2 enfields followed me home

woodchopper

woodchopper

Moderator
Moderator
Rating - 100%
78   0   0
Location
WMU248 near Edmonton
Well I did it again. :)

2 more bubba enfields followed me home, not like I need more projects but I just couldn't resist. It's an addiction.

One is a 1942 Longbranch and the other is a 1942 Savage, no FTR marks on either, and no nasty import marks, the savage is stamped ENGLAND on the wrist above the serial number, and the Longbranch I have not yet given a full inspection and cleaning.

Well I started on the Savage because it was a bubba special and I thought I would see if its salvageable. Bolt is in good shape and the serial number matches the reciever, No1 bolt head longbranch marked but thats not a problem. Barrel is 2 grove and dated '42 and not cut or recrowned. I evicted a family of fuzzies out of the barrel and it needs a lot more work but the bore looks good, some rust pitting on the top of the barrel and where the wood was contacting the sides. The rest of the rifle was covered with fuzzy crud and every nook and cranny needed attention.

The trigger parts are all good, bubba did not try to file the trigger of sear thank god. The reciever bolt rail is also good, no big nasty chips taken out around the slot that cause the bolt head to jump out of the track.

So now the sad part. Bubba removed the rear site and seems to have lost it. So for a rear site bubba cut a channel into the reciever charging bridge, about 3/16" wide and 3/16" deep aligned with the bore (I know I need to get some pictures) then he cut another slot about 1/64" crossways (hacksaw) and put a small chunk of metal with a V notch. once centered apply lots of lead to keep things from moving. Well rear site fixed bubba style. Now I guess teh front site was a problem now so the ears were removed and the whole top part cut away. Guess what works beter, a dime cut in half and jamed into a slot (hacksaw again) in what was left of the front site base.

So I've removed the charger bridge (both pins were screwed up by the hacksaw cut) and it came off easy. I'll have to find another and drill out the damaged pins. New pins are not a problem to make on the lathe. The front site was replaced with a spare savage marked ont I had kicking about in the parts bin.

So I think I have a keeper, I'll just get a new rear site, and charger bridge. Then the big hunt for wood and matching barrel bands begins. Why do people, bubbas, have to mess with what works. Why try to replace perfectly good sites with junk. :(

Tonight I plan to tackle the Longbranch.
 
desporterizer said:
For the love of God man, save as many as you can.
Click to expand...

there were about 12 at the sale byut only 4 that did not have the ends of the barrel cut back. I got 2, the brother in law got one, no use starting a bidding war for something I can swap for later :)

and the last one was a nice late manufacure PF serial number No4Mk2, wood cutback, no mag, and no BOLT :( I bid on it too (i've got a few spare bolts)but stopped at $40 and that was way too much. Some Fool spent his mad money on that one, went for around $65

I got the '42 longbranch without mag for $45 :) and a longbranch mag came up later that I got for $40.

I did'nt write down the PF serial number to check where it fell in the range but it didn't strike me as anything special. Wood was a bit beat up too.
 
I've got 5 savages now, 2 are BBPR (bubba'ed beyond practical repair) one had the charger bridge and rear site machined away :( and the other is a collection of parts assembled on a savage reciever with a barrel about 3" short. I may have to harvest parts from it to repair the charger bridge on my new savage. (oooh Frankinrifle) :)

The 3 others one is the new one to my collection I'm working to de-bubba. Of the other 2, one is a FTR(Faz) No4 Mk1/3 and is full military spec. The other is also a FTR(Faz) No4 Mk1/3 that was later converted to .308 DCRA. Both are stocked in Beech.

The Longbranch got a good cleaning last night and It will need some parts as well. Wood and bands for starters, but the trigger guard will likely be replaced, Its a stamped steel Maltby creation and looks like crap, I'll be on the lookout for an early longbranch trigger guard. The bolt is mismatched as well but for $45 you can't expect perfection, I'll keep my eyes open for a better bolt. And the micrometer adjust rear site is not really correct for a 42 longbranch, I'll replace it with a longbranch stamped rear site and use the micrometer adjust on another rifle, or more correctly I should use a 2 position flip site but I like having the sliding ladder for shooting. I think my savage No4 Mk1/3 has a stamped longbranch site on it now so I'll just swap them.
 
woodchopper

I have a Canadian Arsenal marked front barrel band for a No4Mk1* if you need one.:)
Pm me your address and its yours, John:cool:
PS, I also found a 300- 600 flip up L type sight you can have too.
 
Last edited:
pics are up

Here are a pair of pictures showing hoe bubba fixed the front and read site.

I have removed the offensive parts as you can see in the pictures.

if you look you can also see how the barrel is off centered in the stock. Bubba had tried to free float the barrel by removing some of the wood with a chisel. It was nasty to look at so I took another sporterized stock, also beech, untill I can find some wood.

I tried Numerich / e-gunparts but it appears that they don't do business / ship to in Canada anymore.

savbuba1.jpg


savbuba2.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom