In the wrap No4 Mk2
- Thread starter Philthy1
- Start date
Phat Eagle
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Fraser Valley, BC
Seems like one pops up on the EE every 6 months or so. Never last long!!
- Location
- Steel Town
That one went quickly.
And the prices are going up rather rapidly.
The one today was priced at $1875, and sold for ???
Two years ago they were posted for around $1000.
Not too long ago (14 years) LeBarons sold them at the Toronto Sportsmen show for $225, and I didn't buy one because I had already an Enfield (stupid should have bought 10).
The one today was priced at $1875, and sold for ???
Two years ago they were posted for around $1000.
Not too long ago (14 years) LeBarons sold them at the Toronto Sportsmen show for $225, and I didn't buy one because I had already an Enfield (stupid should have bought 10).
Philthy1: Specialized collector stuff- if you buy one and unwrap it you'll probably devalue it by 50%. I was fortunate to get one two year ago that someone unwrapped to sell- cost me $800 and is a spectacular rifle. No dings, blemishes and only test fired at the factory (if they still did that in the fifties). One thing- when I very carefully cleaned out the packing grease I found minor traces of rust in a couple of spots. When they were originally manufactured I'll bet no one thought they'd sit unopened for 60 years!
milsurpo
milsurpo
I had many chances to buy these guns. Thing is, you have to store it in it's greasy state...the enjoyment of ownership is not very high.
If you open it, you've killed the value...I managed to resist somehow.
But @ $1895 shipped, sold in seconds...It appears they were a very good investment!
If you open it, you've killed the value...I managed to resist somehow.
But @ $1895 shipped, sold in seconds...It appears they were a very good investment!
Lee Enfield
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Alberta
I have a 1918 SMLE MkIII¤ which was removed from "the grease" long term storeage by its previous owner.
I finished cleaning the remaining storage grease from the gun when I got it. It was unfired since manufacturer proof firing.
Since it's seen about a hundred rounds.
At this point I realize that those guns should have been left in the condition they were found as there are lots of "new condition" guns which were unwrapped by their new owners and pushed into a corner of the closet or safe.
They would have been far better off to buy a good or excellent condition "shooter" that someone else unwrapped.
exactly.
seems silly to me but people do all kinds of silly things with their cash.
as the other fellow said it could (and most likely) is rusting away.
One mans treasure is another mans junk. We all collect differently. I wouldn't pay for something that I couldn't look at. I am not knocking it. I just couldn't stop myself from opening it up to see if it was really all there.
And that is exactly why I don't have one.
Over the years I've gotten better at not shooting the stuff that is too minty.
I have a numbers matching 88/05/35 commission rifle with the matching bayo. The gun is as new and I've never fired it yet.
But I look.at it all the time. Can't imagine looking at a paper wrapped rifle just imagining what's in there.
...and now that we read that about opening one up and finding rust (on a brand new, factory preserved rifle)...that'd be working on your head too....should I open it, kill the value by 50% or more, to make sure it's not rusting? What a conundrum.
I had two unwrapped. Had a B&E, some guns stolen, some retrieved, all taken to RCMP detachment. Those two came back unwrapped. Magazine missing on one. Sold the one with a mismatched magazine last year at Calgary show for $900. I likely wouldn't have unwrapped either one. Nor would I have sold either one. That's just me. 
Buying a wrapped Lee Enfield and un-wrapping it to look for rust is the same as buying a package of collectable 303 rounds and shooting them to see if the primers still work.
You buy it wrapped for what it is... a new in the wrap rifle. It's a collector piece.
You buy it wrapped for what it is... a new in the wrap rifle. It's a collector piece.
- Location
- Steel Town
If I bought it, it would have been meticulously cleaned and mildly used... No wrapped guns for me.
Question:- Do these wrapped rifles have civilian proof marks?
Without being negative or presumptuous why would you throw away close to a thousand dollars just to shoot a rifle that you can easily pick up in excellent, slightly used condition for around $900 and get exactly the same experience. The wrapped rifles were originally sold for $120 and included a wrapped bayone/scabbard/frog and sling in the package. A couple of years before a lot of 1950 dated No4 Mk1* Long Branch rifles still in the grease and unissued since manufacture were on the LGS shelves for $90. Many folks bought two of each. One to squirrel away as an investment and one to shoot. They all shoot very well to my knowledge.
