I understand the monetary value of the rifle - probably between $350 to $500 - as well as the historical, which is why Im making no permanent modifications. I'm also being care not to damage the screws. But I'm not overly concerned about the monetary value. My current purpose is to enjoy shooting the rifle. That's all. It's the one I have, so it fits the purpose. When I'm willing to spend money for another, I'll reconsider my purpose and choose accordingly.
I have about 5 boxes of the Remington rounds. Once I get the scope mounted, I'll get an idea of how consistent the rifle shoots. The scope should arrive today - I need to go out and find some blue Loctite...
Based on a video I watched, I got the impression the 'blonde' wood was used by the American manufacturer, Savage. I forget which type wood it said they used. The British manufacture was maple, IIRC. I may have misinterpreted the information, though. Or misremembered.
Walnut - not maple...
Don't know about maple. Only seen walnut and later ones in beech. But if you see a movie starring George Montgomery called, "Watusi", made about 1960, the hero has a No. I MK III rifle with a blond stock. The movie was set soon after WWI. If memory serves, the rifle had the brass disc marked to note service by the owner in the King's Own Scots Fusiliers. There is a back story about the bayonet. His handgun was a Colt SAA .45, I think with 4.75-inch bbl.
The film is a little off in the spelling of "Watutsi" and also off in having the hero be the son of the hero in, "King Solomon's Mines," Alan Quartermain. In his books, Sir Henry Rider Haggard said that Quartermain's son Harry died in the UK, where he was a medical student. The movie ignored that and Harry was the guy played by Montgomery.
The heroine was German, played by Taina Elg, if memory serves. She reminded me of American actress Mariette Hartley, if you remember her. She changed Quartermain's hatred of Germans.
It's a good movie. I need to see if it's on DVD. I was a sophomore in HS when I saw it in the theater. But I already knew SMLE rifles pretty well and l owned a No. 4 made by Savage. The stock appeared to be walnut and was medium-dark brown. It was in much better condition than many surplus examples, like yours. My No. 4 MK 2 from Fazakerly is also a nice one. Some have arrived here in the original factory wrapping.
That No. 1 in the movie looked about new, and was probably obtained in Kenya where it was maintained well in an army or police armory or by a settler. (Kenya was not independent until 1962.) I was envious of its looks and recall it well. It may have been restocked in a lighter colored wood. But I've seen others with fairly light stocks. Some service stocks and especially, some made by BSA for commercial or export sale, have really pretty wood, as do many early .303 sporters. A lot of those were sold to officers and to settlers in Africa. I think colonial India banned .303's for hunting rifles, as there was a fear that rebels would steal or capure rifles taking service ammo.
