[disclaimer]I don’t hunt, I go target shooting on my property with these guns.[/disclaimer]
I almost mentioned that earlier.
I have both the '94 and the Marlin 336. 'Cept the 336 is chambered in .356.
The .356 is a cannon compared to the 30-30. But… I really like the 30-30. I’ve shot the 30-30 much more than the .356. .356 is hard to find ammo for compared to the 30-30. And, a bit more punishing, and a lot more expensive to shoot. Actually, the .356 is a lot more punishing to shoot.
I have to say that I like the 336’s action much more than the '94. It’s a tight gun. But I really like my '94.
I wonder myself, if for some crazy reason I had to abondon my house, which rifle I would choose. It would probably depend on how much ammo I had on hand for each.
I’m going to wade in here and say that, IMNSHO, the best rifle ever made the .303 calibre Lee-Enfield No 4 Mk II.
Why?
Well, for a start, you’ve got the fastest bolt-action ever designed, a generous 10-shot magazine, a bayonet lug, and effective ghost-ring sights, a solid and reliable action, and it fires the hard-hitting but mild recoil .303 British round- and they’re very accurate. You can get 1 MOA out of them with factory rounds, and no matter what you do to them (dropping them, carting them through mud, snow, and jungle, not cleaning them) it will still fire, accurately, every time you need it.
As for handguns- I have to confess, I’d rather have a Webley Mk VI than a Colt M1911A1. But if I was told I could have any 9mm pistol I wanted, it would either be a Browning High Power, a Mauser C96 “Broomhandle”, or a Sig P226- it’s a tough call.
I had a Winchester Model 94 a couple of years ago- it was terrible. Horribly inaccurate, and it kicked like a mule. I sold it bought a Lee-Enfield No 5 Mk I Jungle Carbine, and haven’t looked back since. In fact, everything I said of the No 4 Mk II is also true of the Jungle Carbine, but the Jungle Carbine is shorter and lighter…
I own a Moisin. That third column is right on the money. I think I’ve only put 20 rounds through it because my shoulder can’t take the pounding.
ME, I have both a Mark III and a No. 4, Mk II. The former is my shooting piece. The latter is cherry - I removed it from the wrapping and cleaned the grease off it with my own two hands. It’s never been fired.
The only Russian piece I have right now is a Makarov, sweet little pistol, but I’d love to get a Mosin Nagent… Never have I wanted an AK, however.
I’m still working on my “guns of American wars” collection, so the other Allies will have to wait (yes, the Enfield is below an M1 or M14 on my list).
Bobtheoptimist, you might want to get a New England Westinghouse Moisin-Nagant M91 rifle… they were made and supplied by the US when they intervened in the Russian Civil War in 1917/1918. The US Government didn’t want expensive Springfield '03s falling into the hands of the Communists, so they outfitted all the US Expeditionary Force with US-made M91 rifles.
They’re not hugely common, but they do pop up from time to time on Gunbroker and so on…
Silenus, what sort of SMLE Mk III have you got? Any idea which manufacturer?
No freaking clue. The serial number is M15851, the stripper clip guide is a big “U” shaped piece, and it has a magazine cut-off for single-shots. The brass circle on the stock says 3B 322. Missing most of its blueing. Shoots like a dream.
Silenus, that’s a VERY unusual SMLE Mk III you’ve got there if it’s actually dated 1940.
Have a look on the right hand side of the buttsocket- there should be a stamping with the maker (Post it anyway, even if it makes no sense!), and underneath that, a year, and then “Sht LE III” or “SMLE III”, or simply “III”.
Do all the serial numbers (receiver, bolt, nosecap) match?
The thing is, the round cocking knob on the back was phased out in 1916, as was the Magazine Cut-Off. They were restored briefly after WWI, but were again well phased out by WWII.
Production of the SMLE Mk III finished at BSA in 1940 when the Germans bombed the place (they switched over to the No 4 Mk I), but continued at Lithgow and Ishapore until the 1950s (Ishapore may still be making them)…
Did I mention I’m something of a British/Commonwealth firearms Historian?
You’ve got a 1940 BSA SMLE Mk III, manufactured at the BSA Small Heath plant during the Battle Of Britain.
According to my copy of The Lee-Enfield Story production at BSA Small Heath ended in 1943 (not 1940 as I originally thought), but production had been farmed out elsewhere since 1940 as well as kept on-site.
The round cocking knob was retained by BSA after WWI, but the magazine cut-off is unusual- they’re rarely seen on UK made SMLEs dated after 1916.
Anyway, you own an authentic piece of Battle of Britain (and UK WWII) history! It’s a lovely gun, and puts my 1918 dated SMLE Mk III* to shame…
To all you long distance dopers out there, between modern incarnations of the M1 Garand and the M14, which one would you say comes closest to the 1911’s unsupassed (imho) natural pointability, hand fit & ergonomics. Which one most naturally just seems to shoot where you point it? Which one would be the best “all around” rifle (using iron sights) for wilderness hunting & predator protection (4 & 2 legged) and perhaps service rifle matches?
Not that I’m thinking of buying anything, you undertand, no, not me dear, I’m, uhh, just askong for my own education, ya’know, just curious, hypothetically speaking …
