My latest find is this Britsh Snider Mk111 short rifle. The short rifle only had two barrel bands and was several inches shorter than the standard three band model. It was referred to as the Sergeants model, as it was usually issued to NCO's.
This particular example has spent the past 125 years in a farmhouse - completely untouched for all that time. The original finish to the wood had shrunk and crazed over the years, and on the L/H side of the stock was a deep crack around the forward lock plate retaining bolt. I have my own opinions on how this may have occured.
When I removed the barrel from the stock I noticed that the forward lock plate retaining bolt had been filed flat - probably to allow the barrel to bed down better in the stock. I have this idea that if someone had tried to remove the lock before removing the barrel, the action of turning the bolt would have placed the rounded side of the bolt against the underside of the barrel and tried to force it upward as the bolt was turned. The stock being the weaker of the two materials gave way. Fortunately, the split does not appear to have weakened the stock to any noticeable extent.
The clearing rod also appears to have a period repair about two thirds down its length. There is also a small disc which has been attached to the stock just to the rear of the barrel tang. Has anyone any ideas what it may represent?
All in all, this is a very nice example of a true Mk111 as opposed to the early rifles which were just a conversion of the Enfield P53. The serial number on the receiver is only three digits as well. I have included a couple of pictures of the rifle before its clean up
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