I own a No4 Mk1 1941 Longbranch That is right No Bloody * I have heard that these are fairly rare. Just how rare are they. Mine is very pristine and all matching and I have basically stopped shooting it. Am I over reacting? Neither I or the seller knew it was special when I bought it. "Hey a No4 Enfield I don't have one of those"
No 4 Mk1 Longbranch
- Thread starter SW28fan
- Start date
They are a rare "Holy Grail" to Long Branch enthusiasts like many of us on here! You brought your question to the right place!
How rare? Not extremely. There are still a fair number of them out there.
Got some pics of your rifle you could post?
0L or 1L s/n and does it have hinged upper band and/or waisted front sight protector?
0L4609, Does not have a hinged front band but does have a brass but plate old style cocking piece and front sight. This is the only pic I have of it but I'll try to take some close ups this weekend.
Top No4 See what getting One Enfield does to you
It does shoot well: 100 yards prone on a 6" bull
Top No4 See what getting One Enfield does to you
It does shoot well: 100 yards prone on a 6" bull
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longbranch*
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Victoria,BC.
Lb mki
Somewhere around 7,500 1941 LB's made I think. Mines 0L6### range. Yours looks very nice. Does yours have its original serial numbered barrel?
Geoff
Somewhere around 7,500 1941 LB's made I think. Mines 0L6### range. Yours looks very nice. Does yours have its original serial numbered barrel?
Geoff
That's a beauty! Love to see some more pics showing details.
0L4609, Does not have a hinged front band but does have a brass but plate old style cocking piece and front sight. This is the only pic I have of it but I'll try to take some close ups this weekend.
Top No4 See what getting One Enfield does to you
It does shoot well: 100 yards prone on a 6" bull
there are very few complete 1941s ...what i mean by complete is the barrel date matching reciever date ...i suspect when you take off your top wood you will find the number 42 on the barrel making it to the purest a 1942 rifle regardless of reciever date ..why? because the 1941s were almost a pre- production/machine run with quite a few problems and machine teething issues the biggest was barrel production ...there are estimated about 7500 rifles with a 1941 barrel THESE are the holy grail ..a 1941 reciever with a 1942 barrel is more of very interesting early 1942 ....they used up all the early parts ie. cocking peice then carried on with the war time cut corners production...ie 2groove barrels ,non hinged bands .no wasted foresight protecter .bolt removeal from the groove ..cheaper wood stamped parts even not grooving top wood ...if your rifle has a 41 on the barrel thats awesome if a 42 then its an early 42 they were using up the early parts ....and not as rare
Very few 41 dated receivers with 41 dated barrels. I've had a 0L6### and now have a 0L3###. Both 42 dated original barrels. There's nothing magic about the year. They started with an empty plot of land in 1940 let's remember.
I don't agree about "cheaper wood", the quality was excellent all the way through. Don't like the stamped trigger guards but they were tested and found serviceable, otherwise they wouldn't have built them.
Strange that they encouraged the North American makers to introduce all kinds of simplifications while in the UK, where they really needed them, they kept plugging along with MkI not MkI* and machined guards.
I don't agree about "cheaper wood", the quality was excellent all the way through. Don't like the stamped trigger guards but they were tested and found serviceable, otherwise they wouldn't have built them.
Strange that they encouraged the North American makers to introduce all kinds of simplifications while in the UK, where they really needed them, they kept plugging along with MkI not MkI* and machined guards.
My 0L55XX has a '41 barrel.
There were stamped British trigger guards made. I suspect they were culled out mercilessly, haven't seen many. Just as the grooveless, no half #### bent cocking pieces and two piece barrels were replaced. The LB stamped guards are smooth and sophisticated compared with the British ones; these seem to have been designed and made using Sten gun philosophy.
There were stamped British trigger guards made. I suspect they were culled out mercilessly, haven't seen many. Just as the grooveless, no half #### bent cocking pieces and two piece barrels were replaced. The LB stamped guards are smooth and sophisticated compared with the British ones; these seem to have been designed and made using Sten gun philosophy.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
For those 0L rifles, take a look at the trigger guard. Is it a machining, with a wide front end about the same width as the ring around the King screw, or is it "fabricated" from square wire?
Asking, because I have a machined trigger guard if you need to swap out bits.
Asking, because I have a machined trigger guard if you need to swap out bits.
Congratulations ... they didn't make very many of these ...
With thanks to Advisory Panel member Lance, you could check the Canada - Milsurp Knowledge Library (click here) http://www.milsurps.com/content.php?r=117-canada
A rare 1941 No.4 Mk1 Long Branch Rifle (click here) ..... http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=3447
Complete with a 150 picture photo montage, this is a fascinating rifle to study its markings and components in detail, with some interesting oddities and variations from the standard No.4 Mk1* noted in the "Collector's Feedback and Comments" section of the main Knowledge Library entry. There's also information with pictured examples of how to check for a correct front waisted sight protector, versus a home made, or possible fake.
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
Regards,
Doug
As the numbers posted here show, when it came time to barrel them up, they took what was in the bin, not any particular year. And since we see so many with 42 dated barrels, either these rifles were re-barrelled with all 42 barrels by some strange coincidence, or else the rifles were pretty much all assembled in 1942. There can't have been any going backwards on serial numbers, or jumping around in number lots, so if you have a 0L3--- rifle with a 42 barrel, it's either a re-barrel or everything after that number was also assembled in 1942.
Maybe if everyone posts up their receiver dates, barrel dates and most of their serial numbers we can figure this out. Two groove or five groove is essential info too.
Maybe if everyone posts up their receiver dates, barrel dates and most of their serial numbers we can figure this out. Two groove or five groove is essential info too.
