Chris Hall

Thats somthing I would suffer with if I had to use it!!:cool2:

Thanks for that, I think I have a plan, I'll get him to paint them Yellow at the muzzle end and then they can simulate Blank firing barrels.

Am I correct in thinking if its painted a daft colour like orange/red/blue, the VCR act dosn't apply because its no longer trying to imitate a firearm? Hence why toys painted orange are exempt? A guy I've been helping in the US is machining new barrels for Bren L4s and he will make me 2 out of solid bar. I was hoping that painting them Orange would make them exempt from the VCR act.

The only real use I can see for it is in a trench situation where you can stand in a trench and mount the spike on the parapet. Downside, you dont get much de-elevation (if thats a word).

Old spec will set you back almost a grand now for a minty. As mentioned earlier, £300 will get you a good new spec. There are mainly Mk4 New Zealand old spec guns around (Some are marked L2A3) and some Ex British L2A3s.

Hi Griff, Your gun was made in the last week of May/first week of June 44. Its actually quite a late Mk1, not many late Mk1s are around at the moment. I can only assume that as these are the 'NEWEST' Mk1s, they are still in reserve somewhere (I have just been told that the Helenic Airforce atill use Bren Mk1s). BE6637 is a UK deact, I also know of another 13 BE guns, one BF gun and one BG gun. I've about 2000 serial numbers on my list (I know there were 26000 Brens imported to the UK from Grease) and the late guns are the rarest, even rarer than Dovetail guns. Sorry I cant give you any more info,the more numbers I get, the more details I can gather. ATB, Chris.

AA5701 also still exists in the UK! Your gun was made in the 3rd week of June when Enfield were producing approx 4500 guns per month. The main body proof stamp is supposed to be marked near the serial number.

Trust me when I say, not even the Police firearms specialists know what theyre looking at/for. If you do talk to a Police man,its always good to educate them on what to look for. I've shown examples of what to look at on a deac weapon to many Policemen and theyre always happy to learn and even happier when they then realise that your machine gun is just chopped metal. It is amazing how many Police officers think that a deac can be reactivated in only a few minutes.

I've just re-read my post and I may have put that across wrong, I didn't mean it to sound so blunt. I think its a cracking setup, and I f you keep an eye on the weak points it should be fine for normal use, I'm assuming of course your not going racing with it!

Keep an eye on the down tube cracking and watch the rear frames for twisting, the frames arn't really strong enough for a sidecar. My WD/CO B had a twisted rear frame section from sidecar use, and the down tube on early frames are very week around the join with the cast head and the front engine mount.

Agread, Deacs arn't covered by the VCR act, and you dont need a certificate either. As long as the stamps are visible and nothing has been altered your OK. You dont actually need to have it proofed by one of the 2 houses either. The proof is a definate defence to prosecution but this dosn't peclude the possability that a gun may be deactivated in some other way. i.e. a relic weapon or deac to the same standard as required for proof but has not been proofed as such (Obviously, this would be down to the courts to decide if it came to it).

I've not seen any for sale. The current Hi-Powers for sale all appear to be 1970's built Mk2s and the odd Inglis or WW2 FN Mk1 and Mk1*. I doubt we will see any BL serial guns on the market, they will probably go into War reserve and then be scrapped as the British Government don't want to be seen selling guns to the public. As an aside, I have 2 FN Hi-powers, the first is a early 70s made civilian model and the second a Brand new in 2004 target model. The 70s model has a major floar with the barrel, its made in 2 parts and due to a deactivation slot, the spring is forcing the 2 parts apart which is visible through the ejection opening. I recently stripped it to oil it and now I can't assemble it because of the damage, so be on the look out for the breech end of the barrel parting on the FN produced barrels. ATB, Chris. p.s. A friend at Warminster S.A.S.C said that the FN L9 has the same problem.

The SMLE MkIV was a .22 rifle, I doubt you would get the same sort of flash as a L1A1! I assume you mean the Lee Enfield No.4 Mk1 and derivatives.

Mike Ps a real nice guy, I've been on the phone to him many times and I've got about 5 Brens in my collection that have been chopped by him. If anyones looking for a deac, he's happy to help. This is my L4A2 Original 1919A6 as opposed to the israeli conversion.

Your correct, the gun itsself came from Rytons a long time back. The buffer housing underneath is a spare which belonged to a gun I used to own, which was chopped by Mike P (Is that you, or are you another Mike?). I've owned one other M2 which was in a real poor state (Rust, cracks and dents) which I sold to a Jeep enthusiast (He wanted a cheapy to leave in the rain) to buy the one shown in the photo. I've also had a Genuine 1919A6 which I let go (Fool) when I should have kept it.

