rob63
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2012
- Location
- PA, but still a Hoosier
This is a P53 Enfield that I purchased roughly 30 years ago, '85-86 time frame. The many books that have come out lately, such as Craig Barry's work, have caused me to give it a closer look that has raised questions that I hope he or maybe Jobe can answer.
The proof marks at the breech are not the standard London or Birmingham proofs. They look more like 3 sets of crowns over crossed scepters with the date. The commercial gauge mark appears to be on the bottom of the barrel, and is 23 rather than 24 or 25, assuming that this is in fact a gauge mark. The bore measures .585 with strong rifling, so 23 gauge would actually be a pretty good match. The bottom of the barrel also appears to be marked 14.4 and with a crown over HP.
The inside of the lock, the barrel and the breech plug all have the matching assembly number 5D. The stock has no readable markings other than the letter T under one of the barrel bands, although it appears to have been lightly sanded. There is some sort of stamp in the barrel channel, but I have no idea what it might be.
The question is where was this gun actually made?
The proof marks at the breech are not the standard London or Birmingham proofs. They look more like 3 sets of crowns over crossed scepters with the date. The commercial gauge mark appears to be on the bottom of the barrel, and is 23 rather than 24 or 25, assuming that this is in fact a gauge mark. The bore measures .585 with strong rifling, so 23 gauge would actually be a pretty good match. The bottom of the barrel also appears to be marked 14.4 and with a crown over HP.
The inside of the lock, the barrel and the breech plug all have the matching assembly number 5D. The stock has no readable markings other than the letter T under one of the barrel bands, although it appears to have been lightly sanded. There is some sort of stamp in the barrel channel, but I have no idea what it might be.
The question is where was this gun actually made?