The firearm thread

[Mr Merde]

Great Booze Up!

Is on Friday the 23rd!

Confirmed so by she who must not be named.

-Indy

You mean

"THE BOSS" !!!!

She is quite proud that my prescence wasnt required but hers was mandatory.

Well that was until I told her that you were into NECROPHILLIA, which is dead boring.

The shoulder still hurts from the punch. She may be small but she sure throws a mean punch.

[Wolf]

She's wiry and has no padding on her fingers - not the sort of combination to be hit with, O scatological one.

23rd of April... I have four rugrats that night so I send my apologies now.

[jono035]

She is quite proud that my prescence wasnt required but hers was mandatory.

She's a hell of a lot easier on the eyes...

[Mr Merde]

Well I've done it.

I've once again found "rocking horse shit"

Looking for brass for the 32-40

From everything I read in US it seemed to be as rare as the above.

Today I purchased 150 cases, stamped 32-40.

Expensive at $2 each but better than reshaping 30-30 and having to load out the bullet as 30-30 brass reformed is shorter than genuine 32-40.

Chris

[Indiana_Jones]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet

-Indy

[Mr Merde]

Just got off the phone to the gentleman who is selling me the Marlin 1893.

Got his bank details and address.

He is going to post it up to me on Monday. I'm away over the weekend so I asked him to delay postage.

Checked on some details.

1893 made in 1905. 26" barrel, Montana Rocky mountain front sight with a tang rear sight. Barrel is stamped "For Black Powder".

Bore is mint. Finish is about 80% blued. Wood is good but has bumps and scratches as befitting its age.

Been checking out this model and from what I have read if you find an old Marlin with a good bore then you have found a shooter.

Just found mould for the 165 gn bullet. here in NZ at $240 + $100 for handles.

I think I'll see what I can get from the US. Dies run at $190 here but in the US they are US$50.

Going to be a while before I get to actually shoot this rifle. May look around for some factory cartridges. Winchester make them. I'll call Eric at serious and see if he has any at the shop.

I am very excited over this rifle. Cant wait to shoot it with BP.

Below is a picture of the Marlin 1893. The one I am purchasing has a better finish and has a round barrewl not an octagonal. Other than that everything else matches.








Chris

[Swoop]

Does anyone else have extreme possum problems at the moment?
They seem to be prolific around the house and are (presumably) after a source of water. Oddly there are zero rabbits around (bugger!) which makes me wonder if the population has self-reduced to support existance on the parched land.
It was an extremely productive series of nights that has seen a few of Australia's most loathed export succum to an injection of high-speed lead.

Rain will arrive with a very welcome sigh from the farming community!

[Flip]

Or as we like to say "Issuing lead exit visa's to Australian over stayers"

Been getting a few rabbits lately down here, the numbers are slowly coming up. Also been seeing a few possums in the area as they come off the hill and get closer to the sea over winter.

[Mr Merde]

My new baby has arrived.

weighed in at 32-40 measuring 26" muzzle to receiver.

all extremities are sound and a clean, shiney bore.

originally blued but faded to a nice plum brown patina

woodwork sound but showing dents snd scratches befitting its age.

Photos to follow once I have the camera out and Sharron stops laughing at my enthusiasm.

Chris

[Indiana_Jones]

Got a box of tissues to go with the rifle?

-Indy

[Swoop]

American and NATO trainers are frustrated at their inability to train Afghans to shoot accurately. The Afghan soldiers and police, despite the constant example of superior marksmanship on the part of foreign troops, persist in pointing their weapons, instead of aiming them. Meanwhile, Afghan traditionalists are trying to change the way the Taliban fight. This can be seen by the increase in the use of sniping by the Taliban. In the two years, NATO units in southern Afghanistan estimate there has been a sharp (over 30 percent) percent increase in sniping incidents. This is not seen as a major danger. NATO troops wear protective bests and helmets that can stop bullets fired at long range, making it very frustrating for the Taliban shooters trying to hit a distant target in a vulnerable spot. And there was not a lot of sniping by the Taliban to begin with.
This shift in tactics is largely a reaction to the better training, and weapons, of U.S. and NATO infantry. Afghans, and especially the Taliban, consider themselves great warriors. But they are getting tired of being defeated every time they get into a firefight with the foreign troops. Worse yet, if the Taliban stay put during a fight, the damned foreigners bring in a warplane that drops a smart bomb or two, bringing an inglorious (for the Taliban) end to the action.

