303 prices

[MAC13]

Hi all,
Can someone shed some light as to why the good old Australian 303 so expensive.
Im hoping to get one in good nick.
I only want to use it on the odd occasion.
Plus it would be good to practice with open sights more.
So whats a fair price for a 303?
I know its a dumb question because of the condition and all. Any advice?

[bladeracer]

Hi all,
Can someone shed some light as to why the good old Australian 303 so expensive.
Im hoping to get one in good nick.
I only want to use it on the odd occasion.
Plus it would be good to practice with open sights more.
So whats a fair price for a 303?
I know its a dumb question because of the condition and all. Any advice?

I guess it depends on what is expensive to you.
I have no idea what fair prices might be, but what I've seen seem to be from about $800 up to about $1600 depending on type and condition. I'm sure cheaper ones come up but are they worth buying if you plan to actually use the rifle?
I paid about $800 unseen for my No4 Mk1* with bayonet including freight across from Adelaide and about 400 173gn and 174gn SP bullets. I'm more than happy with the price I paid for a nice, original but shootable rifle. I would've been happy to pay a grand if I'd seen it on a shelf. I have seen a few No1 MkIII's, fairly original as well as sporterised to varying degrees. My local had two MkIII's last time I was in there.

I particularly like the No4's adjustable peep sight, the MkIII's have the old ramp sight on the barrel.

[juststarting]

Cheapest I've seen was around $300 and it looked alright.

Like any milsurp rifle it depends on few factors. Manufacturer country, year, condition, history and bore (some of them are good shooters, but look really bad, I have a couple). If you are after an Australian 303 in Australia, where there's meaning, sentimentality and historic value, then yeah, you're going to pay... I think $700 - $800 for a rifle alone is what you will find these days. If you are just going to pay without being a d**khead and make it painless, get some photos, make your mind up straightway and move on it, then everyone is willing to move on price.

Don't take the d**khead comment personally too. I have bought and sold rifles on usedguns.com.au and holly crap man. Selling is easy, I have low tolerance for bs. If I smell something NQR, I move on... But buying stuff is an entirely different story. I tend to snipe at what I want and put up a wanted ad more often than not. The amount of people who literally call and just want to talk about their collection or "let me tell you how much it's worth to me" or "I am thinking about selling", why are you wasting my time if you're 'thinking'... Anyway, whatever price you get, drop a couple hundred - offer now and move cash now and message them to say it was transferred. You'll be fine

[juststarting]

By the way, lots of people sit on junk, to them, to you it would be treasure... Do your homework. And they just cbf selling unless the opportunity comes up. Put an ad up, be specific, I want, A, B, C, condition Y, colour Z for price X and wait for a call.

[No1Mk3]

G'day MAC13,
The market in collectible rifles has moved significantly in the last 5 years, as more and more young shooters have come on the scene, and desired to have " a rifle like Great Grandad used". (or Father for those old enough!) For this reason, Lithgow 303s are going up quite strongly with prices for good examples doubling over that time period and not going to come back either. The prices quoted by juststarting and bladeracer have to be taken as the norm now, though good bargains can still be found, and the longer you wait, the dearer they will be. As you are in Vic, go to the Melbourne Arms Fair, and check out the tables, talk to the dealers, and have fun, Cheers.

[Dunxy]

They are all over the place pricewise,ive seen rough ones missing mags go for under $200 but cheapest complete one would be 300ish all the way up to thousands for particularly desirable ones.Got a hankering for one myself so have been looking a lot in the last couple of months.
Ones that have been in the hands of Bubba are way cheaper,but i don't know who would want a ruined gun so i assume you are not after these.A mate got one for $30.

[juststarting]

I call bs on $30

[Supaduke]

Like anything collectable, prices are very subjective. Everyone wants a Lithgow .303, so they command a higher price. No.4's, although technically superior in all ways, are much cheaper. Many other Milsurps that are excellent rifles are also comparatively cheaper. It's the first ancient rule of commerce, supply and demand.

I for one , am glad many obsess over Lithgows and have little interest in other Milsurps. Keeps prices down and lets me get mausers etc st much better prices.

The K98 is another example. Many other m98 based Mausers are arguably much better. But people want a Nazi rifle , so K98's command stupid prices.

If you want to get into Milsurps, be patient, learn the market and do your research. Still lots of good rifles to be had at fair prices.

[MAC13]

Thanks guys. Ive been looking online.
I do like the idea of having a Australian rifle.
Is $1500 dollars too much for a lithgow mk3 1942 year in excellent condition ( thats what they say). Matching numbers on bolt , action and barrel.
It also has what theu say is the original cleaning kit?

