No4 Mk2 Fazakerley 1955

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Joe
Do you want a minter to keep as pristine or a good example to actually use??
If you want a good shooting rifle you could do worse than have one made by someone like CG firearms with almost new components and a brand new Walther barrel.
It might not get approval of the purists,it will shoot well and you won't be worried about knocking the life out of it.
And

[joe]

Joe
Do you want a minter to keep as pristine or a good example to actually use??
If you want a good shooting rifle you could do worse than have one made by someone like CG firearms with almost new components and a brand new Walther barrel.
It might not get approval of the purists,it will shoot well and you won't be worried about knocking the life out of it.
And

Looking for mint condition for collection and shooting
I've have seen online an unfired one for 2k
And a mint condition one for £1100

[pe4king]

1950's long branch they are outstanding, fit and finish in fantastic, and never touched by a scouse

[joe]

1950's long branch they are outstanding, fit and finish in fantastic, and never touched by a scouse

what the difference between a long branch and the No.4??

[Gingercat]

what the difference between a long branch and the No.4??

Long branch is a No.4 MkI* format, so slot in the bolt rail for releasing the bolt and trigger is hung differently to the No.4 MkII rifle.

The 'Singer' sight on a No.4 MkII has better adjustments than the Long Branch sight (easier to adjust).

Both should have 5 groove rifling.
Long Branch has dark North American walnut furniture - Faz tends to be beech of various shades and walnut is quite rare on a No.4 MkII 1950s rifle.

I managed to find a 1950 Long Branch, all matching, for £400 last year, so there are deals to be found and agree they are very nice rifles.

Regards

Mike

[450 Martini]

Long Branch was the Canadian No4 factory that built the mk1* design standard, All of the newly made PF and UF prefix post war mark 2 rifles were built at Fazakerley.

My first full bore centre fire rifle was a 1949 Fazakerley built No4 mk2 in unfired condition. It cost £350 (2005 prices) and I first shot it with some cordite loaded mark VII wartime surplus on a cold December morning at Minsterley. Over the years with careful application of linseed oil and a occasional buffing with a cloth it's woodwork has improved over the years. I even managed to get on target with it during a shoot in truly abysmal weather up at Thorpe Cloud where the rain went sideways and the firing point was a puddle.

[GeeRam]

1950's long branch they are outstanding, fit and finish in fantastic, and never touched by a scouse

[pe4king]

1950's long branch they are outstanding, fit and finish in fantastic, and never touched by a scouse

They are in my opinion the pinnacle of no4 production, well made and not just put together to keep a factory ticking over !.

[Grizzly]

Yes be careful, It's not that difficult to tart up a gun to make it look nice and Bright and Shiny.
EFD seem to be a bit guilty of this. Quite how people think that rifles that were used in WWII
and the Korean War, never mind Suez, Cyprus, Kenya duing te Mau Mau rising etc.will remain
prsitine I do not know. As to those hat came out of store went to the USA and then came back
the last one I saw still in its' wrapper was £850 with an honest dealer 3 years ago.

Many thousands weren't used. Check that the rifle has all matching numbers and all parts (woodwork, receiver, bolt, magazine etc.) are in a similar condition. Match that with C.A.I. ST ALB VT stamped on the barrel and you will know it's one that originally went to the states.

[Laurie]

what the difference between a long branch and the No.4??

Long branch is a No.4 MkI* format, so slot in the bolt rail for releasing the bolt and trigger is hung differently to the No.4 MkII rifle.

The 'Singer' sight on a No.4 MkII has better adjustments than the Long Branch sight (easier to adjust).

Both should have 5 groove rifling.
Long Branch has dark North American walnut furniture - Faz tends to be beech of various shades and walnut is quite rare on a No.4 MkII 1950s rifle.

I managed to find a 1950 Long Branch, all matching, for £400 last year, so there are deals to be found and agree they are very nice rifles.

Regards

Mike

York Guns had a fair few Long Branch Mk1* s some years back - very nice and also cheap. They had a mixture of Mk2 (simple flip-over) and Mark 3 or 4 rearsights and they had two-groove barrels which severely limited what people would pay.

Nice rifles though in good condition and I'm told they mostly shot very well. One thing I have noticed over the years is that Long Branch rifles seem to be chambered much more tightly than the British or US examples I've seen. Nothing scientific in that opinion - just looking at their fireformed brass, it seems much less expanded than cases fired in other factories' rifles. (I had an inter-war BSA Service Rifle (b) SMLE for a while complete with the heavy match barrel, no open rearsight or opening for one on the handguard, and all the bedding bells and whistles i/c two coil springs twixt handguard and bearing blocks on top of the barrel. Its cases were so expanded that they could be legitimately described as 'improved versions' with the shoulders moving forwards enough to seriously shorten the neck length and neck-sizing was no good as the case wouldn't fit the seater die cavity!)