.303 bore pics

[trevj]

Finding barreled actions at gunshows or even barrels in bins is now a thing of the past.

I go to several shows each year and I've yet to find a barrel over the past 4 years that I would deem serviceable.

There are a few gunsmiths, that still have ''clunker bins'' that might have what the OP is looking for, but they won't be cheap.

I was on the upper floor of Del Selin's Gunshop in Vernon BC last spring and he had several ''sportered" No1 and No4 barreled receivers on the floor, as well as a few loose barrels.

The thread tenons on Martini, No1, No4 and No5 rifles are all the same diameter and will interchange on the different receivers.

The shoulders may have to be cut back or the tenon may have to be trimmed and the chamber recut, (expensive)

OP, there was a lovely drilled and tapped for scope, Pattern 14 Enfield rifle for sale at the Salmon Arm Gun show last weekend. $350. IMHO, as far as a hunting rifle goes, an upgrade. (I love Maritinis, Lee Enfields and Enfields so that is an honest opinion).

$350, =- $50 is the going rate for these rifles. Dirt Cheap at today's prices.

Yeah, I liked Del Selin's shop. Last time I walked in, someone was loudly calling another a Moron! (OK, less polite than that!), from behind the counter, and as I walked in, I spoke that "That's what I miss about Old School Gun Shops! The Personal level of Service!"

Got a good laugh, bought a few things I didn't need, and so on. Fun.

On the Barrels front, the good ones had to go somewhere. Not everyone was building a new garage or such over those years. ( a comment regarding using them for rebar)

 

[bearhunter]

The barrels that were sold for rebar, were new in the white, chambered and short threaded, waiting for the final fit.

There were thousands of them in that particular lot, which was just one of several such lots of different barrels, including Mauser, Springfield 03, Pattern 14-17 and several others.

No one was really interested in them at the time and rebar at a reasonable price was in short supply, especially with the Korean War going on.

If it weren't for the surplussing of both the firearms and the subsequent parts, there likely wouldn't have been much interest in the offshoot sports we enjoy today, such as hunting, building firearms, shooting etc and as seems to be happening again, it's becoming a sport only the rich will be able to afford.

 

[trevj]

The barrels that were sold for rebar, were new in the white, chambered and short threaded, waiting for the final fit.

There were thousands of them in that particular lot, which was just one of several such lots of different barrels, including Mauser, Springfield 03, Pattern 14-17 and several others.

No one was really interested in them at the time and rebar at a reasonable price was in short supply, especially with the Korean War going on.

If it weren't for the surplussing of both the firearms and the subsequent parts, there likely wouldn't have been much interest in the offshoot sports we enjoy today, such as hunting, building firearms, shooting etc and as seems to be happening again, it's becoming a sport only the rich will be able to afford.

Well, to be truthful, the ones used for Rebar that I referred to, were in relation to a comment in the 1885 Winchester Single Shot books by Campbell, where he referenced on guy as having used the barrels of Winchester Target rifles to reinforce the floor, and the stocks to heat his shop!

And yeah, I can fully understand the use of these guns as fodder for the keener's that wanted to "Improve" them. They were cheap, available, and in a seemingly, never ending, supply!

 

[bearhunter]

Well, to be truthful, the ones used for Rebar that I referred to, were in relation to a comment in the 1885 Winchester Single Shot books by Campbell, where he referenced on guy as having used the barrels of Winchester Target rifles to reinforce the floor, and the stocks to heat his shop!

And yeah, I can fully understand the use of these guns as fodder for the keener's that wanted to "Improve" them. They were cheap, available, and in a seemingly, never ending, supply!

That's the joy of living in a nation with around 15 million people, rather than close to 40 million and a world with just over 2 Billion people and a world with close to 8 Billion bipedal methane producers, using up, gobbling up and messing up everything in sight.