Archive for October, 2010

October 10th 2010
Feedback;

Posted under Debate

Some Feedback from happy folks with items supplied by By Sword & Musket;

Good afternoon Kirk

Sorry about the delay in reply, but I’m just emailing to let you know I’m very happy with the rolling block. It’s in better condition than I thought throughout, but especially the bore, it’s like a mirror, and no play in the barrel which is common with these. So thanks again, I’m genuinely really pleased with both the rifle and the service, I’m one very chuffed customer.

 

“I recently asked Kirk Emmerich to sell one of my rifles for me on a commission basis, which he successfully concluded late last year.  Kirk was a wise choice, he has worldwide connections, encyclopedic knowledge, one of the best websites and he goes to great pains to describe all of his ‘for sale’ firearms honestly and and his photography is second to none.  His commision is very reasonable and he regularly updated me on how the sale was going, including advice on adjusting the price to suit current marketing conditions.  For me, the whole business was effortless and straightforward, but I know Kirk was working very hard in the background on my behalf. In essence, Kirk is a true gent of the old school both knowlegeble and a man of integrity, I have no hesitation in recommending him most highly”.

 

Hey Everybody, Great to see you all at Bisley this weekend.

We had some good chat and valuable information was exchanged, we never know it all and it is always great to get some feed back on items sold, or items on the stand.

Most people are a mine of information and I am always happy to listen to free knowledge and experience. (The ladies call it “waffling on”)

Bisley is always a great place to relax and hear tales of daring do and how well various rifles shoot etc.

Once again I think it can be said that our keen interest is keeping a great tradition alive which, otherwise might be lost under the barrage we receive every day, of what we should be buying, what we should be thinking about and how many new cars or grooming products we should be letting rule or lives.

Shooting, and the collection of Historic and Classic Firearms will live on in this horribly technical worlds we live in today.

A small note of regret: I have withdrawn from sale two items which I did not, in simple terms, fully research.  I apologise if anybody was getting interested in them, and if they want to know more about them I will happily point them in the direction of the current owner.

See you at the Bisley Antiques Fair on the 27th of October.

 

 

 

 

 

The buyer of a Rock Island 1903 says;

Dear Kirk,
I just wanted to give you a short feedback about the rifle I bought 3 weeks ago from you. I shot the RIA 1903 today at 200 yd and constantly achieved astonishing 2 MOA groups. The rifle doesn’t just look good it shoots as well deadly precise.

Thanks for the nice rifle,

 

 

A Happy Springfield buyer came back with;

Kirk, I thought I’d let you know how I got on shooting the Springfield ’03 at Bisley today in small club competition. It was only at 100yds and everybody was shooting service rifles from the bench using a rest, not how I would have liked to shoot, but they talked me into it!. I shot a 46.1 using the rear sight in the upright position set low using the hole as opposed to the “V” with quite a bit of wind-age !. Everybody from the club wanted to try the rifle and the second highest score was set by somebody else using the rifle. Oh I forgot to say I shot the highest score using it!.

Cleaning both the Springfield ’03 and my Winchester P17 at home today after shooting , I am so impressed how much better built the Springfield is compared to the Winchester, just closing the bolt is such a pleasure compared to the Winchester.

Once again I am so pleased with my purchase from you, many thanks.

Regards Terry

 

A Winchester collector said,

 

 

“I found doing business with Sword and Musket a pleasure as they were friendly, knowledgeable and gave a great service. The website is very easy to navigate and the information factual, rather than the usual sale pitch. The main issue with the website, is that the items are so nice, you will end up spending money”.

Japanese Rifle collector said;-

“By Sword and Musket have imported a number of antique rifles from the United States for me and I have been very impressed by their efficient and friendly service.”

 

A Nice early sweed which didn’t even get to the web site!

