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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:


Deerhunter

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I've had a Lewis Gun plus ancilliaries for some time. Mrs Deerhunter has been good enough to let me display this item in the house, and I've managed to get hold of a spare mag and sling. I'm pleased with the result, just thought I'd share the impact.

post-21843-0-49093800-1393191835_thumb.j

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Hey D, how are you?

All good in chateau Platt, Somme business is well busy, all I need now is a nice Lewis gun for my collection, perhaps when Mrs D gets fed up with seeing the piece let me know.

As it is I found a LG magazine just off Waggon road a short while ago, has 23 rounds in it, nice piece and reasonable condition too.

See you soon

Dave

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Nice Lewis. Was it one of the batch Regimentals had some years ago. All were with transit boxes. If the serial number is around 46000 / 47000 then I suspect it is.........made April / May 1917.

They were sourced from Nepal I believe.

Mine is serial number 46718.

Where did you source the sling. Is it dated?

TT

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TT, spot on with the origin, the khaki finish is original to it, it's in very good condition overall and displays well. The sling is a really good reproduction from The Military History Workshop, and is spot on down to the markings and the (simulated) asbestos patch - I can recommend them highly.

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DH,

Out of interest what is the serial number? Mine has no khaki paint left but has the earlier butt without the oil bottle. I asked for this from Malcolm. Who made the bipod also?

Regards and thanks for showing. FYI if you check my posts on militaria displayed you can see mine peeping out of a photo.

TT

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Nice pic - you're lucky to have a good example like that.

Ant

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Excellent photos of the 1/22 London Regt, with the Lewis guns mounted on a tripod, something I've never seen before. Keep up these good posts.

Dave

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Mine is serial number 46718.

All matched?

I bought mine direct from Fire Power International - the people that initially discovered and imported the hoard - and had the choice, at their now-closed UK premises, of about 10-15 guns. My recollection is that a good number had either been broken down and mixed up and/ or - because some were in poor condition - been 'hybridised'/ cannibalised. Consequently, again a recollection, many have very close but non-matching numbers between the barrel shrouds and blocks.

In the end, I chose the earliest specification I could: no oil bottle, no butt U strap, small butt release catch, straight biped shoes etc etc. So while seemingly a 1917 manufacture, it is more of a 1916 gun in pattern.,

Cheers,

GT.

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All matched?

I bought mine direct from Fire Power International - the people that initially discovered and imported the hoarde - and had the choice, at their now-closed UK premises, of about 10-15 guns. My recollection is that a good number had either been broken down and mixed up and/ or - because some were in poor condition - been 'hybridised'/ cannibalised. Consequently, again a recollection, many have very close but non-matching numbers between the barrel shrouds and blocks.

In the end, I chose the earliest specification I could: no oil bottle, no butt U strap, small butt release catch, straight biped shoes etc etc. So while seemingly a 1917 manufacture, it is more of a 1916 gun in pattern.,

Cheers,

GT.

GT,

Yes all matched and like you I gave my detailed request to Malcolm and got an early butt no u brackets / oil bottle / small release catch. The bipod feet / shoes are straight, so a Somme appearance also.

Regards

TT

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  • 8 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Hello Trenchtrotter ,

Would you have any idea of the date for the serial number 33292 which is on my Lewis Gun ? I believe mine is an early date but cannot find any source.

Regards

Pete

Nice Lewis. Was it one of the batch Regimentals had some years ago. All were with transit boxes. If the serial number is around 46000 / 47000 then I suspect it is.........made April / May 1917.

They were sourced from Nepal I believe.

Mine is serial number 46718.

Where did you source the sling. Is it dated?

TT

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33292 likely to be March or early April 1917. By then BSA production is believed to be 1000 guns per week. This had risen to 1800 per week by the armistice!

New acquisition? I believe Worldwide Arms have some now?

TT

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The British Lewis At Wat lists 27310 as early 1917 and 46420 as mid 17 FYI.

TT

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Enjoy your Lewis gun while you can Deerhunter. In the light of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, the EU is currently debating the banning of automatic and semi-automatic weapons from private ownership. They seek to extend this ban to also include deactivated automatic weapons . Their proposals are truly frightening in their scope. This has the potential to affect public and private museum collections, re-enacting, and ownership of all forms of artillery-pieces, muzzle-loading and breech-loading. Lets hope that someone sees sense about this, but by July next year these proposals might be law.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Indeed Stevie is correct. See Firearms Uk site for more info. WW1 re enactor a would see Lewis and Vickers / MG 08 and 08/15s rendered illegal to own.

TT

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OOPS lots of very disgruntled collectors out of pocket for a lewis gun to the tune of £5k if it becomes law!

TT,

I presume that they will have to be handed in like a firearms amnesty?

regards

Mark

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I do find it increasingly strange that authorities and the ignorant have a preoccupation with deactivated weapons of the first world war (i.e. 100 year old antiques, NOW !).

I do not hear of any bank job in the news using a Lee Enfield or a Vickers, nor even a Lewis gun.

Nor do I hear of terrorists using bulky, long and very distinctive WW1 weapons for the use in clandestine terrorism.

So what is this phenomenon, where they constantly seek to make the deact`s totally uninteresting (Weld, Pin, Chop), when they are not being used and as is well known are much more expensive than probably a new modern small, light, automatic?

I would suspect that if they go ahead the next item will be the owning or wearing of any military or para military uniform, as it constitutes a threat or implied belief in nationalistic ideology which again could possibly lead to terrorism ?

So beware ! if any government or authority cannot deal with an issue they are likely to look for something that they can stamp out, even if it does not pose a real threat, because its shows to the uninitiated that they are doing something.

The only problem with this proposition is that any chancellor would not be able to get any VAT, because there would be no sales !

Edited by 16thlancers
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I would urge any re enactor, collector or any person who enjoys living history events or simply recognises the risk of seeing historic WW1 and 11 weapons lost forever to visit firearms uk site for more info and sign a petition if concerned enough write to your MEP.

Mods hopefully this is not politics but a warning that in this centenery period historic weapons made safe could be lost forever. They pose zero threat to public safety of which I share everyone's concerns.

TT

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