"Grade C" Enfield No 4 Mk1 Rifles from Royal Tiger Imports Review. Can't Win Them All..Or Can You?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
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I got suckered into buying one of the “Refinished“ No 4s from Classic. It was caked in dirt and had a half assed finish slapped over said dirt. Makes these seem like a bargain.
@@TheGearhead222 If you want people to know you're "John in Texas", change your username to "John In Texas" and stop signing every fucking comment with some 2003 era E-mail signature style.......
@@TheGearhead222 Being a vet doesn't mean I can't call out your stupid shit for being annoying.....The military is/was a job...Not a free pass to do dumb shit.
TheGearhead222 nope
Ben ,how could you! I've heard so many bad things about them.
Thanks Mike I really appreciate you doing a review of these guys. I really didn't know what to expect from these grade c rifles and this gives me somewhat of a idea.
Looks like they have removed your review now.
Don't hesitate to call them what they are. A scam.
Wow. That's low.
I've read a lot of horror stories on rifles from RTI. Of course though, when you buy rifles that came from countries where you know they were rode hard and put up wet, this is to be expected I guess. I am really excited about the decent stash of Carcanos and Chassepot's and I may take the risk on both here soon. At the price, it's worth it.
great review I ordered some carcano rifles from them will be doing a review soon.
Hey, good to see you're still kicking! I wouldn't get your hopes up for those rifles....Maybe just wait a little bit....If you catch my drift...
@@MikeB128 I picked up one from KY gun Co. They had a 1936 dated rifle with mint bore and in great shape! And some earlier 1901-1923 rifles that were hit or miss with rust and Being good rifles. Going back to pick up another, Really been wanting a mas 36 or Enfield, however I can't find anyone with reputable sellers of them...For a decent price
I just took a risk also on gambling on RTI. I just bought a 1891 Carcano rifle in a 6.5X52 grade B with a $40.00 hand picked boar rifle. After see this review … I’m kinda worried about what I’ll find in the mail …
Fazakerley is about a 20 minute drive from me, weird seeing rifles made there pop all over the world
The Royal Ordnance Factory buildings are still there, but it's an industrial estate now. Same with Maltby in Yorkshire, which was the other main factory for them in the UK.
That s amazing it's a very small world now I have a (F) Enfield and I hand selected it my self because it was closest to my actual birth date by ten years 4/50 and thusly not as old in better shape and at 100$it has turned out to be quite a value. Oh I'm in California USA .
I feel the same with Long Branch Enfields and Inglis High Powers
I bought a m16a1 kit from RTI they made me wait 3 weeks. Kit was very nice but they did not send me my pistol grip or the flash hider. After contacting them they told me to take a hike. Ended up buying replacement parts but they left a bad taste in my mouth.
Hehe, now I see why you said 'deals can be had on Enfields' in your last vid! Excellent quality video as always MIke, you're probably my favorite youtuber and you've taught me a sh*t ton!
OOOF! Thanks for posting the follow up to that comment thread on the other video. I have seen the same issue happen to some other guy on GunBoards on his Savage Grade C. It's a shame that pretty much all of them have the finish worn down to the white. It sounds like you did the right thing of ordering more than one to guarantee that at least one is going to be acceptable to shoot, and parting out the rest.
I wouldn't mind the finish being worn down, just really disappointed it is completely fucked.
Excellent review and actionable information. I was thinking about picking up a few as well. No longer.
Thanks
Thanks for sharing! Unfortunately, I took a gamble on a Gew98 that turned out let so. Everything looked good except the bore and am in the process of evaluating if I should shoot it with the faint rifle that exists in the barrel. The throat is pretty much smooth bore though so am waiting for shows to start up so I can grab a barrel to swap out.
Love enfields, just picked up a jungle carbine, 1945 BSA minty too. All matching including the mag. Thanks for the video Mike, you're the man
Your reviews are important. This one saved me time and money. Too commonly RTI seems to be over optimistic and somewhat lacking in objectivity. Thanks for posting.
I’ve been thinking about getting one, and I’ve decided for this very reason that I’ll only buy No.4’s in person, that rail is hit or miss.
The Rail issue, like I said in the video, is only on the No 4 MK1* rifles made by Savage and at Long Branch...
