I completely stumbled on to this rifle by shear luck. First, the 1920's Lithgow's are very rare as the factory was only authorized a skeleton crew. I believe less than 3200 rifles were made that year and I would venture to guess of the few remaining, none are marked with the Oster Gendarmie stamp on the nocks form. The rifle has no import marks, is nearly all matching with a beautiful bright bore. How a Australian rifle found it's way into the Austrian Police Department must really be quite a story. Regards, Rick.

Very interesting, you would think being Austria they would have been equiped with Mausers, i bet there's a good tale behind it.
 
Talking about Lithgows, one has come up for sale here, a 1953 model in very good condition [THOUGH NOT UNFIRED} for $1,250, i believe there were only 1,000 made that year.

Quote from: Fieldmor77;106903Very interesting, you would think being Austria they would have been equiped with Mausers, i bet there's a good tale behind it.
 
Talking about Lithgows, one has come up for sale here, a 1953 model in very good condition [THOUGH NOT UNFIRED} for $1,250, i believe there were only 1,000 made that year.

Yes Fieldmor, the Austrians were equipped with Mausers......The Steyr factory is there. However, the allies confiscated all of Germany and Austria's Mausers after WWII. The police needed weapons, so the UK provided SMLE's and the US provided M1 carbines. Of 1000 rifles made in 1953, I'll bet there are nearly 1000 remaining. Of 3200 rifles made in 1928 there may be as few as several hundred left. $1250 for a 1953 Lithy is spot on. Regards, Rick.

Nice piece Rick.  I`ve not heard of the Lithgow.   I first noticed the near  Carcano-like shell holder and then the long top and bottom stock.  Must have been the current trend in rifles back them.  Did they completely cover the barrels then to protect hands etc. from the heat ? What caliber?

Hello JaDub. It's a standard British .303 caliber Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) manufactured in Lithgow, a center for mining and steel works about 100 Miles West of Sydney. They made various models of the Mk III Enfield rifle for over 40 years. I'm afraid you have insulted the British Empire but I will give you a pass on this one since you were sincere and after all ignorance is bliss!:MOGRIN:I suggest you go to Wikipedia and do some research on the oldest continuous bolt action war rifle ever made. Here is my small collection:

Here's a story for you.....

When I was out at the range the other week shooting my No.4 The bloke on the next bench had a 1928 Lithgow! He paid almost $1000 for it and it was as good as new too. He told me how few of these rifles were made that year and how even fewer existed now. If I had of known about your one I would have asked for the serial number to compare!

In fact I think if you look at www.thegunsmiths.com.au they have a 1928 Lithgow for sale too. Thats 3 I've noticed in as many weeks!
 
As usual Rick another great pick up! What does she shoot like? My enfield prefers .312 projectiles.

And JaDub....:angry:        

   

Aw shucks, guys..... Let me fill ya in on something........just you and me.
 
 
I`ve been a race car driver for some 40 + years. My summers have been a bit full , both night and day. I`ve been eating and sleeping motorsports 24/7. I own and operate a race car  and engine building business in the greater Denver metro area. Not to gloat but rather to show you how focused I`ve been...... conservatively I`ve won probably 90% of the races I`v e driven in . Add to that , I won a National Championship some years ago......... and having ` been there, done that` I`m starting to have fun shooting and trying to soak up something I`ve always been intrigued by. Nothing like shooting & operating the action of a finely built and engineered piece of mechanical wonderment.
 
So........... Now that I`ve dropped my drawers down around my ankles, I plead ignorance and, if anything, ask for your understanding and guidance. I am feeling like a sponge...... I want to soak up as much as I can....... hoping to be accepted into your world. For some of you guys I`m sure you were wondering just what a fool I must be `cuz I have been asking some pretty basic questions.........some are probably asking themselves.........." who is this guy?"
 
Thanks for being such a `class act` on this site. I`ve been on other sites that can`t hold a candle to this one. We are truly brothers.
 
Thanks for all the good vibes and thanks for your help and advice!
 
P.S. Rick, You`re sicker than I thought. 8-) JaDub
 
P.S.S. If I`m not racing I`m fishing........ hence the reports from the cabin on the Kenai.

Hello JaDub. Great story. You will pick up on things in no time. I promise not to pick on you and in fact you are a breath of fresh air. A General Officer told me once that there was no such thing as a dumb question, so keep firing away. Maybe some day I will take you to my secret lake and catch some Cuts.....big Cuts!

Back to Lithgow. SMLE Enfields are an interesting collecting field with a huge variety of models, places of production, and places they were used. over 16 Million were manufactured all over the world. You can imagine the geography problems Australia had in it's location. The decision to open a foundry there was driven by this and it made good sense to start building rifles there. Lithgow SMLE's are known for their craftsmanship, and unique Coachwood and Queensland Maple stocks and accuracy. Their Maple is rather soft and as you can see by my rifle they look pretty distressed. Don't be fooled.....the dings and dents are just signs of normal wear. I sure would like to have seen the bloke next to 22 Hornet's bench with the "like new" one. I believe Lithgow purchased their original tooling from Pratt & Whitney and Colt built some practice rifles on the equipment prior to shipping to Australia. Production started in 1912 and over 1/2 million No1 MkIII rifles were made at Lithgow and their rifles were the Army's primary battle weapon in WWI, WWII and Korea. I met an Australian Sergeant Major in Vietnam my 2d tour who carried a Mk III. To learn more about these rifles I recommend Skennerton's 600 page masterpiece. Regards, Rick.

JaDub...

You might want to look up Hunterbug. He lives in the Denver area. I was just there last week visiting him about a project he is working on for me.

Paul

Thanks for the suggestions.

:grin:wow what a read, that's a nice group of SMLE's you have, that gose to show you that one rifle is out their.....Ron
 
OBTW, how's Ol' BUg do'n I've  not seen him round these parts

He's doing fine. I suspect he'll be 'around' here sooner than later.

Paul