“Hi Kirk

Just thought you might like to know that I shot the sweed for the first time today at 200yds on the NRA 200 yd target. First shot was an inner at 8 oclock,  and others followed with a group forming between 7 o’clock and nine o’clock. The barrel is clearly a good un. I was using Privi Partisan ammo and I reckon that with home loads it will shoot even better. I have also got an Elit target backsight which I hope to mount soon.  Many thanks again. I hope to have a lot of fun working up a really good load. Best wishes”

 

A British No4 T .303 Sniper;

Hi Kirk

I thought you might like some picture’s of the no4 mk1 T  I purchased from you a bit back . I’m happy to say it functioned and shot well on the day , I used a mixture of factory ammo & home loads .

I was very pleased with the quality of this classic rifle you sourced from the bore to the rifle’s overall finish it was excellent for something dated 1944 with all the right markings and all the numbers matching fantastic .

Your description was exactly as described , and if you buy anything second hand you’ll know just how important that little statement is , I waited over 20 year’s to own a no4 mk1 T and it take’s pride of place in my collection of classic military rifle’s Kirk.

I have changed one thing and that’s the BOYT .44 leather sling that came with it as you can see I put a modern reproduction sling on it incase I damaged the original .I hope to see you again soon keep well.

Kind Regards

 

A Swiss Vertelli Rifle in 6.5mm

Hi Kirk,

I thought you might like some pics of the Vetterli on the range!  The round nose rounds have original bullets that I pulled from some 1943 dated Itallian surplus ammo that I found after some detective work (and great expense!)

The 6.5mm Carcano has a bullet that is of a bigger diameter than almost all other 6.5’s
(0.268″ as opposed to 0.264″ – the only other 6.5 that had the same 0.268″ diameter
bullet was the 6.5mm Mannlicher – the problem is that the only 6.5 Carcano loads
available (Prvi Partizan and Norma… use the 0.264″ bullet, and that is 0.004″ undersize,
which is why people think that the 6.5 Carcano rifles are not accurate!)

Having said that, I did also make up some loads using 0.264″ bullets (some Lapua
bullets that I shoot in my Swedish Mauser) and the groups were only a bit larger than
those using the 0.268″ bullets.

Hornady do make a 0.268″ round nose bullet for the 6.5 Carcano but it’s an exposed
lead soft nose…. so it’s classed by Midway UK as a section 5 bullet in the UK even
though the Midway site and even Hornady say ‘Minimal’ expansion!

But, it does shoot, it goes ‘bang’ – it feeds like shit from the chargers though… (there’s
one in the ‘photo) which came all the way from Australia!) – the chargers wobble about
in the ‘magazine’ well – the only other charger loading rifle I have is an M95 8mm
Mannlicher and that works, and it works well.

Regards

SNB14047SNB14046

Hi Kirk,
Finding out even more about ballistic properties.
The No 4 is exceptional, very consistant and smooth as silk. The 1903 develops some serious energy andI need the right powder and mix to tame it. Both got good reviews at my club but I must get down to Bisley and put them to work on a proper range.
Bear me in mind for any 1ww, or earlier, dated variant with proper stock and cartouche when it comes in.
See you at Brum next time.
Dave
The proud new owner/keeper of a Smith-Corona WW2 A3 breifly describes his project;
” Smith Corona 1903A3. Up and running will hold a five shot group inside a ten pence piece @100 yards! Very impressed. Regards J……”
AND                                                                         

“Making the rifle into a A4 ‘look a like’ I purchased a Redfield base for the springfield 1903-A3 receiver and high, inch size scope mounts also by Redfield from MidwayUK. Both units came in high gloss finish, these I had grit blasted and then parkerised them myself using a home made recipe from the internet!!!!

I had the receiver drilled and taped by Riflecraft near me.

The scope also came from Riflecraft it’s a sniper special, a new Leupold 3x9x40 as was used in Vietnam. Fits on a treat.

