Anyone shooting vintage rifles?

Frederick Williams said:
That is one very nice rifle. Well done.(y)

I have a Pedersolli .451 cylindrical, grease groove bullet mould. Number and weight just escapes me at the moment. But the bullet I use almost exclusively, is a hexagonal bullet that I cast from one of Peter Starley's excellent moulds. Patched with 0.002" Velum, it makes .452" and is a comfortable fit in both my bores.
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Yes, I heard about Mr Starley's moulds last year, from the FB Whitworth pages, in which I am an infrequent poster. Alas, that I'm determined to retain both my kidneys, if only with the aim of maintaining symmetry. I got my Pedersoli mould from the home-front for about a third of the cost of Mr Starley's creation, and that included shipping in these costy times.
 
I have a hex based mould here that a mate in Kiwiland wants to see I believe.
I can check with him Tac.

Re my mould for Snider, Martyn sells it and the one you have.
Mine is called the Pukka mould.
I am supposed to get a petcentage when he sells mine, so he likes to his own, Lol!!!
 
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chouchin66 said:
Perfect.👍 The .22 short is under appreciated & doesn't raise a ruckus.
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Agreed they are great, unfortunately really expensive now and hard to come by in UK gun stores.. about twice the price of standard .22lr so when my current stash is gone I will have to look round the auctions again for cheap bulk 🤨
 
zogg364 said:
Agreed they are great, unfortunately really expensive now and hard to come by in UK gun stores.. about twice the price of standard .22lr so when my current stash is gone I will have to look round the auctions again for cheap bulk 🤨
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Wow, I'd have thought they would be more popular (available) there than here, given the amount of pesting y'all do. I had an old late 50s vintage Remmy 514 single shot bolt rifle that was the cat's whiskers with .22 shorts for vegetable garden defense.
 
This is my old .22 WRF, made in 1911. Model 1890.
came as some parts and rough. Found the rest of the bits to make it work and it's still rough but has shot a great deal of pests and feral stuff.
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Just looking at some old photos and came across these of a rifle that me and my buddy had in the past, if my memory serves me correctly and that's a very big IF it was made by Macnaughton and probably a prototype because we could find no information for this gun, saddly the wood work is not original when we got the gun the stock was broken and the forend was beyond restoration the rest was in pretty bad condition luckily the bore was good I can't remember the caliber but it shot quite well.
Saddly both the gun and my buddy have now gone.




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Got a couple but I don't shoot deer, a Lee Enfield No5 mk1 and a Schmidt Rubin 1911 karabiner.
They come out to play on 300yd days but I have shot the 1911 at 600 before.
 
tac said:
Yes, I heard about Mr Starley's moulds last year, from the FB Whitworth pages, in which I am an infrequent poster. Alas, that I'm determined to retain both my kidneys, if only with the aim of maintaining symmetry. I got my Pedersoli mould from the home-front for about a third of the cost of Mr Starley's creation, and that included shipping in these costy times.
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At the time of aquiring my D series Whitworth, I could not source a Pedersolli Hex' mould. I sought advice from a very experienced Whitworth enthusiast, who it would be unfair to name. We went through the merits and faults of the Hex' Moulds available to me, and the Starley was his recomendation.
I am not dissapointed. If I do my bit with the mould and molten lead. The resulting bullets have less than 2 thousands of an inch variation across the flats of the bullets.
For example, at a Black Powder meeting. Another Whitworth shooter handed me a bullet cast out of a mould from another well known maker. It just so happened I had a micrometer in my pocket. There was 14 thousands of an inch variation between the widest and narrowest flats.
How on earth do you patch such a bullet? Patch it to the widest flats, and hope it will bump up so the narrowest parts touch the bore somewhere?
I think my Starley mould is worth every penny.
I have recently been loaned a pot type Hex' Mould. It could even be one of Dysons. If not, it is very similar. I haven't had chance to try it yet. I will report back as soon as I can.
 
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tac said:
I have a 'Whitworth', but it's a frawk, made in 1980 by Parker-Hale. I'd like to see yours, please
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Tac.
This is the reason I removed my Volunteer Whitworth from my FAC. I needed the slot for this
A pattern 1862 Enfield Whitworth. One of a thousand made and issued for Military Trials.
It is my favourite rifle. I shoot it regularly. Not very well, thats my fading eyesight and stiff bones. But by heck I really enjoy it.