The barrels will make great tent pegs , build one out of them all , put a new barrel on it mate , head spaced to the best bolt / head , try 7x55 , same pressures but a better case from the 303 rimmed shell . Love your enthusiasm .
Oh... Okay. I see how it is. "No I've done videos like that before." "You sure? It could be a good video, people would enjoy it." One week later here it is. You SOB.
Don't you have a goat somewhere to violate? Stop trolling, sir. God bless.
Please explain what this is about?
Ouch
@@MikeB128 sounds like he was just joking and about to release a similar video lol
Have you checked the head space on all of them? What are the numbers on each bolt head?
After seeing the condition I feel like they wayyy overcharged for these, if the barrels were good with the crappy exterior that’s one thing, but with crappy bores super rough outsides and missing parts I think rti was ripping people off
I've been looking into getting a grade B No.4 Mk.1 from RTI for reenacting purposes. This provides some decent insight that I will take into consideration, but $350 for a rifle that should at least fire blanks seems like a pretty decent deal considering how much some people are asking for Enfields these days.
I just got into surplus stuff so take my input with a grain of salt as I am inexperienced. That being said I just got a B grade Number 4 in the mail from them last week. I opted to spend the extra $50 on a good bore and what I received passed the bullet test with flying colors. The rifle I have started as a Mk1 and was refurbished by the British at Fazakerley in the late 1950s and was converted to the Mk 1/2 configuration at that time. The only issue I see is a bent front sight hood wing, that is a cheap part to replace at less than $20 for a new one. Then only other issue is the bedding might be off as the downward pressure the barrel is supposed to put on the front of the stock does not seem to be there but the barrel does always go back to the same location after a bit of pressure is put on it. However I heard from the channel Bloke on the Range that some wartime rifles were factory free floated and seeing as my rifle was likely a war time production gun from the fact it started as a Mk1 it may be that it was built that way. I have not had a chance to shoot it yet but in conclusion I got an Enfield with a REALLY good bore in sound mechanical shape for less than $500. Honestly I'd roll the dice and get another one if I had the money, hopefully this helps you though!
maybe you buy the first one with the broken rail, blanks should be OK give him his $250 back worth a shot
About 8 years ago I bought my first Mosin-Nagant M91/30 from a different supplier, also for reenacting purposes. First time on the range I found it very difficult to extract spent rounds; turned out it has a burr in the chamber. Can't be fixed, and I suspect this was found when it was originally test-fired, because despite having a 1940 date it appears barely used, like it was put up on a shelf somewhere and forgotten. It's very pretty with its refinished stock, and it fires blanks just fine, so for my purposes I'm OK with it. But its always a crap shoot with milsurp.
Get a chamber reamer, have someone do it or do it yourself
I got a mosin m44 that was in a friend's garage for free. The barrel looked like a "sewer pipe" I cleaned it with hoppes and brush on drill and got it to where I felt comfortable putting a round through it from a distance with string. Two shots cleaned the barrel to where you could see the rifling again. I was surprised how well it looked again
I've done the same. Most of the time have had great results.
I've read the expression "with string" a few times, and I'm not quite sure what that means. Care to share?
@@duty5127 strap down the gun, tie a string to the trigger, pull it a safe distance away
Great review, I got lucky with my C grade. Bought one and it is a No. 4 Mk2 made in Fazakerley, 5 groove barrel. Slight cordworn at the end. Might recrow it, the muzzle test indicated that it was barely shot. Slight rust at the end of the barrel, and a good throat. Was missing the front sight protector, extractor spring, and forend nut and bolt. I bought some of the parts, but I'll have to fabricate a nut for bolt in the forend. Damm things are impossible to find. Magazine and safety came included. The only major problem which I haven't done to much to is the bolt won't cycle properly to lock forward. It won't come close to locking forward, even with extreme pressure on it. I think it was reassembled wrongly and I lack the firing pin tool to take it apart to check. I plan on buying that tool, maybe it's a knowledge thing, this is my first and only Lee Enfield rifle I own, so I'm more clueless on this then other rifles I own.
Check the bolt head is tightened correctly as a first move.