Then some of the young guys remembered grandpa decrying the decline in marksmanship years ago. Back before the Russians showed up, in the 1980s, the best an Afghan could hope to have was a World War II, or World War I, era bolt action rifle. These weapons were eclipsed in the 1980s by full automatic AK-47s and the RPG rocket launcher. The young guys took to the AK, and the thrill of emptying a 30 round magazine on full automatic. Not bad for a brief firefight, and suddenly hardly anyone, except a few old timers, wanted to use the old bolt action rifle, or learn how to hit anything with single shots.

What was not noticed much outside of Afghanistan, was that this shift in weaponry brought to an end a long Afghan tradition of precision, long range shooting. Before the 1980s, this skill was treasured for both hunting and warfare. When doing neither, Afghan men played games centered on marksmanship. One, for example, involved a group of men chipping in and buying a goat. The animal was then tethered to a rock, often on a hill, and then the half dozen or so men moved several hundred meters away and drew lots to see who would fire in what order. The first man to drop the goat, won it. Since Afghanistan was the poorest nation in Asia, ammo was expensive, and older men taught the young boys all the proper moves needed to get that first shot off accurately.

During the 1980s, Saudi Arabia spent billions of dollars to arm Afghans with all the AK-47s and ammo they could use, and they used lots of it. But rarely for target practice. Compared to bolt-action rifles like the British Lee-Enfield, the AK-47 was less accurate when one shot at a time was fired. The old timers, or a few young traditionalists, kept their Lee-Enfields, and made themselves useful picking off Russian soldiers at long distances, on those rare occasions where that was needed. A few Afghans noted that the AK-47, fired one shot at a time, was pretty accurate out to about 300 meters. But the Russians had more firepower, and it was rarely prudent to stay too close to them for too long. So "spray and pray" (going full automatic all the time) became the new Afghan warrior tradition.

The Lee-Enfield is one of the oldest, and still widely used, rifles on the planet. Over 17 million were manufactured between 1895 and the 1980s. While there are more AK-47s out there (over 20 million in private hands), these are looked down on by those who use their rifles for hunting, or killing with a minimum expenditure of ammunition. The 8.8 pound Lee-Enfield is a bolt-action rifle (with a ten round magazine) noted for its accuracy and sturdiness. The inaccurate AK-47 has a hard time matching bolt action accuracy more than a hundred meters out. Meanwhile, the Lee-Enfield can drop an animal, or a man, at over 400 meters, on the first shot.

There are millions of Lee-Enfields still in use throughout India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and even Iraq and other Persian Gulf nations. These are largely World War II leftovers. In the early half of the 20th century, the British gave out millions of these weapons to allies, or those being courted. Noting the accuracy of the Lee-Enfield (.303 caliber, or 7.7mm), the locals came to prize the rifle for hunting, and self-defense. There are still many gunsmiths throughout the region (and at least one factory in India) that will refurbish century old Lee-Enfields to "like new" condition. Ammunition is still manufactured, with the high quality stuff going for a dollar a round, and lesser quality for 25 cents a round. These rifles sell in the west for $500-1,000. The Lee-Enfield will carry on well into the 21st century.

