mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-In the late 80's the Australian government decided to auction off the entire store of SMLEs, parts and tools to a single successful bidder. When the dust cleared John Jovino Co of New York, NY got the whole shebang. You'll find their import mark on the right side of the receiver, just behind the stripper bridge.
-So many of the Australian SMLEs that you run across here in the US will be JJCO imports. While the vast majority are original Australian assembled and fielded rifles there are some that were assembled by JJCO staff from brand new spares. The No1 MKIII*s will have an "A" prefix serial number. The No2 MKIV .22 trainers will have a "T" prefix. The No1s don't get much love as JJ didn't bother to install recoil blocks, a must if you're going to shoot it. That tends to scare most away and thus drive the value of them down. I've installed copper recoil blocks in the past and it's not difficult, you just need to be very patient and careful.
-20 or more years ago I ran across the only JJCO No2 MKIV I've seen in the flesh at a PA gun show. It wasn't identified as a "clone" and it certainly got lots of attention. Even when listed at $500 in a time when a nice, original No2 MKIV sold for around $300.
-Just a couple of months ago I watched a JJCO No2 hammer on GunBroker for $1.2K. So when the opportunity to grab this one for $325 OTD came the shooter in me over-rode the collector. Not often do you get to buy an unfired No2, even if it's not original.
-Rear sight is new, along with everything else, but for a No1 in .303 so the range marks are of little value. Will try to dig up another Canadian Cooey No2 sight, a favorite of mine.
-So many of the Australian SMLEs that you run across here in the US will be JJCO imports. While the vast majority are original Australian assembled and fielded rifles there are some that were assembled by JJCO staff from brand new spares. The No1 MKIII*s will have an "A" prefix serial number. The No2 MKIV .22 trainers will have a "T" prefix. The No1s don't get much love as JJ didn't bother to install recoil blocks, a must if you're going to shoot it. That tends to scare most away and thus drive the value of them down. I've installed copper recoil blocks in the past and it's not difficult, you just need to be very patient and careful.
-20 or more years ago I ran across the only JJCO No2 MKIV I've seen in the flesh at a PA gun show. It wasn't identified as a "clone" and it certainly got lots of attention. Even when listed at $500 in a time when a nice, original No2 MKIV sold for around $300.
-Just a couple of months ago I watched a JJCO No2 hammer on GunBroker for $1.2K. So when the opportunity to grab this one for $325 OTD came the shooter in me over-rode the collector. Not often do you get to buy an unfired No2, even if it's not original.
-Rear sight is new, along with everything else, but for a No1 in .303 so the range marks are of little value. Will try to dig up another Canadian Cooey No2 sight, a favorite of mine.