Oh this is a tuffy for me, I don't know much about the VCR Bill. As far as I can see, if you can justify owning one i.e. As a member of a recognised group (Like this one) then there is no reason why you couldn't purchase one. It would probably require a membership number etc quoting. I would sugest you visit the WWIIreenacting site and have a look there as they deal with this type of thing all the time. Personally, I think a deac is the way forward because they always increase in value. However, the cost is initialy large to say the least so I can see the attraction of a replica (esp. when my Boys AT rifle cost more than my Royal Enfield WD/CO)

Heres another shot of my M2, its WW2 vintage, the red colour is just the light, its in very good condition. Behind it you can see the 1919A4 with the M1 Ball Recoil boosters.

We carried the L9 in Iraq on EOD duties (All ranks), although the 4 juniors opted to leave theirs in the day armoury as when they carried them, they kept them in their Tac Vests and they soon realised they couldn't get them out quickly when they had their L85 slings around their shoulders. Myself (Man 2) and the Man one opted for belt holsters as we didn't always carry our rifles and we used the L9 as more of a primary weapon when out of the Snatch. One of the Majors attached to the JTUKEOD GRP carried a Sig and when I asked the RLC IED Captain why he had a Sig as his side arm, he told me he was Ex special forces so it was his own. I'm unsure if that means he owned it him self (i.e. Safe custordy in the UK) or if it was permanently issued to him. I was happy to stick to the Browning though, that weight is quite reassuring on your hip.

All Lithgow L1A1s have AD prefix serial numbrers on the right as mentioned. All UK L1s have a serial prefix of UE, UB or UF then 2 digits which is the year and then A then the serial number. Lithgow bodies have diffrent maching in some places to the UK equivalent. Lithgow guns also tend to have the later cheep formed wood hand grips with the drilled holes rather than slots. The short barrel types seen at places like Helston arn't original, I think they've been messed with to sell as somthing special. Also, I should point out that Lithgow SLRs ended up in British service through joint serving units etc. and the British Government bought many Lithgow guns in the 70s to Augment our stock piles. ATB, Chris.

I think the L7 GPMG is built to Imperial and the MAG to Metric spec also. Incidently, there are many Indian 'GPMG's on the market, recon'd by Manroy who also do Brit GPMGs and M2s. I'm not sure if the indian guns are Metric MAGs or Imperial L7 equivalents.

It appears your M2 is of WWII manufacture, its definatly a M2HB, (M2 heavy barrel) and it will carry its original manufacturers serial number. I've got 2 RIA refurb guns, both have the original number, you will find the original maker on the front right of the side plate, probably AC sparkplugs or Fridgidair. Browning originally made another similar version to the M2HB but I believe they now make there own M2HBs. In the UK, Manroy engineering currently build M2s for the British MOD. The diffrent M2 models are all based pretty much on the same model. The HB is the heavy barrel, as found on tanks, vehicles or tripods, the Heavy barrel being able to cope with better heat dissipation. The AC is the aircraft model and is a light weight item with a lighter barrel and a barre lcooling jacket (Like the 1919A4 .30 cal) and fires a little faster due to the lighter weight of the Barrel. There is a water cooled version which has a massive water jacket like a vickers gun. The M3 is another aircraft gun which I think fires at a faster rate than the M2AC, and can feed from the left or right depending on requirements. I know of some M2HBs and M3 for sale at the moment if anyone is after one. Also, should say that all the M2s can be converted into any version, although this dosn't appear to happen much.

The main thing with the .5 is that lots of them are missing parts, I've got 2, one is complete with every part, the second, was missing quite a few internal parts and some external parts. The deac standards very, my complete version is well done and all the work is discreet, the other is ugly and has exposed welds etc. Theres also the choice of .5, theres the M2HB (Heavy Barrel) as used on vehicle and tanks etc, then theres the M2AC (Aircraft) which is the lighter and there for faster firing version used in aircraft and on some SAS jeeps. And then theres the M3 varients which I think are post war fast firing Aircraft guns which can be changed from left to right hand feed.

Just a quick note on deac specs, Only the Pre 1988 Deacs May have a removable barrel, (This depended on the deactivater) All deacs after this have a pined or welded barrel to the reciever, the diffrence between new and old spec on a Bren is down to minor things like the locking shoulder being removed and the ejector welded in place through the locking shoulder hole. Both new and old can be stripped (Except the BRL as mentioned). Brens are drying up, there are no more stocks in the UK so if you want one, nows the time. As mentioned earlier, there were some Aussie ones brought into the UK in the 1990s, they were mostly FTRD guns of Lithgow, Enfield and Inglis manufacture, but some were in used condition (DPd) and some were new unused Lithgows. One of my own Lithgows is a unissued non FTRd Mk1 upgraded version from 1943. I would expect next year, the rarer Brens like Inglis Double Dovetail guns, and 7.62mm L4 guns to break the £1000 barrier regularly. I know of a L4A3 which sold last year for £1200 but that was overpriced at the time. Good hunting, ATB Chris.

I know what its for but I will reply to you in a PM.

Just to correct a previous post I made, when I read back I stated that the pre production L4s were marked EX4, I made a error, theyre marked X10E1 etc.