I bought one of these as well. Right out of the box the bolt was 1/4” from closing and it was stuck so tight I couldn’t smack the bolt
open. Also, it had an absolutely terrible smell to it. Like a dead animal. it’s a 1942 Fazarkly. Tapped the bolt out with a brass hammer and cleaned everything. I had a sporterized version before so I tried the bolt from it and it worked fine. Headspace was terrible tho. Also, the source of the smell seemed to be something brown that dried under the hand gaurd near the muzzle end of the gun. I’m not going to speculate what that was, just wiped it off with a Clorox wipe. The really cool part, was that on the left side of the gun, on the wood by the trigger gaurd it has 6 tally marks carved in it. (4 vertical with a slash and 1 more vertical) I’ve never seen this on a British gun before. It’s a cool wall hanger but that’s about it. I would consider it really dangerous to fire with the headspace the way it is. I’m not super upset by the purchase, just wish they might have specified that these cannot be made into shooters, that some of these had defects that make them unusable.
.303 cartridge head space on the rim. So if the bolt snaps shut with a little pressure. You should be ok
Like the muzzle test. And crown check used to pay 10/25 $ s for hand pick and get a fine gun.those days gone!
I got lucky, bought a No 5 Mk 1 that was in in decent shape from a special they ran. The bolt was incorrect as it didn't have the correct lightening hole for it. (similarly this example does not have the correct bolt, but a lightened No. 5 Mk 1 Jungle Carbine bolt. It took about a month but I felt the company was responsive and exchanged my incorrect bolt for a correct one. That gun is amazing.
My local gun shop has a sporterized Savage SMLE from 1942, has the simpler two aperture L sight, the front sight is still there, it's only the stock that has any issues for $400. I think I would go with them than that parts heap. From what I'm hearing of some Royal Tiger Imports lately, they're not worth the money. I've seen some pretty ragged and rough looking K98's that they're asking a fortune for but look like they were dragged down a gravel road.
Thanks for posting this. The bolt guns from RTI have all been less than impressive based on videos and pictures I have seen. I don't agree with review censoring either, if you don't want peoples opinion on your page don't ask for reviews. I have bought a few things from RTI, and reviewed the M1 Carbine on my channel.
I know they have a disclaimer on their site, but I really think you have a legitimate grievance with the Savage. They're specifically listing them as project rifles and as you said the fundamental integrity of the receiver is gone. At this point it is questionable if it even can be described as a project rifle. Seems as though they didn't inspect them at all, or even worse didn't care.
Feel like I learned a few things about inspecting milsurps.
I just pulled the trigger on a No. 1 Mk iii from RTI.
I REALLY hate buying a firearm (especially old MilSurp) sight unseen. I’m fully expecting a wall hanger.
I bought a m1 carbine, carcano and a c grade enfield. Enfield turned out to be no 4 mk 1/3 only thing wrong was bolt missing parts. But I noticed several reviews taking down across several rifles are were negative reviews
Matt Proctor how was the carbine? I looked at them, but decided against it after reading reviews
Put a copper strip in the bolt guide groove and built it back up with TIG weld, the copper won't weld and the groove won't have to be re cut.
Not everybody has a fucking TIG welder laying around, and the know-how to do it..........
@@MikeB128😂😂😂
I dunno , I feel for you but buying anything from him is a risk. First IO now all these African guns . Most are wall hangers at best. I like history too, but he is about the money I think.. maybe I’m wrong .
It would appear that's what he's about. I made this video in an attempt to educate people on this "too good to be true" "deal".
Mike I bought an Enfield No.4 back in 1990 for $99. They were essentially unused just had a ton of cosmoline all over it. I sold all of my curio and relics about five years ago and am sick I didn't keep a few. Other than a few vendors I would say the hobby is pretty dead like I saw you comment in a previous video. Good luck I would get anything you deem shootable checked by a gunsmith.
Ik u pry dont usually use head space gages and stuff but if i were you id defintly check those before u shoot up to u tho
I got 12 of the Sarco NO 4 specials for 29 each a few months back, no safetys, mags or bolts. 9 of 12 useable ,B grade.all. 7 Savages, 4 Long Branch and 1 Frenzy. All for 525 with shipping. So with another 500 in parts the Sarco was a good deal, Lots of rust and days of beadblasting saved them all, I m doing old fashion rust bluing to them. Buyer beware, 2 of those I have were plugged with lead. Mike, Thanks for the heads up, I thought about getting 2 but maybe not now with RTI
I got kinda thirsty to buy a no4 mk1, so I got a sportized one for around 350 and it was kinda rough around the edges. And it was worth it because it’s so damn accurate it’s ridiculous, bullet test passed with flying colors I think I honestly just got lucky
I remember buying 5- and 10-gun lots from CAI, SOG and I/O for $10-20 each and being really pissed at what they sent,.....but I never got anything THAT bad.
