Post war long branch
- Thread starter ricohman
- Start date
49, 50 and post 1950.
The 1950's are common.(due to Korean war production) Early ones are blued, later ones are greenish parked.
49's and 55's and 56s are much rarer.
Some like them, some are only interested in wartime (WWII) examples.
The 1950's are common.(due to Korean war production) Early ones are blued, later ones are greenish parked.
49's and 55's and 56s are much rarer.
Some like them, some are only interested in wartime (WWII) examples.
Depends on which date you're after. Also, remember condition is everything.
1949 dates will bring a premium price if all matching and in exc condition. $1000 or more. Condition will dictate the price from there
1950 dates are not much cheaper.
They aren't that rare. Corwin Arms recently had several of them in VG to Excellent condition. I just checked his banner up top and he no longer lists any of the surplus rifles he had only a couple of weeks ago.
cantom beat me to it. 55-56 are rare as hen's teeth. I haven't seen one in years and the last one had been chopped to turn into a sporter.
1949 dates will bring a premium price if all matching and in exc condition. $1000 or more. Condition will dictate the price from there
1950 dates are not much cheaper.
They aren't that rare. Corwin Arms recently had several of them in VG to Excellent condition. I just checked his banner up top and he no longer lists any of the surplus rifles he had only a couple of weeks ago.
cantom beat me to it. 55-56 are rare as hen's teeth. I haven't seen one in years and the last one had been chopped to turn into a sporter.
Lee Enfield
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Alberta
1949 is the rarest production year with approx. 5,000 guns made.
1950 is the balance of the 50,000 rifle post war order so approx 45,000 receivers dated 1950.
1954, 55 & 56 are replacement receivers only with no "production" rifles manufactured.
1950 is the balance of the 50,000 rifle post war order so approx 45,000 receivers dated 1950.
1954, 55 & 56 are replacement receivers only with no "production" rifles manufactured.
longbranch*
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Victoria,BC.
I once had a pair of consecutively numbered 1949's. Think they were from a Dutch contract as I recall.
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Like Cantom, I have never seen a 54 dated receiver either. I have the 55, and a 56, also have a Cno7 22 cal no4 dated 53 and have seen photos of 51 dated Cno7s as well. Even have a Cno7 with no date on the receiver. But I have never seen a 52 or a 54 dated LB no4 or Cno7 receiver. If they exist, then I have to say "I don't get nuthin"
I personally believe that $1500 should get the OP 1.5 very nice postwar rifles. The price Corwin has been charging is right at the top of the range for those rifles. The two that are posted on the EE, if absolutely PERFECT, should be ~1000-1200 each, no more. The price inflation we are seeing on Lee enfields lately is getting stupid, and the Corwin arms rifles are serving as justification for people to raise their prices into a range FAR above what these rifles are worth. I never understood why Longbranch rifles were priced higher in this country, there seems to be more of them than British manufactured rifles....
Just look at the M1 Garands there is thousands of them in Canada but Prices are in the super hight range, I paid $95 for mine 40 years ago. Not to mention M39 Mosins Tradex was selling for $900 range, they were like $60 in the 70s. Back to the point WW2 ended 72 years ago unless we have time machine most surplus guns will be going up in price
I remember those M39s from the seventies well. Most looked like they had been there and done that. The only ammo available at the time was from Norma which was expensive for the time. Wages were around 10% on average of what they are now.
As for the $95 M1 Garands, if you knew the right people as low as $50 each. The thing was, you really took your chances on what you would get if the seller had the opportunity to pull them off the pile. Usually they just grabbed the next one in line and put it into a box to ship. International was notorious for shipping the SELECT grade arms to the US, where they got a better price for them and of course a huge market in comparison to Canada.
Today, most of the imported surplus rifles I've seen are in the condition marked in the ad and for the most part better.
International never graded beyond what the rifle was advertised at but then again, they would pick the best example they had on hand for ad pictures.
Today's surplus has risen in value. For good reason. No more are being made and UNATT agreements, along with Past Pres O'bama's efforts to purchase certain lots of surplus directly from the nations involved and then paying to have them destroyed has made them even more scarce.
I always bought the best examples that were made available to me, even if they seemed over priced on occasion. I don't regret buying any of them. They all went from scratching my curious bone to darn good investments.
Martin at Corwin is pricing his rifles at what they are worth. Some feel they are expensive and some feel they are selling at a discount. I noticed they had mismatched bolts. That would put them right where they were fairly priced. Add taxes and shipping and the buyer pays out very close to $1000. The thing is, the numbers are extremely limited. No4 rifles of any mark in excellent condition are very popular all over the world and prices reflect those demands.
OP, you should be able to find an excellent post war LongBranch fairly quickly for that money. You may even be able to find a wrapped or unwrapped No4 MkII with accessories for that price. Prices on milsurps jump disproportionately with condition and rarity.
There is an old saying, You snooze or procrastinate, you lose.
I've told him I want the 49, or perhaps both. I'm not sure he is ready to part with them though.
I don't know if the they all matching but I'm going to assume so.
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