C no 7 info

Thanks folks, the guy said it sold, I was a bit concerned with the serial # on the wrist, looked like it had been ground flat in the past which my research says was done when the military took them apart it looked awesome and I figured it was a rebuild which is fine but not at a premium price! I could be wrong but doesn't matter much now! I will check out the place you folks mentioned so I can be ready for next time!
Thanks again.
 
I understand that about 400 stripped receivers were sold off, years ago. They were from rifles that had been dismantled. Butt sockets were sanded back and the receivers reparked. YOu will see all the varieties of receiver markings.

If a rifle has a receiver that has been ground as you describe, I would assume that it was made up using one of these receivers. Rifles are still being assembled on them, although barrels are very hard to find now.
Unless there is established provenance for the rifle, assume that it is a parts gun. Price it accordingly. Might be an excellent shooter, and a fine representative specimen, but it is still a bitser.

A No. 7 I bought years ago is one of these. Receiver was never numbered. Bolt body is from a .303, 93L series. Perfectly good rifle but hardly original. There was no effort made to represent it as anything other than parts gun - and it was priced significantly less than an original.
I posted a thread a while back in Gunsmithing about a rifle I made up from parts on one of these receivers, using a lined .303 barrel.
 
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tiriaq said:
I understand that about 400 stripped receivers were sold off, years ago. They were from rifles that had been dismantled. Butt sockets were sanded back and the receivers reparked. YOu will see all the varieties of receiver markings.

If a rifle has a receiver that has been ground as you describe, I would assume that it was made up using one of these receivers. Rifles are still being assembled on them, although barrels are very hard to find now.
Unless there is established provenance for the rifle, assume that it is a parts gun. Price it accordingly. Might be an excellent shooter, and a fine representative specimen, but it is still a bitser.

A No. 7 I bought years ago is one of these. Receiver was never numbered. Bolt body is from a .303, 93L series. Perfectly good rifle but hardly original. There was no effort made to represent it as anything other than parts gun - and it was priced significantly less than an original.
I posted a thread a while back in Gunsmithing about a rifle I made up from parts on one of these receivers, using a lined .303 barrel.
Click to expand...
thanks, yes from what I have read the military ground off the serial numbers giving the somewhat flat spot, this rifle looked excellent and if it was made up, it was done well. I missed out but at $2700 ! wanted to make sure it was original!
as you said, there is nothing wrong with a well done parts no 7 , but price should reflect it. I will wait and watch.
 
I am not a C no 7 expert, but...I see 3 rifles currently on various online auction sites, none are Long Branch factory originals. One is advertised as a C no 7, one as an N 7 and one as a No 4 .22 caliber. Current bids are in the 1800$ to 2900$ range, one of them is a very nice looking rifle, but not an original C No 7. In my recent humble experience about 6 to 7 out of 10 rifles advertised as a C no 7 is a home manufactured version not a Long Branch factory product.

A quick update, these three rifles have sold at auction 3900$, 3900$ and 1800$. I am surprised at these prices as there should be no "collectors premium" on these non original rifles. All three are very clean looking guns.
 
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David Scott said:
I am not a C no 7 expert, but...I see 3 rifles currently on various online auction sites, none are Long Branch factory originals. One is advertised as a C no 7, one as an N 7 and one as a No 4 .22 caliber. Current bids are in the 1800$ to 2900$ range, one of them is a very nice looking rifle, but not an original C No 7. In my recent humble experience about 6 to 7 out of 10 rifles advertised as a C no 7 is a home manufactured version not a Long Branch factory product.
Click to expand...

that is kinda what I am reading too, and that is fine as long as the item is presented as what it is! unless a fella is really into these rifles, sometimes it is hard to tell even for the one selling it!
 
I wrote a short article over on milsurps.com about the Cno7 and the scrubbed receivers. One of the most common problems with the rifles that are assembled post factory is that there is no quality control. One of the most glaring errors are the barrels are often not indexed properly to the receiver. As to value, I suspect many of the garage assembled Cno7s are sold to buyers who think they are getting the real thing. There was a Cno7 listed at an auction house a year or so ago in Edmonton as a nearly new or unfired Cno7 in it's crate and with accessories. If I recall correctly, it ended up costing the buyer over $4K, once fees and tax were factored in. It was a put-together, but sold as if it was an unfired factory rifle.
In my experience, about 90% of the Cno7 rifles I see on the market these days are put-togethers. Bobdbldr, you were right to be cautious.
 
