mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-One of the things I stress when digging for gold in auctions or inventory listings is that you need to lay eyes on EVERYTHING, can't depend on a search tool. Because many times an item has a misspelled word or a clueless description that will be passed by in a keyword search. Yes, it's mind-numbingly tedious but does yield gold many times. Case in point is the following from a live and online supported auction from yesterday...
-Here's the listing (I kid you not!): Jjco Ba On Trigger Guard 7.62 X S4r. OK, without looking at the photos, what the hell is this? I'm old and luckily have seen the import mark of John Jovino Co many times before: JJCO. The BA is an Aussie mark for Bathhurst, who produced SMLE components. The 7.62 x S4r, damned if I know where this came from. Over the years I've noticed, as the number of Mosin Nagants has saturated the US market, the tendency of auctioneers unfamiliar with firearms to label everything as a MN. Perhaps that's what happened this time around.
-There was a SN listed "T1591". This was another key bit of evidence but did throw in a bit of confusion at the same time. The three auction photos were enough to confirm the basics but lacking in specifics to leave some mystery (beautiful photography that was worthless because it didn't highlight any marks or a complete 360 view).
-What we have is a Australian Lithgow built SMLE, with import marks of John Jovino Co who bought out the remaining Australian SMLE stocks and spares in the late 80s/early 90s. They imported roughly 6,000 complete SMLEs and built complete rifles using spare actions and new furniture. I've seen the "T" for target prefix/suffix (can't remember exactly which) on all of their in-house built No2 MK IV .22 trainers. In this case the mystery is the 7.62 x S4R description because I'm leaning hard that it's one of those .22 trainers and not a No1 MKIII* in .303 Br.
-But either way it sold stupid cheap for $325 OTD and I have no doubt the jacked up description and lack of a complete set of photos kept bidders at bay (not me!). If it's a No1 MKIII* I have no doubt it'll require installing copper recoil blocks since new furniture was supplied to arsenals without them as it was expected that the armorer would hand fit the forestock to the action. If it's a No2 MK IV then the recoil blocks won't be necessary and it's good to go as is. Won't know for sure what I bought, No1 or No2, until it arrives but I'm comfortable with it either way for this price!
-Here's the listing (I kid you not!): Jjco Ba On Trigger Guard 7.62 X S4r. OK, without looking at the photos, what the hell is this? I'm old and luckily have seen the import mark of John Jovino Co many times before: JJCO. The BA is an Aussie mark for Bathhurst, who produced SMLE components. The 7.62 x S4r, damned if I know where this came from. Over the years I've noticed, as the number of Mosin Nagants has saturated the US market, the tendency of auctioneers unfamiliar with firearms to label everything as a MN. Perhaps that's what happened this time around.
-There was a SN listed "T1591". This was another key bit of evidence but did throw in a bit of confusion at the same time. The three auction photos were enough to confirm the basics but lacking in specifics to leave some mystery (beautiful photography that was worthless because it didn't highlight any marks or a complete 360 view).
-What we have is a Australian Lithgow built SMLE, with import marks of John Jovino Co who bought out the remaining Australian SMLE stocks and spares in the late 80s/early 90s. They imported roughly 6,000 complete SMLEs and built complete rifles using spare actions and new furniture. I've seen the "T" for target prefix/suffix (can't remember exactly which) on all of their in-house built No2 MK IV .22 trainers. In this case the mystery is the 7.62 x S4R description because I'm leaning hard that it's one of those .22 trainers and not a No1 MKIII* in .303 Br.
-But either way it sold stupid cheap for $325 OTD and I have no doubt the jacked up description and lack of a complete set of photos kept bidders at bay (not me!). If it's a No1 MKIII* I have no doubt it'll require installing copper recoil blocks since new furniture was supplied to arsenals without them as it was expected that the armorer would hand fit the forestock to the action. If it's a No2 MK IV then the recoil blocks won't be necessary and it's good to go as is. Won't know for sure what I bought, No1 or No2, until it arrives but I'm comfortable with it either way for this price!