Theres am other one but its 1918 mk3 in good condition ( again thats what they say)
Matching numbers on bolt and action. With a bayonet for $1200.

Im prepared to pay what they are worth. But i dont want to be takem for a ride.

[on_one_wheel]

Not that long ago you could get a 303 still wrapped up in grease paper for just a few hundred bucks.
Plenty of blokes bought them as new like that, took them home to the shed and sportirised them.

Imagine what one still wrapped up in grease paper would be worth now.

[Wylie27]

$1500 for a matching numbers Lithgow? Holy crap batman.

I got 1943 matching numbers, barrel, bolt, receiver, for cap and stock. Paid $500 for it last year. FTR'd in the 50's and has an excellent bore. I thought I paid to much for it lol

[Gun-nut]

I see people charging $2000+ for an unissued no4 mk2, still wrapped in the grease and everything. If I had the money I'd still probably buy one. Even if they are over priced.

[gillian]

Buy Ian Skennerton's The Lee Enfield and do some research before you buy

[Bent Arrow]

Keep looking. I'm looking myself and they come up from $300 to over a grand depending on model, condition, and the expectations of the seller. Lots of people think there stuff is worth much, much more than it it really is. I want something like what my great grandfather would have had in his hands when he scrabbled up the hills at Gallipoli in the dark on the morning of the 25th. Am I willing to pay for it, hell yeah, but only within a certain limit.

[gillian]

Don't forget certain rifles have collector value
Whilst you see an over priced rifle some people see a desirable addition to their collection and are willing to part with mega dollars for a rare piece

[Bent Arrow]

Don't forget certain rifles have collector value
Whilst you see an over priced rifle some people see a desirable addition to their collection and are willing to part with mega dollars for a rare piece

Absolutely agree. The problem I have come up against is people that see the prices on those collector items that then think the battered and unloved rifle they inherited from their dad is worth that too. My brother in law thought his Browning S70 B2 grade 12g was worth $15, 000 because that's what a D grade can get at auction.

[Dunxy]

I call bs on $30

If you saw it, you wouldnt!
Its been "sporterised"" by bubba! Zero blueing left,tapped for scope mounts nothing of original sights left and according to him you have to bash the case out after nearly every shot. I didn't measure it but i suspect the barrel has been cut as well. TBH the thing was that disgusting i really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it when he showed it to me.

[juststarting]

lol

[MAC13]

So as fatr would have it..just today.
Only a matter of hours after my post.
I fund a 1942 lithgow in my local town in gippsland for sale.
It has matching numbers except for the barrel as it was replaced during FTR in the 50s.
The wood is awesome. ( I reckon anyway)
It has the cleaning kit in the stock.
I paid $700.
I will post pics whem i work out how.
Cheers

[MAC13]

Here it is.

[juststarting]

BOOM!

[bladeracer]

Here it is.

Very nice find at a good price

[Supaduke]

And the journey begins...

Nice rifle .

One thing I will mention, don't get caught up in the snobbery that can pervade the collecting community.

Some blokes can get really caught up in a certain type of elitism. Very evident on some collector forums. It's your gun, if you like it, that's enough. Enjoy the history and stories that surround these fine rifles.

[MAC13]

Will do.
My little brother was asking me all these questons like did it go overseas etc.
I just told him that we will never know and i kind of like that way.
It keeps me wondering about the possibilities.

[Member-Deleted]

I've been meaning to talk about this topic for a while, but someone beat me to it. Milsurps in general are fetching some ridiculous prices, especially bona fide junk like mosins and carcano;s ( talking from a lot of experience here). In my teens, Lee enfields varied from revered to despised, depending on who you spoke to, but the prices were at least realistic. I.ve been a collector and owned 32 at one stage, all matching numbers, and different manufacturers and models, and the most i paid was for a No 5 Mk 1 that went for $350.00 back in 1981 ( unfired, still in wrapping, with bayonet etc). That was when you could buy a lithgow in good shape for @35.00, so 10 times the price for a generic rifle. That was by far the exception, and Jungle Carbines today still fetch prices out of proportion to how well they shoot.

I see full wood lthgows go for well in excess of $1,000.00 these days, and people are prepared to pay that much for nostalgia, so that is how it is. Cut down versions rarely shoot well without a reasonable amount of tweaking, although the No 4 rifle is probably the best of the bunch if you want a project "sporter" to work on, and these can be had for Less than $500.00 in good shape if you look hard enough.

As a side note, my P14 conversion is a very accurate rifle, and much easier on case life than the Lee enfield, but that is another story.........