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Frederick Williams said:
Tac.
This is the reason I removed my Volunteer Whitworth from my FAC. I needed the slot for this
A pattern 1862 Enfield Whitworth. One of a thousand made and issued for Military Trials.
It is my favourite rifle. I shoot it regularly. Not very well, thats my fading eyesight and stiff bones. But by heck I really enjoy it.

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Should really give us a warning before posting pornographic images!!

Beautiful patina
 
My ‘go to’ vintage rifle is this Finnish M27/66 Mosin Nagant (picture of my 10 year old lad having a blast with it). My eyesight can’t cope with the battle sights on my other Mosins but the diopter sights on this work a treat. Receiver made in circa 1893 and served as a M91 for many years with the Russian Empire. More than likely took part in the Great War and possibly the Finnish or Russian civil wars. Whatever route it took it it was at some point converted into a Finnish M27 as many of the more worn out rifles were and (pure conjecture) was carried during the Winter War when Russia invaded Finland. It may have then been used during the Continuation War (when the Finns found themselves as co-belligerents with the Germans). It may have then taken part in the Lapland War when the Finns saw the writing on the wall and turned on the Germans and chased them out through Lapland.
Post war they converted many of their military rifles into target rifles. The the only parts of this rifle that are original issue are the receiver, magazine and some of the bolt. It has diopter sights, heavy barrel, different stock, adjustable trigger, safety ring, extended bolt handle and two rails welded the base of the receiver that allow the barrel to fully float.
(god I bore myself sometimes).
 

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Just picked up an another vintage rifle today!

Offa

Thread 'A newly acquired Old Lady to fondle'

Evening all

I have just picked up this rather beautiful Winchester manufactured P14

As far as I can tell, it has not been through the Weedon Repair Service, does not have the usual markings saying so on the stock or action/barrel, it also retains its rear volley sight, the front volley sight is missing but the plate it attaches to is still there, so I will shortly be ordering a reproduction front sight post

Original 1913 dated P1907 sling was included with the sale, though the person who attached it has clearly never seen one of these before! (Have put it on correctly after pics were...
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Frederick Williams said:
The Parker Hale Whitworth variants are not to be derided at all. They shoot very well, sometimes better than the originals. It's just a shame that UK laws dictate you need a vacant slot on an FAC to purchase one.

This is my D series. Marked with the Whitworth wheatsheaf, and the Whitworth Company Limited. The woodwork is quite worn on the exterior, but the metal work and bore are quite good, and it shoots well. Although I have taken it off my certificate to replace it with something else, which I will come to later. The ram rod is a replacement. The foresight is slightly bigger than a P53 or P62 barleycorn, and has a windage adjustable blade. Otherwise it would accept a P53 bayonet.

I am informed, from a very reliable source. That Bill Curtis identified several 'D' series Whitworth, as volunteer versions or even prototypes, of the Pattern 1862. I have seen one other D series, and Auction details of a further one, which was numbered very close to mine. All three closely resemble pattern 62's.

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Frederick Williams said:
The Parker Hale Whitworth variants are not to be derided at all. They shoot very well, sometimes better than the originals. It's just a shame that UK laws dictate you need a vacant slot on an FAC to purchase one.

This is my D series. Marked with the Whitworth wheatsheaf, and the Whitworth Company Limited. The woodwork is quite worn on the exterior, but the metal work and bore are quite good, and it shoots well. Although I have taken it off my certificate to replace it with something else, which I will come to later. The ram rod is a replacement. The foresight is slightly bigger than a P53 or P62 barleycorn, and has a windage adjustable blade. Otherwise it would accept a P53 bayonet.

I am informed, from a very reliable source. That Bill Curtis identified several 'D' series Whitworth, as volunteer versions or even prototypes, of the Pattern 1862. I have seen one other D series, and Auction details of a further one, which was numbered very close to mine. All three closely resemble pattern 62's.

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I have an Alex Henry 451 military match percussion rifle I have had it on my ticket and can take it off under section 58 and put it back on when I feel like it it shoots a 450 grain bullet I mainly shoot ball 150 grain ball in it at 50 yards very accurate puts modern replicas to shame I love all things made by Parker hale so sad they went bust everything they made was mega quality
 
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