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Churchill Gun Makers

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hoadie View Drop Down
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    Posted: July 06 2013 at 2:10pm
Anyone (especially our mates in Blighty) got the real skinny on just WHO these guys were / are?
There has always been a number of Enfields around here with their moniker. They are always sported out, & seem to have a "mish-mash" of parts.
I got one from the widow of the guy that owned our cabin.(He was from "over 'ome, as well).
Its fitted with a 1 1/2 - 4 power Bushnell, & shoots quite well. None of the #'s match..but has seen some use over the years.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tony Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 06 2013 at 5:14pm
Churchills are and were bespoke gun makers like Holland and Holland Purdy etc. Firm started in 1891 and like the other gunmakers turned to wartime production during WW2. They still make bespoke guns, Have a look   http://www.ejchurchill.com/ej/default.asp?contentID=17   Price for a new Mauser in 308/762  £3,250. Prices like that would soon put a dent in your pension Hoadie!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sarge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 06 2013 at 7:58pm
This is MY rifle, there are many like, but this one... is MINE!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hoadie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 06 2013 at 9:41pm
HOLY SNAPPIN SHEEP SH*#!! Are these guys for real with the pricing??!! How do they stay in biz with prices like that?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sarge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 06 2013 at 10:47pm
Hoadie...

What one has to remember here, is that this firm are one of the best in the 'Bespoke' gun business. They did not get to the position they hold in the market today by turning out cheap rubbish which breaks at the first shot.

Have you ever heard of the saying : 'You only get what you pay for!' Well, here it is... in full colour REALITY! The highest quality product available. The weapon is tailored to you... Litrally. From the balance of the weapon... the way one moves with it... the trigger pull preasure... the recoil on ones shoulder... everything is set to the individual.

In answer to your question about how they stay in business with the prices they charge... easy! The quality of service offered as standard, and the quality of the end product. Nothing is to much trouble for the firm. The customer matters 110%
This is MY rifle, there are many like, but this one... is MINE!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Shamu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 06 2013 at 11:22pm
Its a different world in the U.K. mate.
There used to be several bespoke gun makers & they custom built & fitted every single gun by hand. The original "F.W. Gibbs & sons" were like that they even had a tailor-trained guy on staff full time who'd measure you up just like a hand made suit. The counter staff all wore those yellow & black striped "bumble bee" vests & it wasn't uncommon, even in the 60s & 70's to find someone outfitting for a big safari ordering 4 or 5 guns varying from a light 7mm up through the huge nitro expresses. If you're dropping $10,000 on a safari booking a few custom guns is small potatoes by comparison.
 
Look up Purdey & Holland & Holland prices if you think those are high! A custom double barrel 460 Nitro Express from a custom smith will make your teeth sweat!
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sarge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2013 at 1:20am
Ah... PURDEY.. Now, that is a gun worth in weight in gold. They are so light its unbelievable!
This is MY rifle, there are many like, but this one... is MINE!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hoadie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2013 at 4:27am
wow..ok, so what were these guys doin muckin about with old Lee Enfields?
Not only that..the way this scope is mounted, kinda looks like bubba may have been employed there.
The barrel is black, with a coarse turning, & the only visible marks left on it is a faint DoD arrow, and the word ENGLAND.Everything else has been erased.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sarge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2013 at 5:18am
I would say that 'Bubba' has got his hands on the Enfield... after market. What your describing is not the work of a top of the scale gunsmith.
This is MY rifle, there are many like, but this one... is MINE!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Shamu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2013 at 7:34am
Hopefully bubba didn't bubba a Churchill!Shocked. Talk about devaluing something!
 
Enfield actions were very popular as well, much more so than here in the States. I'd say it was about 50/50 with Mauser actions, like the P-14 & M1917s at the time. There were lots of commercial Lee-Enfield based rifles, both from the factory such as BSA's sporters & Parker-Hales work, & from places like Fultons.
 
A mis-matched junker doesn't sound legit to me.
 
A suggestion. Take (or have someone take for you) high quality pics of the whole thing & some details. Note the serial numbers & write to them asking for information. You'd be surprised how un-snobby & helpfull most of these places are, Customer service, even 50 years after the sale is normal to them. Its another thing that costs when buying such a gun.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hoadie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2013 at 10:17am
problem is..only ONE serial # is prevalent.(on the bolt handle). The rest have been ground off somehow. The gov't issued one of those "Stickers" to be placed on the rifle, when long-gun registration came into effect.It has NOTHING to do with rifle serial #'s.
But this critter isn't alone. Theres LOTS of these around. All with the same rough turned, black barrels.
In my case-the magazine had RIVETS in it to handle a max of 5 rounds, to "comply" with what he THOUGHT was the new laws.(He was wrong.) I took them out.I find it fits my No1 Mk 3* rifles without issue.
I've had this thing sitting in the back of my rifle locker for a few years - didn't want to deal with it. But I took it out, cuz I've been getting curious bout it. Seems to shoot OK. I can take the pics, but dunno how to post 'em. Like I said-theres a lot of these things around over here. Its makin me wonder
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Shamu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2013 at 9:07pm
Might they be Khyber pass knock offs? A lot of those had "english looking" stamps added by the local illiterate Mujhis to make them look right?
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hoadie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2013 at 9:34pm
naw..I don't think so. When my camera comes back, I'll take some pics, someone will hafta post 'em tho.
I'd think it was a "knock-off" as well, but I've seen too many of them to believe that.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sarge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 08 2013 at 12:16am
Shamu...
 
You could very well have hit the mark. I've seen those khyber rip-offs being made. The barrels are hammered into a rough shape, then the lowest of the group grabs a rough file and starts to round the thing off. Those boys can put a rifle together in a couple of days... from nothing. 
This is MY rifle, there are many like, but this one... is MINE!
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