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Thread: Double Rifles & Big Bores

  1. #11
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    English double rifle, .475 #2 Jeffery...has an interesting “WD arrow head stamp” on stock.

    Hmm. I hang around with a crowd that knows a thing or two about British arsenal marks. If you ever find your way to taking a close-up picture of that graving, I'll be glad to run it under their noses.

    And thank you for all those pictures of all those lovely rifles. The mention of a CZ 550 in .404 Jeffery made me sit right up. Just the ticket for red squirrel defense.

  2. #12
    CGN Regular Mr Wolverine's Avatar
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    WD Markings on Jeffery


    The marking appears to be a WD arrow head over an O in a circle with a 807 underneath and a faint Maltese cross above it. I was very exacted when I first saw this as I thought she may have been one of the rifles used by British Snipers in WW I but I believe she wasn’t built until the thirties. Since acquiring this rifle I have come across another rifle with similar markings. I would be pleased to receive any info on these.

  3. #13
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    The lads are on it, Mr. Hipwell. First feedback, though, suggests you might wish to have a closer look at that "O" in the oval, under the pheon. Might it be a "C"?

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Wolverine View Post
    WD Markings on Jeffery


    The marking appears to be a WD arrow head over an O in a circle with a 807 underneath and a faint Maltese cross above it. I was very exacted when I first saw this as I thought she may have been one of the rifles used by British Snipers in WW I but I believe she wasn’t built until the thirties. Since acquiring this rifle I have come across another rifle with similar markings. I would be pleased to receive any info on these.
    WD arrow head =War Department (depending which way the arrow points it means different things, don't ask me what though)
    807 probaby but not sure the regiment.
    Meaning the gun was "government issue".
    You'd probably find the same markings on Enfields as well.

    During the first World War they did sometimes use a 4 bore double rifle to shoot down other planes and sometimes a double rifle as a sniper rifle to get through the metal plate armor the Germans would shoot through as you noted.

    Not sure what it could have been used for during WWII...
    Last edited by ArnoldB; 11-10-2009 at 07:04 AM.

  5. #15
    CGN Regular Mr Wolverine's Avatar
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    It is possible that the letter is a C not and O or even a G, very difficult to tell. The Jeffery records indicate that she was built by H Lenard and delivered to Jeffery on 8/1/27 for a total of 44-5-0 GBP, she was sold for 57-0-0 The entry against when and to whom sold is listed as 15/339 in the column headed “When sold and folio in journal”, so unfortunately I don’t know who purchased her.

    It is well documented that large bore double rifles were used by British snipers in WW I, see Maj Prichard’s excellent book “Sniping in France” but I have never come across any reference for their use in WW II. I have heard rumors that the Royal Navy and (Canadian Navy?) used big bore double rifles for destroying sea mines that were on the surface, but I can not substantiate this.

    I have seen a photo of a second rifle also marked like the Jeffery shown above, except having a different 3 digit number. She is a Wilkes in caliber .470 NE, again to late for WW I as she was completed in 1926.

  6. #16
    CGN Ultra frequent flyer Dogleg's Avatar
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    Beautiful rifles, evoking thoughts of a rich history. Thing is, reality tells me I'm farther ahead with a CZ and the trophy fee money. I'll get back a lot sooner that way.
    Life begins at 40. Recoil begins at "over .40". Coincidence? I don't think so.

  7. #17
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    A couple of twitches...

    The Maltese Cross...is it possibly two arrowheads, one pointing at the other, up and down?



    \l/
    /l\


    If so, that's a crown assets disposal mark. Means it reached the market in an authorised manner. Surplused off, basically.

    And might the 807 be the last three digits of its serial number?

  8. #18
    CGN Regular Fred Farmer's Avatar
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    At the start of WW2, the Brits were so short of firearms that the military conscripted every sort of firearm. Could these be stamps be from that era or the Home Guard? I have seen a Winchester Mod 86 with similar stampings that was part of the "Lend Lease" program.
    Pearls before swine!

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  9. #19
    CGN Regular Mr Wolverine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kindly Old Coach View Post
    A couple of twitches...

    The Maltese Cross...is it possibly two arrowheads, one pointing at the other, up and down?



    \l/
    /l\


    If so, that's a crown assets disposal mark. Means it reached the market in an authorised manner. Surplused off, basically.

    And might the 807 be the last three digits of its serial number?
    The Maltese Cross only has 5 arms, it is not two arrow heads nose to nose which as you correctly point out would indicate crown disposal. The 807 is not the last three of the serial number.

  10. #20
    CGN Regular Mr Wolverine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fred Farmer View Post
    At the start of WW2, the Brits were so short of firearms that the military conscripted every sort of firearm. Could these be stamps be from that era or the Home Guard? I have seen a Winchester Mod 86 with similar stampings that was part of the "Lend Lease" program.
    In WWII the British home Guard used all kinds of weapons, to start with they trained with petrol bombs and pikes. Sporting arms were used, I hardly think that they stopped to stamp them. Even firearm donations from the US were, I believe issued “as is” but Lend Lease was another matter and they had to be correctly marked for "political" reasons. Point of interest: Home Guard firearms in .30-06 (.300 US as the British called then) had a red stripe painted round them as identical or almost identical firearms in both .303 and .30-06 could be used side by side, for example, Lewis MG, Vickers MG and P14 and P17 rifles.

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