Latest acquisition is a No 1 sporter , marked on right side of buttsocket with BSA and the piled arms, on the back upper behind the safety is NRF and at the front left of the receiver it's stamped FTR 1953. I can't find any original date , only the FTR date. Would this be a peddled scheme rifle assembled at the BSA factory? During , before or post-ww2? I'll post some pics when I can, plus the barrel knox form stampings, may find something under the black paint (Suncorite applied at FTR?)
Smle bsa nrf ftr wtf???
- Thread starter vinver
- Start date
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
You got it! The National Rifle Factory never produced a complete rifle. they did make barreled actions and a few other parts which were sent to BSA to be made into complete rifles. This would be in WW1.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
NRF was only in production in 1918.
sounds like a BSA produced comercial receiver was used.
sounds like a BSA produced comercial receiver was used.
Does sound like it but most likely a NRF receiver used by BSA to build a commercial SMLE
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
interesting thought.
left over receiver assembled into a post war BSA comercial rifle.
I would be interested in some pictures of the barrel knox and markings. Might at least have a dated barrel.
The barrel has BSA and a piled arms stamp too, looks like on the left side of barrel base it has a broad arrow and 5 3 but haven't taken off the stock to see if any stamps underneath. Has the usual England and .303 18.5 tons stamp on right side. Barrel , bolt and receiver all have same serial numbers. FTR 1953 is engraved not stamped.
Indeed, most interesting, and nothing stamped on the left side of buttsocket around safety . Looking at the pics I can actually see more than I noticed on the rifle, the piled arms on the right seems to be double-stamped and shadowed, and there seems to be a faint star after the III that I hadn't noticed before. Maybe I need to look at getting some glasses.
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
I had one of these too. It is definitely a scrubbed receiver. Mine had no right side socket markings at all, just the NRF to the left of the bolt way. It also came to me with beech wood, although it was sporterized.
My guess is that rifles salvaged from the battlefields that were in too bad a condition to be overhauled in France were sent to the NRF for rebuilding, where the original markings were removed to show unmistakeably where they had been and why.
Doesn't look like it needs restoring at all.
Doesn't look like it needs restoring at all.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
I'm going to disagree with you.
NRF markings on the right side of the reciever were scrubbed by BSA
I'm going with an NRF receiver that was salvaged and used to build a dispersal rifle at BSA post war, and marked as a FTR in 1953, also notingthe 1953 BSA barrel.