I’m glad I live 10 minutes away from a FFL that emphasizes C&R firearms. There are a lot of better deals price wise online but being able to put my hands on the firearms is comforting to me. Just got a Yugo SKS that looks unissued (definitely not an expert but I’m comparing to other examples I’ve seen before.) I sold a lot of what I brought back to CA before I moved to VA with the mind set I would buy “modern” firearms since I was leaving a ban state. Now of course I’m regretting it. Although I’m glad I sold everything to my two best friends so I can still shoot them when ever I visit San Diego but now I want to restart my C&R collection since I got my fill on ARs/AKs etc.
Seems like some decent parts at least. At 18:29 you can see that No 4 has a No 5 trigger guard which actually worth alot more.
RTI riding the line is a good way to put the company. Bought an M48 with a decent bore, cleaned up decent (hideous import mark but that happens), and mildly beat up with some paint on the stock that i cant read. Still fun as hell to shoot and only needed a replacement firing pin spring.
This will make for a nice watch. Nice
Royal Tiger Imports also owns I.O. they are the only gun company that I know of that makes Century look like great businessmen and wonderful gunsmiths. I have ordered from them 5 times over the past 10 years, it has all been absolute junk priced like gems.......seriously snake oil salesmen are better than Royal Tiger
They recently had these for 199. Made a video about it. It's not a prize pig but its decent for a range trip if you don't care about tight groupings.
I was more concerned about catastrophic failures, as I made another video about when I brought these out to the range.....
Your last rifle with the sticky bolt appears to me to have a slight twist in the action, if any one in Australia offered any Milsurp like any of those rifles they would be closed down and charged by our Consumers protection people, selling fire arms here is very hard and any like those are just not on at all, most of our .303's are Australian Lithgow manufacture with others made by BSA, Enfield and any No 4's are usually Longbranch manufacture, all are safe to shoot or they are sold as spare parts, my own is a No5 manufactured in 1946 at the Fazackerly factory and as tight as the day it was made, I have notice a few that have the markings ROF which is the Royal Ordinance Factory which are in all likelyhood made in India, the only ones here have been converted to .308 by the Indian factories and don't sell well at all
Sometimes, a bore that fails the ‘Bullet Test’ will shoot pretty good if hand loads using .312-.313” bullets. Oversized cast bullets are often a great option. Most mil spec or mil surplus ammo runs a .310” bullet.
I rolled the dice on 2 Carcano carbines but have not received them yet. I am hoping one of the two will be a shooter. I already have a 1916 Carcano long rifle that is in need of a good bolt which is otherwise really nice. Only time will tell how my luck of the draw will turns out?
At a antique store a year ago I came across a No 4 Mk 1 and they said it was one that was used by the us military did the British government send us any lee Enfields
No, the US made rifles and sent them to Britain. They had US Property stamped on the receivers, but the US never used them.
Lend Lease required that the equipment made in the US be marked "US Property" and returned or paid for after WW2.
The UK finished paying the WW2 loans in December 2006.
Russia paid 10c on the dollar after defaulting.
Check the bolt handle on that last one - early/experimental. It’s hollow on the ball
Rifle number 1 is salvageable by carefully build-up welding the broken track area and then slit saw mill a new groove along with end milling a new gap for the bolt groove follower - common repair done for years with machining steps duplicating the way the thing was machined during initial mfg . Done carefully, you'd never know it was repaired.
Looks like you could get a new barrel for a couple ofvthem and have a good shooter. That savage though i thinit DOA can't really repace the receiver and i would trust and welding on such a small part but you could use the sights and other parts to fox up your other ones.
I really learned something about the actual gun not just the about the place you bought from. Would really like to see you do a video telling the difference between each mk of Enfield.
Eh, I don't have all the models so I can't make that vid.
The second one you showed us is almost identical to the one I bought from them. I don't like to take these out of there stocks but it needed cleaned badly and found, like yours, it has a band or "ring" just under the forward band (behind the front sight). When out of the stock it was easy to see that the barrel is indeed bulged and explained the temporary loose feeling while punching out the bore. Perhaps it was fired with a bore obstruction and interestingly, my bolt is jacked up like yours. My firing pin and cocking piece are not mating tightly and allowing itself to jump out of the bolt notches. I wonder if it had anything to do with the trauma of firing with a bore obstruction???