One place where the Lee-Enfield found lots of fans was Afghanistan. There, the Afghans had been introduced to rifles in the 19th century, and they treasured these weapons. This was particularly true after the introduction of smokeless powder rifles in the late 19th century. Many Afghans were still using black powder rifles well into the 20th century. But once Lee-Enfields began show up in large numbers after World War I (1914-18), no one wanted the larger, heavier and less accurate black powder rifles (which always gave off your position, with all that smoke, after you fired a round.) Now, wealthy drug lords are buying expensive hunting and sniper rifles for their militias, but so far, the Taliban Snipers appear to be using grandpa's old Lee-Enfield.

NATO trainers get nowhere by mentioning the old Afghan warrior tradition of sharpshooting. The lack of discipline, and literacy, among so many Afghan recruits leaves less time for weapons training anyway. Meanwhile, the allure of "spray and pray" is too strong for a generation that has access to automatic weapons, and all the ammo they can carry.

[Indiana_Jones]

Where was this from?

-Indy

[Mr Merde]

After my initial enthusiastic post I have settled down and given the rifle (B grade 1893, 32-40) a thorough going over with a cloth lightly impregnated with a little balistol.

Boy has it come up a treat.

Took a lot of dirt of the surface and the woodwork. The wood work now gleams with a dark red\brown colour to it. The metal work has kept the patina it has earned over the years. There is very light pitting on the magazine and there are a few scratches into the metal work but after 104 years it has earned all its battle scars.

The barrel looked immaculate when I got it but I sat down with the cleaning kit and balistol again. With a .30 calibre bronze brush I gave it a good scrub along with liberal ammounts of the aforementioned Balistol. About every 10 scrubs with the brush I passed a cleaning paTch through the barrel. I kept at this until the patches came out with only a little bit of black residue on them. Its not perfect yet but wow does the bareel shine. Absolutely no pitting, no worn rifling, just this lovely shine and rifling that looks crisp fromthe muzzle to the breech.

Next job was the rear sight. Identified in my earlier post as a Lyman #1 tang sight.

I removed this from the rifle very carefully and soaked it in balistol for a whole day. The knurl wouldnt raise the post at all before this. After soaking I wraped the knurl with some soft cloth and with a pair of pliers i gently started moving it. Low and behold the post started to rise. It was rusted inside the barrel of the sight. I took the post right out and then soaked the whole lot in oil for a few hours. I then set down with a lot of cotton buds and a .17 bronze brush and clkeaned out the barrel of the sight. Once satified I then took some very fine wire wool and cleaned off the post.

Result being I now have a working tang sight. I have noticed that the post has markings down its length and these are very hard to make out with my old eyes. Please forgive me but I think I am going to use some sort of white marker to make them stand out a little better, any suggestions?

I have been unable to discern any markings on the sight that I can read yet (need to get the magnifying glass out). I did notice that under the tang sight on the upper tang of the rifle are the words, Model 1893. The rear tang bolt seems to be a replacement but it does fit ok.

So now I have a nice looking, clean old rifle with working sights and an immaculate bore. Next job is to disassemble the rifle for a good clean and lubrication on the inside. Not sure how to go about this so I will do some more searching on the internet for instructions and a parts diagram.

As well as being a show piece in my collection this rifle is going to be used for CAS and for hunting. I have cornered the New Zealand market on 32-40 Winchester new brass for this rifle, I purchased the only 150 cases I could find for approx $2.05 each. I've ordered SAECO moulds and handles so that I can cast some projectiles and also ordered a set of RCBS cOWBOY dIES IN 32-40. Hopefully they should arrive within the next month. I went down to the gunshop and purchased 2 kilos of Fffg black powder and 1000 large rifle primers.

Saslex, this rifle is mechanically as good as the 1892 you got from your granddad. I hope i shoots as well.

The first lot of brass arrived yesterday. At first glance it looks very weird as it has a head the same as a 30-30 (you can make 32-40 out of 30-30 brass) and it has a long taper to the mouth.

AS you can tell I am finding it hard to wait to fire this rifle.

Chris

[Indiana_Jones]

Nice update

Sent an e-mail to your work addy

-Indy

[Mr Merde]

Nice update

Sent an e-mail to your work addy

-Indy

Off sick today