I used the A4 bolt which clears the scope just! The A3 bolt will not clear the eyepiece but would, if you had the bolt handle ground down in a concave dish to clear the scope side.”

 

25/09/2014
Kirk,
I just wanted you to know how pleased I am with the Canadian marked 1916 SMLE that I had the pleasure in purchasing from you last week.
I have studied the rifle in detail, and I can happily say that it is all original and correct down to the smallest details. If that wasn’t enough, its condition and outstanding bore (yes it is the rifles original barrel from 1916) mean that it will still perform as well as it did when it left the factory. How this rifle survived in such fantastic condition is a mystery. But, like the majority of my collection which also came from you, you managed to find it.
Your service is friendly, informative and above all honest, and that sets you a long way ahead of many of the other dealers out there. Every single rifle I have purchased from you has formed a permanent part of my collection. I am now looking forwards to the next one…
                                                                                                                        A new Keeper for an 1866 Springfield Rifle;

020

 

I especially wanted a Springfield Trapdoor Rifle to add to my small collection of pieces from The American Civil War. I was fortunate enough to live fairly close to Kirk and I enjoyed a very interesting visit to his Gunshop which is full of treasures that made my mouth water!  I purchased a 50/70 2nd Allin Conversion from him.  It’s in great condition and has taken pride of place over our fireplace. I can recommend the friendly knowledgeable help and advice given ‘By Sword & Musket’ to anyone looking for an antique rifle or related military artefact.

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October 3rd 2010
2010 Shipment from the USA – Incomming….!

Posted under Events

Its that time of year again folks, one is presently involved in importing the latest batch of goodies from the United States.

A brief idea of what will soon be available (not spoken for so far)  follows;

One Remington 1903 A3 Bolt action US service rifle in its original caliber of 30-06.

One Springfield 1903 Bolt action Service rifle in 30-06.

One Springfield 1903 MkI Bolt action service rifle in 30-06.

One Remington 1903-A4 Sniper Rifle with M82 Scope in 30-06.

Carl Gustaf 1896 full length Sweedish bolt action Service Rifle in 6.5 x 55.

One Enfield No5 Mk1 Jungle Carbine in 303.

One Mosin-Nagant bolt action Sevice Rifle in 7.62 Russian.

One Springfield 1888 Trapdoor Rifle with rod bayonet in 45-70.

One Winchester 1873 Lever action Rifle in .32WCF

One Winchester 1886 Lever action rifle in 40-82. (obsolete caliber)

One Winchester 1894 Lever action rifle in 32-40. (obsolete caliber)

One Marlin 1893 Lever action Rifle in 32-40 (obsolete caliber)

One Winchester 1886 Lever action rifle in 38-56 (obsolete caliber)

They still have to be proofed but will then be available. Full descriptions and prices along with photos will appear once they have arrived. If anyone is interested in any of these, don’t be shy!  They don’t usually hang around for long.

Serial numbers available on request.

 

Also some fine Antiques on their way;

A good Pair of French Percussion Officers Pistols. Marked “Manufrf Rle de Chatellerault/Couturier”. approx .69 cal.

A Cased Pair of Percussion English Holster Pistols by Collins. .50 cal percussion. With accessories – extremely fine.

An excellent Pair of cased Engraved Edinburgh marked Manstopper Percussion Pistols by Harkom. .58 cal. These are more like Show-stoppers than Man-stoppers.

Smith & Wesson Model number 2 revolver in .32 cal. Condition, Fine to excellent.

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October 3rd 2010
.30-06 A4 Editorial in Shooting Sports

Posted under Events

Look out for Pete Moore’s interesting article on the .30-06 A4 Sniper Rifle in Shooting Sports  magazine for November 2010.

In the article he puts the Classic Sniper Rifle through its paces and comes up with some interesting conclusions, least of all, its still up to the job. It is a good four page read with plenty of illustrations using two of our stock guns which are put through their paces.

Thanks Pete good article.

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