I just took it out of the stock, and yep, same thing. Not as pronounced, but definitely there and easy to feel. I'm guessing it was either a bore obstruction, or it got dirt in it, was stored right side up, and water rested in it, creating a rusty spot, then was fired and bulged. Either way, unsafe for live rounds. I may just sell it as a blank firing gun at cost to a reenactor. As long as I don't lose much on this, I am fine, but man, lesson learned and I hope others take heed of what RTI is dealing.
One I got was perfectly fine. Wood was dented up bad but serviceable, bore was mint with good throat and headspace, Finish was maybe 50% on external parts but was still like new inside the wood, and of course the biggest thing seemed to be the almost complete lack of markings. The lack of markings was almost an issue at my ffl as we had to find a "serial number" in order to transfer it to me.
I love old guns, they have a lot of character.
Yep. If I can eventually get 4/5 to shoot well and safely, I won't be as disappointed. Still going to be a lot of work but hey, gives me something to do right?
Got one of the complete collector(not the highest priced option) grade no. 4s, it appears to have had some refurbishment or is post war (which they did said it might be) and it is great shape with a nice minty bore. You actually helped me figure out that it is most likely a Savage as it has the the US property mark on it with the same bolt removal and it even came with a ok leather sling. Only problem with it was a slightly bent sight protector which is fixable and the no. 1 mag then sent which I just mailed for exchange at their cost.
I got a carcano coming today from them, I dont know what I'm in for 😬
As long as your expectations are low, I think you will be alright.
Well the verdict in, I pulled it out of the box and I was like hell yeah it's in decent condition. Then I looked down the bore. It was literally a smooth bore. Never buying something from them again
@@thomasdonnelly2642 damm and I was excited to get one
@@Apolloneek did yours come in yet?
I got one model m38 last Friday and was in really good shape
Mike, wonderful video as usual; fantastic roll of the dice! I just pulled my Savage made Number 4 out of the safe. Please have a smith take a look at the bolt track. The “chip” your looking at may be the the point on a Savage where the bolt head is rotated up for removal from the rifle. It also appears that the extension of the grove forward of the space has been crushed and flattened to where the bolt head will not glide under it and instead overrides it. It may be repairable without too much cost or effort by a good Enfield/SMLE smith. Also please, please get a set of Okie head space gauges (disks) to check the headspace. Well used Enfields can be rather easily have excessive head space brought back into spec by replacing the bolt head, unless it’s already a 5. Cheers, Mate!
That is where you rotate the bolt head on a No4 Mk1* like I said, The issue is that it's much wide due to chipping, causing the bolt head to pop out. As far as the head-space gauges, yes, I'm aware and have a Field gauge on the way.
bought one of the M1 carbines from RTI. Got a really good arsenal upgraded early production winchester, fantastic bore. I was incredibly pleased with it. All but had my credit card out when they emailed about a memorial day sale on the top grade enfields. They weren't actually open on memorial day, so i checked the website - no mention of this sale anywhere, no way to verify it if you did order one. Called the next day, was told "sorry, that was a one day sale, nothing I can do".....I vented about it a bit on a firearms forum, lo and behold bought a clean, great bore 43 LB FTR (prior to the Mk 2 standard, so still a Mk 1*) for 400 + shipping from another member that saw my post. Patience pays off sometimes.
I'm tempted to pick up an M1 Carbine from them. Any thoughts?
I'm not going to go down the "I remember when" road. It just seems that $250 for a dog turd rifle is a bit much. It's kind of why I'm not buying one of those CZ-52 rifles from Classic. I keep seeing comments about broken stocks and rode hard, put away wet.
Wow, hadn't thought about that....This was my largest and last purchase from RTI, which is why I made this video so others don't get fucked like I did. They delete reviews so people have no way of knowing.
sounds like these guys are about as trustworthy as sweaty ben! Been looking for an Enfield for a while, but IMHO will be waiting till I can inspect something in person.
Well them and sweaty Ben are old friends, so it doesn't surprise me.
Hi. Many of the rifles made in the U.S. Had a gap in the rail like your 1st example. This is to facilitate the removal of the bolt.
