard and sentry duty flair and flourish was gone and the command became simply "Shoulder Arms". In those days, we still had a significant number of WWII vets active in the regiment and even WWI vets as retired members of the mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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