Did Longbranch manufacture jungle carbines?

They made a few prototypes similar to the british jungle carbine, but never went into production.
 
Many years back, I had a chance to buy one for (catch this!) $500.!!!! It had come out of a collectors estate. Here's the information I was given at the time. Long Branch made 30 trial rifles. Twenty seven are BELIEVED to have been destroyed, one is in a war museum, and 2 were believed to be in private hands. Don't hold my feet to the fire on this, it's just the information I was given. On the one I saw, it was clearly marked "Long Branch" but there was no standard serial number but an "EX"and then digits. I actually spoke to the guy who bought the one I'd missed out on, and he paid $1,200. when he bought it. I can only imagine what it would be worth now.
 
I used to work at a small lumber yard in Clarkson about a 15 minute drive to the old arsenal we had quite a few ppl who used to work at Longbranch come into the store in fact our accountants father used to be a foreman at Longbranch and i got some cool in the white unfinished bits and pieces from her ...anyway this older gent came in and i was just starting to collect enfields and he had worked in the R+D back during the war and he kept one of the jungle carbines when the war was over and used it for moose hunting ...go figure I also met a few times one of the guys from the FN C1 steering committee all this happened in the early 1980's I even got to walk around inside the old plant when it was a postal outlet and i found the trigger houseing for a C1 sterling on the back lot ...yep i still have it almost all gone only one building and a water tower plus a bike path through the old rifle range ..ya i have some shell casings and projectiles i found out there
 
Long Branch Arsenal
has a reunion weekend every September ( third or last weekend)
at the one large building remaining.
lots of older ex employees come out and lots of re-enactors and displays.
its a fun weekend. Local reserves also bring new army gear out for recruiting displays
I think its put on by city of Toronto??
 
Spoke with my buddy who had asked. He has a weird one that I suspect is all bubba'd but have not seen pics.

He said the top wood had a metal piece that followed the top wood and went to the length of the bottom stock?
 
CMichaud said:
Spoke with my buddy who had asked. He has a weird one that I suspect is all bubba'd but have not seen pics.

He said the top wood had a metal piece that followed the top wood and went to the length of the bottom stock?
Click to expand...

Pictures of it please.

Is it a Long Branch? Or one of those Commando Carbines?
 
Looks like a fake to me. Companies used to put together 'Jungle Carbines' from No. 4 Mk. 1(*)s as people were willing to pay more for those than a standard No. 4 Mk. 1(*). I believe there also used to be conversion kits available as well.
 
Many years ago at a gun show, I saw a weird Lee Enfield. I had no Idea what it was and considered myself a bit knowledgeable about these rifles. I thought it was some home made sporter. Years later I found out it was a trials lightened rifle. DUHH!
 
Thank you for those photos Cantom. Everything looks both slightly different from the UK production and totally legit, except the receiver. That is not a Long Branch finish and if the rifles were ordered destroyed as an earlier poster said, then I can see how they might destroy the receivers, but save the rest. An employee may have later built those up on a No4 action and someone later decided to make the action "right", except that they couldn't reblue it correctly. The relief cuts also look a bit messy for Long Branch. Just my $.02

Regarding the bent bolt and large hole, those are known to Long Branch characteristics.

Is the stock band a No.4 pattern or a copy of the British Jungle Carbine band?
 
RRCo. said:
Thank you for those photos Cantom. Everything looks both slightly different from the UK production and totally legit, except the receiver. That is not a Long Branch finish and if the rifles were ordered destroyed as an earlier poster said, then I can see how they might destroy the receivers, but save the rest. An employee may have later built those up on a No4 action and someone later decided to make the action "right", except that they couldn't reblue it correctly. The relief cuts also look a bit messy for Long Branch. Just my $.02

Regarding the bent bolt and large hole, those are known to Long Branch characteristics.

Is the stock band a No.4 pattern or a copy of the British Jungle Carbine band?
Click to expand...
My concern with this gun is also the receiver finish for the same reasons.

I'm a bit more comfortable as it states that there is no sign of a previous serial# and that it has a drawing #(assuming it matches the war Museum sample).

Anyone with a milling machine and a brit no 5 as a pattern could make an effort.

Having said that I've seen a number of "lunchbox" guns which were blued (poorly) by their new owners to stop the corrosion damages which "in the white" polished metal seems to attract so quickly.
 
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