HURR DURRRR no way.... DId I not explicitly say the gap was broken and fucked and makes it so the bolt face won't engage it?
Who made rifles 3, 4, and 5? Also, were any of the Enfields counterbored, or was that just a Mosin thing? Thanks for the video.
I’ve had No1 MkIII’s made by Lithgow that had been counterbored. Both WWI dates of manufacture.
I might buy one if they sold them as a partsgun at a lot cheaper price but not at their price. I would buy a set of headspace gauges and slug the barrels, One good thing about Enfields is the bolthead being made in different sizes for headspace.. I also like the different length of the butt-stock that can be change to fit a person better than one size fits all.
Why not rebore to .410 the ones your not sure off
I have a no4 mk2 that I sporterized about 30 years ago for hunting. I would like to put back to all military. I'll buy the wood from you if it's for sale
You can find no2mk2 wood from liberty tree collectors
Was considering getting an m48 from them but now not so much
Idk if you have parted the rifle out, but if you do i need a walnut fore-end like that :D
I got a lebel from the same shipments, and while they're stated as being grade B which is different than your grade C obvi, it was in better shape than i had expected
What your asking about around 17:50
That would be the trigger sear catching the rear locking lug, I was scammed into a rifle that had that issue "fixed" with JB weld. Sold it because I didnt want to deal with a gun that had damage to the reciever since that is what causes it.
Not unsafe just super annoying.
They were better than I expected given the description and that they were discarded into a warehouse by Ethiopia.
The last one needs a bore cleaning by electrolysis. The bolt rifles from RTI that came out of Ethiopia are in NRA shitty condition overall. The M1 Carbines actually seem to be in decent condition and are actually in original WW2 trim. I have a history with RTI/ Interordnance that put them on my "never do business with again, ever" list. YMMV.
There is a reason I spent this much money to make a video like this...I wasn't expecting gems, but certainly wasn't expecting Wall hangers for that price. To me, it's worth it to spend the money to get the word out so more people don't get burned.
I guess I got lucky, I got one of these and it was in great shape, besides a few missing parts. The bore on mine has very strong rifling and the stock is great. The functioning issues that it had were fixed by just taking everything all the way apart and cleaning it really thoroughly.
I did buy the rifle before the B-grade ones were listed on their website, so I wonder if RTI reclassified a lot of the better condition C-grades into B-grade
Ok serious question from a fellow milsurp guy. Optimistic thought here, with those bullet tests you’re probably only hundreds or less of rounds away from keyholing rounds. Why spend over a dollar a round shooting a 5-6 moa rifle? Seems like a waste of money for something that simply makes noise
Counter boring might help the muzzle but won’t mean shit if the throats worn. And 9-10 times throats wear faster than muzzles counterbore is more for damaged muzzles not worn out ones
Ever think that at the time, I had a little extra dough, and was hearing horror stories, so I decided to buy 5 as a dice roll expecting at least ONE shooter and sell the rest as parts? Instead I got 5 useless piles of shit, and was able to make videos to warn others from rolling the dice and getting screwed.... I only lost a few bucks in the end as I followed through with my plan and sold them for parts. There's your "serious answer" to your "serious question".
Ordered from them twice had to be the worst experience I’ve ever had because both times they sent me the wrong model of Lee Enfield I wanted a number for Mark one and both times I’ve ordered they sent Mark twos and this was a 2 month process
These look like a lot of fun. I've never run into an Enfield that I would touch as far as totally refinishing it, at least until now. These could use a blue or phosphate finish topped with the cheapest semi gloss black rattle can paint one could find. They are overpriced junk, but RTI can charge a lot of money for these because they don't grow on trees (not anymore). Unless we find some other country that has these in warehouses and willing to sell to U.S. Importers, these look like the end of the line.
You're being to polite, in my opinion these should be described as barely c grade shooters
I've been wanting to get one of the Gew 88 from RTI. I would more than likely never shoot it but worry about get a piece of garbage cosmetically.
I got one of the carbines and the bore is trashed, but other than that it was in good shape, at least for its age.
@@sharpcookie791 Well, it is at least great for a wall hanger.
ALL the weapons from RTI that came out of Ethiopia are WAY OVER PRICED..
The whole idea behind C&R and surplus firearms was to give the guy with not a lot of money a chance at owning a old firearm and maybe start collecting in order to keep our tradition alive..
