Advice on Longbranch No4

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I recently acquired a Longbranch No.4 MkI* and need a bit of advice on things to check and how best to restore some things.

So the gun itself seems relatively early production. The receiver, bolt and mag all matching serial number 10L0234. All serials look genuine - not ‘faked’. Bolt has the round cocking piece.

I can’t easily read the serial under the forend but I don’t think it matches receiver, bolt and mag.

Gun was quite grimey and I’ve given it a part clean in mag, bolt and receiver. I’ve scrubbed a tonne of muck out of the barrel. Lands look ok but I don’t think it’s been cleaned in the last 20yrs.

I checked headspace with my Tectal gauges. It will close on a Go gauge, and will only just with a bit of snug pressure on a No-Go gauge (0.068”) suggesting headspace is around 0.067” or 0.068”. It definitely will not accept the Field gauge of 0.074”

Bolt head is a No.3. Function check is fine.

All screws appear to be there. Nothings loose or split (from what I can see).

The woodwork is a dark oak I think. Not sure tbh. I think it’s rather gummy, which I think is poor application of linseed oil. Any thoughts on how easy it is to dismantle the woodwork, clean it up and reassemble? I’ve heard sorting the woodwork can be tricky.

Thanks!

[Roy W]

Yours is the 110,234th Longbranch No.4 produced.

The woodwork will be Canadian Walnut, not Oak. Oak was never used.

If it closes on a no go gauge then don't fire it, get it checked by a gunsmith with proper headspace gauges who knows what they are doing.

Is it in proof? I have been sold two Longbranch Rifles in the last 12 mths and neither had any British Proof marks. This was remedied, and now both are proofed. If yours isn't then the seller has committed an offence and needs to get it proofed for you asap.

The woodwork will come off easily, at least the forends will. Give the wood a wipe down with something to get the gunk off such as white spirit with fine wire wool and then treat it properly with linseed oil, light coats and it will/should come up lovely.

The round cocking piece is unusual for a Mk1* of the age of yours, they changed to square ones before then so maybe it's been changed by a previous owner.

Some photos would be nice

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Thanks Roy - I appreciate the advice!

Date on the receiver is 1942. I believe it still has the original parkerising but does appear to have some black lacquer here and there, suggesting that maybe it was coated/painted at some point and then possibly stripped or worn away??

I don’t know why I said Oak, thanks for the correction. Yeah looks a nice colour. Stock does have some bangs and marks but no splits or signs of repair.

Thanks for the tip on the woodwork, will try to do that.

Yeah I had wondered if I should get the headspace properly checked out. The gauges I have are the proper original MIL spec and according to them they say it corresponds to within Military tolerance. But I think you’re right, best err on the side of caution.

Ill get some pics up soon.

EDIT- does appear to be proofed, can see Birmingham proof marks on bolt head, receiver and bolt body.

[Roy W]

It's a nice early LB. I think the bolt is a renumbered one from another rifle, the handle looks skimmed and you can see another number underneath. It looks like it was an A prefix number underneath, the A is still visible under the '1'

Can you post a picture of the left hand side of the butt socket showing the serial number?

The magazine number is similar to the rifle, but with a '0' instead of an 'L' , my guess is someone wanted to number the mag to make it look matching but only had number stamps available.

None of my LB mags are numbered.

 

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Ah, that’s a shame about the mag and bolt being ‘duped’ and not original to the receiver. Do you think the bolt was renumbered by an Armourer or factory at some point? Not being au fait with Lee Enfields, does this matter much?

Sorry I forgot to take the pic of the receiver serial number. I’ll get one up tomorrow.

Thanks again!

[Roy W]

Who knows who did it. I would have thought an Armourer would have made a better job, the '4' is the wrong way round on the bolt.

Collector wise it affects the price, but it's a bog standard Mk1* so it's not worth a fortune anyway.

The bolt may explain the headspace issue, so definitely check it out. The mag may be genuine, just stamped up by someone. It should have the LB on there somewhere if longbranch.

If it shoots well once the headspace is sorted, then the bolt is academic as a shooter, just enjoy it

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Thanks again Roy!

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Thanks Saddler - very helpful. I’ve read up and seems you can also use Acetone (which I have to hand). Interestingly quite a few use oven cleaner to remove the grease, oil and grime. Then boiling water to remove scratches and dents, plus more oil, before finally rubbing numerous coats of RLO.

 

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@Roy W

Heres the pic of the left side receiver stock band.

Also only stamp I could see on the mag. I believe this is a Savage mag?

[Roy W]

Yep, so the Rifle is definitely LB 10L0234

The Bolt is probably a BSA Bolt, given the A prefix, which would fit with the round cocking piece and an early prefix

The Mag is a Savage stamped by someone to try and match the rifle, but failed miserably because they didn't have an 'L' stamp.

I would get the headspace sorted and if it shoots well, just enjoy it

 

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Cool, thanks

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Yes will do saddler. I’ve got some fine steel wool (I’d say 000) so will also get 0000 for the final feathering polish.

Cheers 👍🍺

[Twodogs]

Might find this link about bolt fitting, especially in regards the No3 bolt head, interesting.

http://photos.imageevent.com/badgerdog/generalstorage/peterlaidlerpostsleeenfieldforums/Fitting rifle bolts - CHS and boltheads.pdf

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Update. Had the headspace checked with my local gunsmith. Rim gauge was fine and chamber length gauge was just about crush on his CIP no-go. Definitely no closing at all on field. So all good and within military standards. 
 

I cleaned up the woodwork using the oven cleaner and boiling water method. I followed these steps and it worked well for me;

https://www.dummybullet.com/m1 garand stock restoration page 1.html

I must say that I was mightily impressed. Excellent results and very easy. I’ve since treated the woodwork with 10 coats of raw boiled linseed oil, following the Fiddes guidelines. I found I didn’t need to do any Feathering as the stock was smooth enough. It’s come out nicely and is much much better than before. No gumminess, just lovely smooth feeling wood. The butt is however rather damaged and pocked, which only showed up when oiling the wood. But I’m happy with it for now...it is after all a battle rifle that’s been in battle.

All metal work was thoroughly soaked with degreaser and scrubbed with CorrosionX to protect it from rusting and lubricate it. 

Ive worked up some test loads with a 174gn PPU bullet over some N140.

Cheers for all the help and advice!

[Roy W]

Lovely workhorse

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30 minutes ago, Roy W said:

Lovely workhorse

Thank you again Roy for the help & advice. We’ll see how the 2 groove shoots, should be fun. 
Ive got a bunch of front sight blades so will do the 3” low grouping at 25m, swapping out the blades to suit.

[Roy W]

Enter the Historic Service Rifle comp at Bisley on the 3rd Oct. See how it performs

Good fun, plenty of help with the course of fire, friendly people and a great half day's shooting