I sold my wrapped No2 several years ago. Never regretted selling it because I had picked up two more at gun shows under $200 with all the accessories that were all clean and pretty but of course no wrapping. They shot extremely well but they were also sold when prices started to sky rocket. I kept the Long Branch rifles though.
I still shake my head when a seller tries to get close to $2000 for an unwrapped rifle without accessories and snivels when he's informed he threw away a thousand dollars worth of greasy paper. They have all sorts of excuses but like it or not, the WRAPPED rifles will always command a premium dollar.
I can remember the Long Branch and Savage rifles unissued in the grease from the factory coming in plain cardboard boxes. I doubt they were shipped that way or stored that way but that's how they came. The Army and Navy stores used to bring every variant of Lee Enfield made on pallets stacked in rows of 15 that were ten rifles high. Sometimes higher. Some of those rifles were not wrapped or in boxes but some were wrapped in a waxy cloth filled with grease. I guess it all depended on how long they were intended to be stored and where.
As far as rust???? I never saw a wrapped rifle that came fresh out of the wrap with rust. I have seen carefully unwrapped rifles that were re wrapped with rusty bores. I have seen wrapped rifles with damaged wrapping with scuffs and rust.
I personally wouldn't consider unwrapping a rifle that is collectible. BUTTTTTTTTTTTT if you just can't help yourself then fly at it.
Lee Enfield
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Alberta
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It all depends on how you look at it. My collecting went in a different direction and I am not getting any younger. You recently flipped an FN49 that was in close to excellent condition. I owned that rifle two owners before you got it. I feel the fellow that you bought it from sold way to cheap as did you. I admit, the fellow you bought it from took it to the range and used it. Fine, his rifle and from what I've seen, I'm willing to bet it was cleaned perfectly when you received it. Still, shooting them drops the values.
Exc condition FN49s don't grow on trees and that particular rifle was IMHO the next generation of milsurps and was designed durng WWII with the plans being smuggled out of Belgium and to England so the Axis powers couldn't get them. I sold that rifle to the previous owner of the fellow you bought it from. Never made a dime on it. The No4 MKII rifles I made 1300% on them and you're trying to tell me I sold to soon???? Hardly. The firearms I purchased with those proceeds returned me more than those rifles have gone up in price to this point. Garands back then were a lot cheaper than they are now. I picked up a half dozen M1 Garands in VG condition, all US manufacture with all US parts for that money. The prices on those rifles almost tripled over the next three years.
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Quote Originally Posted by englishman_ca View Post
Question:- Do these wrapped rifles have civilian proof marks?
Some do and some don't. Most of them had a slit cut in the paper over the receiver where the serial number was engraved. Very small but still there. No import stamps on those as they came in before the UNATT was signed after Century brought them into their US warehouses. The rifles with the slits cut in the paper had that done by Canada Customs to make sure everything matched the tags. That was after registration came in.
The first wrapped No4 MkII rifles I bought came from International out of Montreal and they were still sealed.
I don't believe any of the wrapped No4 MkII rifles had civilian proofs.
I did have a couple of later rifles with dark stained beech and walnut stocks that had sold out of service stamps but they were issued and in VG only condition. Still shot well though.
I have never noticed much difference between No1 rifles/No4 rifles of any variant that outshot their contemporaries as long as condition was identical and the stocks hadn't shrunk.
Question:- Do these wrapped rifles have civilian proof marks?
Some do and some don't. Most of them had a slit cut in the paper over the receiver where the serial number was engraved. Very small but still there. No import stamps on those as they came in before the UNATT was signed after Century brought them into their US warehouses. The rifles with the slits cut in the paper had that done by Canada Customs to make sure everything matched the tags. That was after registration came in.
The first wrapped No4 MkII rifles I bought came from International out of Montreal and they were still sealed.
I don't believe any of the wrapped No4 MkII rifles had civilian proofs.
I did have a couple of later rifles with dark stained beech and walnut stocks that had sold out of service stamps but they were issued and in VG only condition. Still shot well though.
I have never noticed much difference between No1 rifles/No4 rifles of any variant that outshot their contemporaries as long as condition was identical and the stocks hadn't shrunk.
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