Here are some photos of mine. Might help you in determining originality of a sample.
This one was bought out of the backrooms of Crown Surplus in Calgary a few years back. They received it from Crown Assets who knows when - probably when the Cadet Corps started turning in their guns. I think this one came out of Hanna. Presumably the PH sights were added for competition, as opposed to just training - but that is supposition on my part.

IMG_0911 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0913 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0908 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0910 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0895 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0889 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0893 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0901 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0912 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0900 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0905 by M J, on Flickr

IMG_0903 by M J, on Flickr

And before anyone asks: Nope, not for sale!
 
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The aperture front sight would probably have been added when the 5C was installed.
One of the rifles held by the local Cadet Corps had the left side of the butt socket drilled and tapped to mount a PH 5A (SMLE sight). This was done in service.
I am guessing that this was done so the rifle could be used for simulated full bore practice, using a sight that would have been used for PRA/DCRA competition.
 
tiriaq said:
The aperture front sight would probably have been added when the 5C was installed.
One of the rifles held by the local Cadet Corps had the left side of the butt socket drilled and tapped to mount a PH 5A (SMLE sight). This was done in service.
I am guessing that this was done so the rifle could be used for simulated full bore practice, using a sight that would have been used for PRA/DCRA competition.
Click to expand...

That tube looks like it takes small diameter American 40's or 50's era inserts. Maybe Lyman or Redfield. Certainly not the now common larger diameter Anschutz inserts.

And Tiriaq, you are correct about the CNo.7 as a full bore trainer. As a cadet in the 70s, we shot issue rifles indoors in the local armoury range and I recall travelling to Montreal for a match on the drill floor of the Cote de Neiges armoury. The cadets lined up elbow to elbow and shot 25 or 50 yds at paper target hung in front of heavy wood blocks. There was a curtain of some sort behind, but not as a ballistic stop. Between relays we sat in the bleachers and watched the proceedings.
 
Thanks again for the info guys, it does help! Beltfed, yours does no have a somewhat flat spot where the serial # is on the wrist like the one I was looking at so it makes me think that it was a put together rig,,m once again I would have no problem with a well put together C no 7 but the price should reflect that and I would want to see lots of pics or possibly check it out in person!
Oh well the search continues, I will have to do more homework to be prepared for the next chance!
 
One of the other giveaways of a non-factory rifle is that when the person assembles it, he has to drill the windage knob and screw then pin them. The thing they usually miss is getting the little white line to line up with the corresponding line on the left side when the knob is on the detent spring.
 
bobdbldr said:
I would have no problem with a well put together C no 7 but the price should reflect that
Click to expand...

I seem to be well behind the market place in my perception of what the selling price for a "home manufactured" C No. 7 should be. I'm thinking 800$-1200$, so 5 years ago. When they sell for 4000$ I am lost for words.
 
tiriaq said:
I understand that about 400 stripped receivers were sold off, years ago. They were from rifles that had been dismantled. Butt sockets were sanded back and the receivers reparked. YOu will see all the varieties of receiver markings.

If a rifle has a receiver that has been ground as you describe, I would assume that it was made up using one of these receivers. Rifles are still being assembled on them, although barrels are very hard to find now.
Unless there is established provenance for the rifle, assume that it is a parts gun. Price it accordingly. Might be an excellent shooter, and a fine representative specimen, but it is still a bitser.

A No. 7 I bought years ago is one of these. Receiver was never numbered. Bolt body is from a .303, 93L series. Perfectly good rifle but hardly original. There was no effort made to represent it as anything other than parts gun - and it was priced significantly less than an original.
I posted a thread a while back in Gunsmithing about a rifle I made up from parts on one of these receivers, using a lined .303 barrel.
Click to expand...

I remember 1990 or so, a friend had 100, 2 actions per shoe box. If I recall. 1944 22 Inch. C#7 .22 Inch Mk I* Long Branch 1945. And C#7 .22 Inch Mk I * Long Branch 1946.
$25 per action. I only bought a couple dozen. Back then I could buy barrels, if found, were $50 each. One guy sold me his C #7 .22 rifle mint cond for $90..........Good ole days.
 
I had 4 of the receivers. I think I paid $100 for them. Sold two, used one, still have the last one.

Also have a 7.62 in a one piece Robertson stock made up on a No. 7 receiver.
 
I got a mint no7 in the box with all the stuff
Belonged to a shooter who had two, never used either one
Have all the parts to build one somewhere, but I got the boxed one and didn't bother
 
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