British L1A1s in Canada

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paulz

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Once again, should probably be a Battle Rifles thread, but the experts who would know tend to hang out here.

Thanks to the magic of the EE, I now have a Bitish L1A1 to add to my collection.:) Noticed a couple of really interesting things. There are a couple of minor bubbas. A nifty extra forward sling swivel stud was added :confused:(I have removed it)

1. It is a mismatched, the upper and lower are both B.S.A made, in different years, diferent numbers. The bolt number also does not match.

2. It has been refinished, but rather than re-painted, it seems to have been blued!:eek: Including the bolt!

3. The pistol grip is held on with a hex head bolt, rather than the usual screw head bolt.

Now, I seem to recall hearing somewhere, that pretty much all the British L1A1s in civvy hands in North America came from Century. Moreover, they came as parts and were assembled pretty much by reaching into the crate and assembling whatever came to hand, which is why the numbers never match. (There is one for sale at Collector's Source right now and the numbers on IT don't match either).

So what I want to know is, is what I seem to remember hearing correct?

-Did these rifles come in as parts to Century,and is that why none of the ones I have seen match?

-Did Century BLUE them (shudder), or is this more likely a previous (bubba) owner.

-Not ever having owned a Marynyl (black plastic) stock, is the pistol grip bolt different, or is this just a clever replacement for one that got lost.

-Are brit bolts "in the white" like Canadian and Aussie bolts? I assume my bolt got tossed in the bath with the rest of the rifle, but I have only ever seen brit bolts in black and white photos, so conceivably they could be blacked (blued) or parked at the factory.

Awaiting enlightenment by the fundis...
 
My memory is a little foggy at the moment but here are a few comments. Dont take these as gospel as itrs been a long time since i played with my L1A1's.

Hex head bolt I believe is proper. Most L1A1's I have seen have had the black paint put on them. Don't recall what was underneath. As far as i recall, all of them came out of century in Montreal. Many were complete rifles, but they also sold parts kits less receivers. Some of the parts kits I have seen have been brand new. Recievers at one time sold for $20. Parts kits were either $100 or $200.
 
paulz said:
Once again, should probably be a Battle Rifles thread, but the experts who would know tend to hang out here.

Thanks to the magic of the EE, I now have a Bitish L1A1 to add to my collection.:) Noticed a couple of really interesting things. There are a couple of minor bubbas. A nifty extra forward sling swivel stud was added :confused:(I have removed it)

1. It is a mismatched, the upper and lower are both B.S.A made, in different years, diferent numbers. The bolt number also does not match.

2. It has been refinished, but rather than re-painted, it seems to have been blued!:eek: Including the bolt!

3. The pistol grip is held on with a hex head bolt, rather than the usual screw head bolt.

Now, I seem to recall hearing somewhere, that pretty much all the British L1A1s in civvy hands in North America came from Century. Moreover, they came as parts and were assembled pretty much by reaching into the crate and assembling whatever came to hand, which is why the numbers never match. (There is one for sale at Collector's Source right now and the numbers on IT don't match either).

So what I want to know is, is what I seem to remember hearing correct?

-Did these rifles come in as parts to Century,and is that why none of the ones I have seen match?

Most of the Brit L1A1s I've seen are FTRs with a mix of brand new and reused parts. My buddies is similar to yours, M/M lower with 2 sets of numbers, 1980s new gas block & 60s dated barrel

-Did Century BLUE them (shudder), or is this more likely a previous (bubba) owner.

Indian IA1s are commonly found blued, I saw a '58 BSA which could have been blued (with a finish that was similar to the fine CAL phosphate).

-Not ever having owned a Marynyl (black plastic) stock, is the pistol grip bolt different, or is this just a clever replacement for one that got lost.

Both slotted screws and hex heads were available

-Are brit bolts "in the white" like Canadian and Aussie bolts? I assume my bolt got tossed in the bath with the rest of the rifle, but I have only ever seen brit bolts in black and white photos, so conceivably they could be blacked (blued) or parked at the factory.

I don't remember seeing parked L1 bolts, but bolt carriers were commonly found parked, and cleaned to white. I have seen black finished C1 and metric bolts.

Awaiting enlightenment by the fundis...
Click to expand...

Hmmmnn....:eek: Your "extra" swivel may be legit, the Brits had some specialty set ups for arctic use.
 
Gotta love it, you can own a 'Valmet' a 'M14' (305) but the Fal series is a no go, kind of like you can buy a Chev 4x4 but you cant buy a GMC 4x4 :(
 
paulz said:
-Are brit bolts "in the white" like Canadian and Aussie bolts? I assume my bolt got tossed in the bath with the rest of the rifle, but I have only ever seen brit bolts in black and white photos, so conceivably they could be blacked (blued) or parked at the factory..
Click to expand...


Lee Enfield said:
I don't remember seeing parked L1 bolts, but bolt carriers were commonly found parked, and cleaned to white. I have seen black finished C1 and metric bolts.
Click to expand...



i have a blued C1 bolt .
 
My L1A1 (Brit) is one of the $199.99 specials from Century from 1992/3.

It's a mish-mash of parts, no serial numbers match on anything.

I once spent 4 hours at a gunshop swapping parts (uppers/lowers/triggers/etc) around getting tight guns for people to buy....out of 5 guns on the rack, they ended up with 2 tight, 2 medium, and 1 loose gun. (Fit of upper/lower)

NS
 
Lee Enfield said:
Hmmmnn....:eek: Your "extra" swivel may be legit, the Brits had some specialty set ups for arctic use.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm. Never thought of that. This looks more "bubba" and was just a threaded plate and stud sandwiching the forend. I have a manual illustrating both the Army and Marine arctic sling setups, so I will take a look when I get home.
 
The L1A1, Ishapore, and FN-FAL CA's are really, really evil. Some are even black. As if some great, fire-breathing monster had appeared in the doorway of a daycare centre, the rifles were immediately banished from earth. Once the bureaucrats discovered just how wicked the rifles were, we were almost instantly saved by a stroke of the mighty gov't pen.

It is not only infuriating, humiliating, and embarrassing to think that such stupid people have that kind of control over us, it is an insult to those of us who work hard, keep our noses clean, and support our communities. This is what we got in return.

On the positive side, I have six of these, varying descriptions. They were a fun rifle to shoot.
 
I had a Century L1A1 - Brit lower, Aussie Upper (Lithgow!!) and a brand spanking new C-Broadarrow barrel. Strangely enough (or not) it was really very accurate and reliable. The BCG on mine was painted, and the grip screw was a slot. As far as the prohib status goes, maybe the new US built ones will be eligible for a category jump soon.
 
"...The feds prohibited them by name..." The Socialist F**ks.
"...from Century..." No QC. Usually a mixture of inch and metric parts. May or may not actually work.
 
Oh, and WRT the thread from Milsurps I posted, those three rifles live in my safe, with the Lithgow FN that I have acquired since I took those pics.

I guess that means I have to do another side-by-each setup with the 4th gun, eh?

NS
 
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