No 4 Mk 1

[0802]

What should an Enfield No 4 Mk 1 cost? How would that change if its a long branch manufacture?

Odd how money you don't have burns holes in your pockets.

[robertbank]

The 1950 dated Longbranchs go for anywhere fro $400 - $650 up here. They were made when all we had was Korea going on as opposed to the noise in the Pacific and Europe. Quality is generally thought to be better but none of the Longbranche's were considered poor quality.

May be less Stateside where Savage #4's may be in greater demand.

Take Care

Bob
Edited: I don't want to imply Korea was not a tough go for those involved. Hopefully no offense to the Korean vets on this Board.

[DanM]

My buddy just bought a very good (or better) Longbranch No.4 Mk.1* at the GSO show. Perfect bore, and he gave $250. It is a nice one....

[GrizzLeeBear]

I bought a '43 Longbranch No4Mk1* in good shape a few months ago for $180 at a local Dunhams store. Was marked $200, but had a cracked handguard and I was able to talk the manager down 20 bucks. They had a few beat up Savages that they wanted $250 for.
Haven't shot it yet cause it's completely torn apart to get the cosmo out of it and I'm going to do some finish work on it.

[beemer]

My brother bought a 1950 LB in very nice shape for $225 about two years ago,the prices have gone up since then. It seems any nice #4 goes for about $300, more if it is in premium shape. I have been seeing average to a bit beat up priced at $200-$225 at the local gun shows. I do believe that a LB will bring a little more If it is in good shape. If it is a beater I don't think it would matter.I have a 1950 LB that I bought about 12 years ago and I thought the $125 I paid for it was high but it is finished out nice. It seems all milsurps are going up, have you priced a Swede recently? I used to fuss over the ones I have let go (and I have had some pretty ones)when I should be happy with what I have.
beemer

[Stevejet]

Look for those rifles made in 1947 and 1948. They are considered the BEST by authoritive collectors. S/N's 47-XXXX or 48-XXXX.

[dmftoy1]

Around here the Longbranch's seem to go for around $300 whereas a "normal" :) No4. MK1 is in the $250 range. FWIW.

Regards,
Dave

[Kraschenbirn]

Last fall, I swapped a NIB .243 NEF, even-up, for a 1942 Longbranch #4Mk1. I'd picked up the .243 from a "going-out-of-business" auction for $125 and, by the time I got it cleaned up, switched from a #0 to a #2 bolt head, replaced the old mag, and changed out a couple of springs, I had close to $200 in the job. It's a heckuva shooter, though, and I doubt I'd have much difficulty recovering my investment.

Bill

[smokemjoe]

At gun shows here in Iowa 4MK 1s go for about $150.00, I got a few from the surplus places 2 years ago for about $100.00, complete,Parts missing ones for $50.00, Joe

[0802]

Was by the shop today and someone had taken it for $300. It was is decent shape, but not great. A No 4 Mk 2 which has an OK bore but is very dirty still resides with a $230 price tag. I think I will let it set at that price. They want $230 to order me an Ishapore 308. I'll pass on that too. Just need to get my C&R completed so I can cut those costs considerably.

[newfoundlander]

Absolutey! If you can find a nice, original 1950 Longbranch for $250.00 BUY IT! Knowledgeable buyers pay a premium for a 1950 LB. A straight off the line line 1950 LB is arguably the nicest example of the #4MkI. The "Irish contract" #4mkII's that seem to get everybody wet don't compare to the quality of the 1950 with its walnut stocks and blued finish (some were later parkerized over the bluing). See Pics: http://www.zefarm.net/productView.php?id=2214&cat_id=2

The gun in the above pics is (IMO) overpriced but the seller knows enough that these do have serious collector interest.

Here's a pic of a wartime manufactured rifle in very fine condition to illustrate the quaility of LB blueing.

http://enfieldrifles.profusehost.net/fe10.htm





The 1950 dated Longbranchs go for anywhere fro $400 - $650 up here. They were made when all we had was Korea going on as opposed to the noise in the Pacific and Europe. Quality is generally thought to be better but none of the Longbranche's were considered poor quality.

May be less Stateside where Savage #4's may be in greater demand.

Take Care

Bob
Edited: I don't want to imply Korea was not a tough go for those involved. Hopefully no offense to the Korean vets on this Board.

[oksmle]

0802 .... Are you looking for a shooter or do all the numbers have to match? If there is any chance of you making it to Ft. Sill, I'm on the South side of OKC & only about 1 1/2 hours away. I probably still have enough parts to build either a #1 or #2. Depends on the wood on hand. If you can spare the time I can show you how to do it & then you can take it home & have it blued or parkerized locally. Or I can simply build it & sell it to you. Either way we can do some shooting at our local range. Think about it.

oksmle

[BruceB]

(I've told this story here before, but whatthehell...)

In 1958, I was issued Long Branch #85L7408 at Camp Dundurn, Saskatchewan, which makes it about 1945 production. Most of my pals also were issued Long Branch rifles, but there were also a few Savages. All of our rifles had the more-complex adjustable MkII or MkIII rear sight, not the rudimentary two-leaf 300/600 sight. Strangely, I don't recall any British-built rifles in our unit.

If one was unfortunate enough to LOSE his rifle, the Canadian Army at that point in time would deduct $74.00 from the "paycheque"...sometimes that meant more than one payday!

Those were good times, when the #4 was still a serious and valued front-line military weapon, although in the twilight of its career, and when it was backed-up by the wonderful Bren light machine gun. We spent a lot of time on various ranges with both rifle and LMG.

[0802]

OKSMLE -- not looking in on Blockhouse Signal Mountain anytime soon, but I'll keep it in mind.

Unfortunately, that Longbranch is long gone. Best they've got now is a gunked up Pakistani model for $230. What they do have is a Spanish Mauser in 308 that would be a 93??), S/N matching on every part I can find ( for $230 as well.

[armoredman]

I paid $50 for this one from a co-worker who had no idea what he had...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/PICT0056.jpg

Shoots 2MOA normally, can give me MOA with one certain handload. Never burps. :)

[45nut]

sweet!

[dmftoy1]

Nice Enfield. .. those are Mosin ammo pouches aren't they? I like the Enfield strippers better than the Mauser strippers (in a mauser) or the Mosin strippers (in a Mosin). I seem to be able to reload much faster/smoother.

[armoredman]

Yep, Mosin pouches from my dearly departed Mosins, (I was really hard up for cash), on an old leather belt as an ersatz bandolier - 80 rounds of Federal 180 grain Power Point ammo on new stripper clips from Numrich, plus a small container of 9mm in one of the pouches. That took some time/money to gather, as factory ammo ain't cheap - about $15 per 20, and that was two years ago.