What can you tell me about these

[Mitchell]

well these butchered uncared for rifles are my grandfathers that i took pics of to find out some information on them. the first one is my grandfather's brother's lee enfield no.4 mk1* that he carried in WW2 and it was made in 1942. Where was it made and why does it say u.s property when it was used by canada?? and y doesn't it have one of those ladder sights??

The second rifle is one that my uncle gave my grandpa and i think it is a swiss model 1889 and that all i know about it.
what can u milisruplus gurus tell me about this one??

so what do u guys know

thanks, mitchell

 

[Claven2]

First rifle is, sadly, probably not the actual rifle your relative carried unless he restocked it before sportering it. Savages were all stocked in Birch and that rifle looks to be stocked in post-war beech. Probably an FTR'd rifle rebuilt in the 1950's.

The Savages are marked US property because they are lend-lease for the war effort. All the commonwealth units that got issued No.4 rifles could have gotten Savages, including Canadian units at times.

The second rifle is definitely a Swiss straight pull.

Since both are sporters, they are of very limited value.

 

[Girlieman]

first one is my grandfather's brother's lee enfield no.4 mk1* that he carried in WW2

No disrespect, but I doubt once the war was over they said.

"Okay boys... wars over. Go home."

"What should we do with these rifles?"

"'Might as well take 'em home boys..."

Nice sentiment though...


I have a 1943 LongBranchLE I received from a WWII vet., but he admitted he "borrowed" it and just forgot he had it :lol:

 

[beltfed]

first one is my grandfather's brother's lee enfield no.4 mk1* that he carried in WW2

No disrespect, but I doubt once the war was over they said.

"Okay boys... wars over. Go home."

"What should we do with these rifles?"

"'Might as well take 'em home boys..."
quote]

Maybe not rifles, but pistols and grenades... sure! :wink:

 

[Timberlord]

I wouldn't give up on the Savage built No.4 yet !!...lol
The Mk2 sight is common with arpatures for 300and 600yds . There are other sights that can easily be found and put on and there is a few " no gunsmith " scope mounts available too .
In fact the rifle can be easily put back to being very close to original , right down to the Savage bayonette .
Savage Arms built an amazing 1.2 million( aprox) No.4's from 1941 to 1945
The US PROPERTY stamp was to appease the politicians at the time with some kind of business deal between the US and the UK .
How does it shoot ???
I have a Savage which is a '43 and it looked much like that one including the sights...
....here it is today...and I had a great time with the resto ...

No.4 sights

 

[John Sukey]

Fortunately, the Savage is restorable as no metal has been cut. Replacement Forend, handguards, barrel band with sling swivel, Front barrel band, plus screws for both bands, retaining ring for the rear handguard and a sling would set it right. As for a micrometer rear sight, they can be found and are interchangeable with the one thats on it now.

As stated the other rifle is Swiss model 1889 or a 1889/1896
You have a problem here is the rifle is chamberd for the Gehwehr Patrone 7.5x53.5 cartridge with a paper patched .321 bullet. unlike the later models that use a more powerful round, the locking lugs are weaker on this model and later rifles use a smaller diameter bullet.

 

[Claven2]

Nice restored savage - though the originals were only ever stocked in Birch. That looks like Longbranch walnut - no?

 

[Deano]

Have the Scmidt Rubin checked out by a gunsmith. It is indeed a 1889 model. Many oif these were imported and rechambered for 30-30 Winchester.

 

[Timberlord]

Hey Claven
The stock that was on that Savage was walnut when I bought it , unfortunatley , it was a really poor , hacked up sportered job where even the stamps were removed . I didn't relize that Savage only came out in birch .
The grooved rear handguard is walnut and the rest is stained beech to match.
:roll:

 

[smellie]

removed

 

[smellie]

removed

 

[tootall]

first one is my grandfather's brother's lee enfield no.4 mk1* that he carried in WW2

No disrespect, but I doubt once the war was over they said.

"Okay boys... wars over. Go home."

"What should we do with these rifles?"

"'Might as well take 'em home boys..."

Nice sentiment though...


I have a 1943 LongBranchLE I received from a WWII vet., but he admitted he "borrowed" it and just forgot he had it :lol:

Many years ago, my father told me that if a soldier lost his rifle carelessly, he was billed $60, a HUGE amount when they got about a dollar a day overseas for spending money. At the end of the war, he and his buddies were talking about should they keep their guns as a momento, or as a hunting rifle. My dad likes his gun,and could do accurate shooting with it, but could not justify the $60, so handed his in. As his group boarded the ship home, someone commented "What ,no guns? You guys did know they are $12 each, didn't you?"