Big Country is doing a series of Lee-Enfield restorations which are well worth your time if you (like me) love old Mil-Surp bolties.
By accident I ran across one of Ian McCollum's Forgotten Weapons vids about how the British Army did a mod of the SMLE to make it a semi-automatic rifle. It's cool in a "hey, this really works!" kind of way. Total kludge, but really cool.
Yeah, definitely, cludge.
ReplyDeleteThere was also the Huot conversion of the SMLE into a light machine gun.
ReplyDeleteI’m trying to convert the big fag over to Martini Henry’s but I don’t think he has the appreciation for them… 😂
ReplyDeleteI kinda laugh… you Yanks have access to the best milsurp market in the world… and you get smitten by Smellies? I would love to handle a Krag or an 03 Springfield… or some of the oddball Scandihoovian guns…
Oooops.... too many facts in my head. The Huot was a conversion of the Ross rifle, the Farquar-Hill was a SMLE conversion.
ReplyDeleteCool! Thanks for the mention bro! And as to Glen? Finding a Martini Henry within a reasonable price range is really hard.... let me know if you know of a source... believe you me I'd love to try one
ReplyDeleteGlen,
ReplyDeleteI ran across a Martini-Henry in the wild 15 years ago. Rifle price was pretty good but ammo was $7 a round (!).
https://borepatch.blogspot.com/2011/03/definition-of-impractical.html
But sweet piece of history.
Oh, and I love my Lee Enfield.
ReplyDeletehttps://borepatch.blogspot.com/2011/09/range-report-lee-enfield-no-4-mk-1.html
BCE, I'm sure enjoying your restoration projects.
ReplyDeleteThen on the US side of things,the Pederson conversion for 1903s
ReplyDelete