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No 4s on parade! From Prince Chas' visit to Iqualit in 2017.

Cdn Military News from 2018



Then and now.

Steve;
Good afternoon, I hope the day was a good one for you folks out east and all is as well as can be.

If you or someone else knows, what is the origin of marching with the rifle on the left shoulder? There's got to be some reason for it I'm guessing?

On the No 4's, our next door neighbor works in placer mines not too far from Dawson City, YT in the summer. He knows at least one Ranger and said that the one plus of being one is that they got a fairly decent allowance of .303 British ammo to practice with.

I'm not sure if the Rangers were given an option to purchase their No 4's or not? That'd be an interesting one for a collection for sure.

The Tikka that's replaced it seems to be working as well so far, but as with all things I suppose, time alone will tell.

Thanks for the photos, it's an intriguing bit of our northern history and culture for sure.

All the best.

Dwayne

Hi Dwayne. There are two commands - left or right shoulder arms. The rifle rests on the left shoulder so that when troops are marching past the reviewing stand, their faces can be seen. In the picture, Charles was to their right.

I know that some Rangers got their rifles given to them, but I cannot say how many took them up on the offer.

Steve;
Thanks for the reply and information, I appreciate it!

I learned something today as somehow I'd thought it was only on the left side. Shows how observant I'm not then one supposes?

It does make sense to me though about either side depending upon the review stand.

I can only imagine that the No 4's turned in won't be offered as surplus sales to civilians, so I hope that a number of Rangers did retain them.

Thanks again Steve, much appreciated.

Dwayne

I should point out that a parade marching past the dias always comes from the reviewing officer's left.

No surplus sales, I'm afraid. The feds made sure of that.

#4 The original assault rifle. ;-)

Yes, but it looks so much like walnut living rm. furniture! 😆

Especially when you see a Canadian coming out of the trench with one.

At one time, all of the Ranger rifles were made at Long Branch armoury, just outside of Toronto. As rifles aged, and after the feds ordered no sales to the Cdn public, some were destroyed. This included parts like magazines, safeties, etc.

Later, the govt had to purchase replacement parts on the open market. That cost a lot more than keeping spares. It was very short sighted.

Steve;
Top of the morning to you, I hope it's as nice and bright out east as we're seeing here today.

It appears spring has sprung in all it's fullness as our entire yard is covered in yellow Ponderosa Pine pollen!

As I've mentioned on too many occasions, I've no clue how many different .303 rifles I've owned as they used to be considered "trade stock" in the circles I ran in back on the flat lands. I want to say the record shortest time for owning one was a small town gun show where I'd bought one, was leaning on it waiting for my cousin to finish haggling on whatever it was he was looking to buy when another dealer asked how much I needed for my "old rifle". Recalling that it'd cost me $5 to get into the show, I responded whatever I'd paid plus the $5 so I could come out even and he pulled out his wallet!

These days - well back pre-beer flu days Steve - I saw magazines going for more than I used to pay in the '80's for a decent Mk III!!!

That reminds me, I've got a magazine in the shop with a broken feed lip up front that I'm guessing I can repair... more retirement projects!

Someday I'm going to find a decent .303 to get too Steve, every Canadian should own at least one I suppose?

The last modified Jungle Carbine that I stored for a buddy who was moving, I should have made a better offer on as it was bubba'd enough that it wasn't worth all that much - checkered and scoped - but it sorta had Canuck character if you know what I mean and would have scratched the itch for a .303 for me as I'm not a purist in that regard. I completely understand the purists, but that's not me and won't be in this lifetime.

Have a good weekend Steve.

Dwayne

Good morning. Prices for used 303s of every kind went through the roof! I have no idea why. I used to put some of the blame on myself because of my books and website. My site, and other ones, helped renew interest in 303s some years back.

These days, I suggest that people replace their worn out 303 barrels with a new .308 diameter barrel. Shoot a 30-303. The bullets are widely available. I also tell people about my talks with Match Grade Machine. If you own an Encore rifle, you can order a 30-303 that will shoot 311 bullets with no pressure issues.



This is my TC Pro Hunter, chambered in 30-303. Single shot rifles like this are a specialty item. It seems that almost everyone wants a repeater, but these are available for a wide variety of cartridges.

These are the barrels I have purchased. https://matchgrademachine.com/

Clay smiley can import the frame and barrels, as can several other businesses. They could use out help over the pandemic.

I was talking to some rangers this week about their new rifles. Except for one older fellow, everyone likes them. As I was leaving, I said to take good care of them. The government won't replace them for another 60 years!

Here's a look at the (almost) Ranger version of the 308 Tikka.