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What milsurp have you always lusted after?


Valmet
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On 9/4/2020 at 3:18 PM, Valmet said:

Borg- are you sure Martini's were made in 303 British? I know thousands of them were converted to .303 in the 1890s but don't think they were actually manufactured. 

Yes,  most were rebarreled, such as the Martini–Henry Mk III's with a new extractor installed, but the Martini–Enfield Mk II rifles were generally of new manufacture, although there are examples of converted Mk II rifles.

The first Martini–Henry conversions used Metford rifled barrels (and were known as Martini–Metford rifles), which were more than suitable for the early .303 cartridges, which used black powder as a propellant but wore out very quickly when fired with cordite/nitrocellulose cartridges. In 1895, the Enfield rifled barrel was introduced, which was much more suitable for use with smokeless ammunition.

The Martini–Enfield was in service from 1895–1918. Lawrence of Arbia's Arab Irregulars were known to have used them during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918, along with any other firearms they could acquire) and it remained a Reserve Arm in places like India and New Zealand until well into WW2.

Martini–Enfield rifles were manufactured/converted by:

  • RSAF (Royal Small Arms Factory), Enfield Lock
  • LSA Co (London Small Arms Co)
  • BSA & M Co (Birmingham Small Arms & Metals Co, later simply BSA)
  • HRB Co (Henry Rifle Barrel Co, later went out of business and taken over by Blenheim Engineering)
  • NA&A Co (National Arms & Ammunition Co)

 

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22 hours ago, Cheygriz said:

My first Milsurps were a Garand and a 1911 that my dad gave me when I was  12.

I soon followed with a 1903A3, a .303 No.4 Mk1* and an M-1 carbine.

 

But the gun I always lusted after was the Brit .55 cal. Boyes

 

I recognize that from a long ago article in the 1984 edition of Hogg & Weeks book Military Small Arms Of The 20th Century..

It was reading that book that made me aware of the German tendency to run a lot of words together to make a real long word. So their Anti Tank Rifle may have been a Grossegewehrzumschlagenvonpanzern. ? Those German compound words are hilarious.

Edited by 26isbest
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  • 2 years later...

Lee Enfield No1 Mk3. I absolutely love these rifles. Smooth action, big magazine, well working stripper clips, open sights, low recoil, robust, reliable controlled feed action and the bulldog “face”…plus bad ass bayonet.

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