Quote:

---

Buckstix
That article actually refers to 'your' rifle

---

Hello 93x64mm,
Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I gave them permission to reference my rifle. They have added my photo and sometime in the future they will be adding more of my photos. They will also contact various Royal Armories and Gun Museums throughout the Britain Commonwealth to try to determine if there are any existing records pertaining to my rifle, and how it came to leave British ownership 115 years later and come to a private sale here in the U.S. That provenance would be cool.

As noted in their updated reference to my rifle, I disagreed with the opinion about the stock being later 'sporterised' because the Patina of the wood and metal appear original and un-altered. There is absolutely no sign of any metal barrel band or a metal barrel band nose cap having ever been present. Also, there is no forward 'bedding screw', only a forward sling swivel that matches the one on the rear. It is possible that the original stock blank may have been re-purposed from another during development of this prototype rifle. This would account for the thinning of the Trade Mark logo and the addition of the 'XO1' stamping - which remains crisp and un-sanded.

I knew this rifle was original and rare, but never suspected it may be the "first" prototype in the development of the War Office Miniature Rifle. The discovered information would not have been possible without the help of Forum members around the World.

I will be posting shooting result targets soon.

--------------------
"You never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early."

Post Extras