Not anymore it has gone straight to greed. And it's becoming a rich man's sport.Until people stop paying outrageous prices for battlefield pickups the prices will remain high.
On #5 ,Try Dawn dishwashing liquid and attach your cleaning rod with brush to a cordless drill..Then some LA's Totally Awesome all purpose cleaner. Then finish up with Hoppes. It works for me.
sorry for dum question, but
could you take parts from each rifle and build something that is just ok?
Artem Boiko you can but it could cause problems like head spacing being out of place
Which is why most of the time you’d just have it completely refurbished at an Arsenal
@@sovietstarfishproductions5019 You can get a headspace gauge but yeah it definitely needs to be checked
Would reboring to 8MM BSA or even .338/303 be an option for someone who seriously wants to shoot one with a bad barrel?
"I sound like Tim Pool" 😂
These are the ones from Ethiopia, isn’t it.
Bought a B grade rifle, read the reviews and promptly cancelled the order.
4 neglect African owned riffles, 1 with an Ethiopian art work on a tiger walnut stock. RTI paid 20$ each probably, tops
Years ago, I was in the gun business on the side working gun shows when I could make them. One day on Shotgun news I saw a Chinese import 3 BOLO mauser pistols in rough shape for 60 bucks. So I ordered them in thinking perhaps I could make one of the 3. I did, I managed to build on Mauser broomhandle BOLO out of the 3. None of them hand much for rifling and there was no way in hell I was going to shoot the one I built. I did polish her up and blue her in our hot bluing bath on our next bluing day (I worked with 2 other gunsmiths in a large facility at the time part time when I had days off on the PD) I took all the parts and the gun to the next gun show and everything sold, back then I thought I made good bucks, got 200 out of the mostly complete gun (missing grips) and 100 out of the other 2 parts missing guns. I guess in deals like that, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
Congrats..
RTI seems to accumulate some not so favorable comments on their grading system. I know that milsurp is about at the end of it's endless supply but they should not endanger people who may not know guns well. Looks like at least three of these should be parts only guns. They do seem to embellish there wording to say the least. Sorry that happened to you but I hear the same for there carcanos.
I have seen them pull negative comments as well.
Mike you seem like a bloke who knows what he is doing but still I suggest completely strip those down and check for inspection markings before you shoot any of them.
I wouldn't be surprised if you find DP (Drill Purpose Only) or ZF (Serious fault beyond repair) on them. In which case, not safe to shoot.
Normally you'll see those clearly marked on the stock, collar or chamber but sometimes they can be stamped on the receiver below the wood or on the barrel itself.
That rifle with POF front band probably has a warped receiver which is why the bolt is binding.
They are not DP rifles.......And yes, I know the receiver is probably bent..
The mk 1* needs a different bolt, one w/fwd. and trailing edges of the groove beveled. You can also use a jewelers file..
Did you miss the part where the rail is completely fucked so it doesn't matter?
@@MikeB128 The rail can be dressed. Others have repaired this same problem...rainy day project.
Let me get the furniture and hardware from that Savage
I don't think I'll ever purchase from RTI.
Good call IMO.
the patina on these looks super cool, if they ran 100% I'd want one
Hey Mike, I just recently bought an M48, but it has a pretty dark bore. What do you recommend I use to clean the bore up? I’ve looked up shit, but I trust your judgement before some random comment.
Random ... Flitz and elbow grease. #2 Fire lap the bore. #3 White vinegar (cleaning grade).
If you want to part out that savage I need the fore end and all the hand gaurd stuff. Trying to restore mine. Let me know.
Im finding much better Enfield's on Gunbroker sometimes cheaper with mirror bores. RTI is trying to act like your buying history from Ethiopia. They got stuck with junk and pushing them like well they will shoot. They will keyhole but it shoots. Sometimes you have to rebuild it to get that.
I'd be interested in buying the rear sight off that savage rifle if you want to part with it. Let me know if you want to get rid of it. Thanks
I had one rebarreled and chambered for 45/70 whished i had kept it many times.
I bought 2 they were horrible bores bad and head space
Learn not to gamble.
Part them out and make your money back. The mag and stock set alone is worth good money.
british headspace is longer than SAAMI so they might not have passed SAAMI spec straight from the factory
A fool and his money is Easley parted.