A fellow stopped by yesterday and handed me this poor old .303 sporter. It was speckled with litlle bits of rust, dirty from years of sitting in a furnace room, plus the stock was ugly. But - the barrel hadn't been cut!
I took the stocks off this morning, thinking I had better have a go at bringing it back to life. Hosed all the metal parts down with WD40 and let it sit. While I was sitting having a coffee I remembered I had bought three sets of sporter stocks at a gun show this spring. Maybe, just maybe.... YES! All three were No.4 sets. I picked a nice one and checked for fit.
So, energized with my great discovery, I took after the metal. After much scrubbing with a toothbrush, brake cleaner, more WD40, G96, and elbow grease, I got the metal looking half respectable. Well now, maybe I just acquired a good old .303 to leave up at the wife's cabin. I found an orphan magazine that fit like a charm, put the whole thing together and Presto! - a reasonable looking rifle, that could be restored if need be.
The receiver is No 4 MK 1 ROF(F) 10/43. I noticed it seems to have a Longbranch trigger. The butt stock had a sales tag and another little bit of paper stuffed in that indicated that the rifle was purchased at Howe's Hardware in Kyle, SK in April 1968 for $31.95.
View attachment 28382View attachment 28383
Edit: Yes, I know I should have taken a before pic. Trust me, it looked pretty scruffy. I don't care what anybody says, those old .303's look good, full wood more so. Now I have to tackle the barrel. Has lots of rifling, just need to see if it will clean up.
I took the stocks off this morning, thinking I had better have a go at bringing it back to life. Hosed all the metal parts down with WD40 and let it sit. While I was sitting having a coffee I remembered I had bought three sets of sporter stocks at a gun show this spring. Maybe, just maybe.... YES! All three were No.4 sets. I picked a nice one and checked for fit.
So, energized with my great discovery, I took after the metal. After much scrubbing with a toothbrush, brake cleaner, more WD40, G96, and elbow grease, I got the metal looking half respectable. Well now, maybe I just acquired a good old .303 to leave up at the wife's cabin. I found an orphan magazine that fit like a charm, put the whole thing together and Presto! - a reasonable looking rifle, that could be restored if need be.
The receiver is No 4 MK 1 ROF(F) 10/43. I noticed it seems to have a Longbranch trigger. The butt stock had a sales tag and another little bit of paper stuffed in that indicated that the rifle was purchased at Howe's Hardware in Kyle, SK in April 1968 for $31.95.
View attachment 28382View attachment 28383
Edit: Yes, I know I should have taken a before pic. Trust me, it looked pretty scruffy. I don't care what anybody says, those old .303's look good, full wood more so. Now I have to tackle the barrel. Has lots of rifling, just need to see if it will clean up.
