Need some help looking for a commonwealth made no4 mk1

[Johan412th]

Hello everyone, been awhile since I've joined in. On an outing to cabelas today, I found a long branch no4 mk1 for sale. It was battered, but cheap, and I almost bought it. My wife could tell how much I wanted it, but didn't want to spend the money on it. So she started looking online for ones in better condition for us to buy, and here I am. I remember someone pointing me in the direction of at least on dealer that rebuilt or refurbished them.

Thanks gents!

[Johan412th]

Strike that, bought a savage no4 mk1

[JB White]

An early Savage? Show it off. Let us see what you got.

[Johan412th]

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Its in fairly good shape. Not what I would call rare though?

[Johan412th]

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[John Sukey]

I see it has the "Ishapore screw" The Brits did the same thing to rifles in India
OOPS! I meant Malaya

[Johan412th]

I see it has the "Ishapore screw" The Brits did the same thing to rifles in India
OOPS! I meant Malaya

Can you elaborate, John?

[JB White]

The commonly called "Ishy Screw" is the transverse wood screw installed through the forend in front of the receiver area for reinforcement. Mostly done in India where they decided to screw every rifle in inventory regardless of design or wood used.

Also, your rifle is marked as a MkI* (star). There is a difference between all the marks on a No4 rifle. In a nutshell...
The MkI has the British designed bolt release lever on the right behind the charger bridge.
The MkI* has the North American type bolthead release via a slot in the guide rail thus eliminating the earlier catch.

Since we're on the topic, the No4 MkII has the trigger hung from the action body instead of being pinned through the triggerguard. Then there are the other marks such as the No4 MkI/2 and No4 MkI/3 which are MkI's and MkI*'s converted to the MkII trigger.

When you first said you had a MkI Savage, you led us to believe you scored a scarcer early Savage which had the British style bolt release. See? All those little markings really do mean something!
Aside from all that, looks like you found a decent rifle!

[Johan412th]

The commonly called "Ishy Screw" is the transverse wood screw installed through the forend in front of the receiver area for reinforcement. Mostly done in India where they decided to screw every rifle in inventory regardless of design or wood used.

Also, your rifle is marked as a MkI* (star). There is a difference between all the marks on a No4 rifle. In a nutshell...
The MkI has the British designed bolt release lever on the right behind the charger bridge.
The MkI* has the North American type bolthead release via a slot in the guide rail thus eliminating the earlier catch.

Since we're on the topic, the No4 MkII has the trigger hung from the action body instead of being pinned through the triggerguard. Then there are the other marks such as the No4 MkI/2 and No4 MkI/3 which are MkI's and MkI*'s converted to the MkII trigger.

When you first said you had a MkI Savage, you led us to believe you scored a scarcer early Savage which had the British style bolt release. See? All those little markings really do mean something!
Aside from all that, looks like you found a decent rifle!

Sorry to get your hopes up... I even knew about the difference between the long branch/savage and the Brit made ones. While I've got your ear, what's the best way to identify a Jungle Carbine no5 to be authentic?

[JB White]

For starters the right markings for the date involved. After that you need to look for the flutes in the barrel at the knox form, the lightening of the receiver taking note of the distance between the receiver and the rear sight when folded down. The rear sight settings being graduated out to only 800 yards. While No4's also turn up with hollowed bolt handles, all No5's should have one. The triggerguard will be thinned, narrowed, and should be "wasp waisted" at the king screw location. All No5's should have a numbered matching magazine. If not then it's a replacement and not 100% "all matching". Not a big deal there as replacements are common enough, but it helps should a seller be asking a premium price for "all matching" when it really isn't.

Then the intracacies get a little more involved, but knowing those things mentioned greatly increase your odds of getting a true No5 and not a converted No4.

[Johan412th]

Thanks! There's one for sale at the local shop, and before I invest in it, I'd like to make sure it's authentic. Even if it's not all matching, I think it would still be a good buy at the price, but part of me thinks it's a converted no4. Anyways... Haven't taken the savage out yet, hopefully Wednesday. Still kind of confused about the peep sight/blade sight combo.