SMLE Value

[Flavius Maximus]

I'm planning to leave the country early next year (sooner if i can) as i'm tired of living in a nanny state, & can't bring my SMLE with me.
It's a 1941 model that i'm certain has seen action against Japanese forces. The rear sight guards, or "ears", are loose, however. The front guards, barrel, action, & rear sights themselves are tight, but the front & rear "ears" have a bit of rust. Bolt is super smooth, crown is still rather prominent, & in the hands of a better marksman, it's a good shooter. I was using the sights wrong & stored it dry, but after storing it oiled & running 2 dry patches before shooting, it started clovering at 20 metres. The eyepro kept fogging up at longer ranges.
I paid $750 about 2 months ago, but i'm hoping to make a bit of a profit. I have 20 genuine unissued stripper clips & 6 boxes of PPU soft points. I also have a hoppes cleaning & oiling kit.
How much do you think all this would be worth? Would it be worth sending it to a gunsmith to tighten those back ears? Should i just cut my losses & sell it as is? Keeping it is not an option for me

[straightshooter]

Flavio
Under present circumstances in NSW the ammunition and clips might realise OK money but the only way to promptly dispose of the rifle will be at a give away price to a dealer.
By the way of curiosity, which bastion of freedom are you planning to move to?

[Flavius Maximus]

Flavio
Under present circumstances in NSW the ammunition and clips might realise OK money but the only way to promptly dispose of the rifle will be at a give away price to a dealer.
By the way of curiosity, which bastion of freedom are you planning to move to?

I'm planning to move to the US. A red state - not one of those nutty democrat ones. If that fails or if there's a delay, NZ. Not perfect, but still better than this dead-end land.
I don't mind waiting a month or so, my trip's in October. But given the tight, narrow experience i've had, i'm not enjoying myself. Only in australia can they take something awesome & make it suck. & it's not just the government & firearms, it's an ingrained part of our culture. as Dankula said, "australians hate fun".

[Biscuits]

"australians hate fun"

Australia is a disaster area for shooting. As you say, the fun has been sucked out of it. It is not just the firearms laws, it is the proscriptive requirements just to use a range or even shoot on private land.

In Europe, I could wake up, just decide I felt like shooting, go to the range without a booking, without a range officer, without any other people and just start shooting. Any time. Any day. No eye protection. Supressors, so I'd even take a view on wearing hearing protection or not. None of this Australia style waiting until 9am to 12pm on a Saturday when you are allowed to shoot at a fixed distance under the supervision of a range officer.

Anyway, your SMLE. Impossible to say the value without seeing the stamps on it and if the numbers are/aren't matching. I'd just sell it as is and buy more stuff when you are in the United States. I'd buy some interesting stuff, like an M1 Garand and obv sevearal ARs.

[Wapiti]

If you get to the 'States and get your citizenship or whatever it takes to be able to buy firearms there, mate I'm a little jealous.

I remember here someone saying that Australia is now "a sh*thole" and was caned mercilessly for saying it by some quite narrow-minded members, but that's pretty much what's happened to all of us.
The country itself still offers us all everything we need to close the gates on the rest of the world and live an incredibly rewarding life in a country that provides everything we beg the rest of the world for. Unfortunately, it's the people and their propensity for accepting the fantasies and promises of the low-value treacherous self-serving creatures in our political system... that somehow convinced them with lies to get their votes.
What I cannot understand is, even after this treachery, the voters still do not angry enough to change it. Or even see that they can.
Then when they are given an alternative, far from perfect but still light years better for them, they reject it.
In my own example, I have to beg and prove every time a firearms license comes up for renewal that I still need what I have, by having to prove the problems I'm trying to deal with. That I can't achieve the same result somehow and with something else, like maybe with a shovel or by throwing rocks at 200 yards. Free country? Far from it.
I completely understand your feelings, but I just wish the time would come now that everyone stood up and decided to turn this around instead of leaving.

On the SMLE, it sounds like one of the very desirable ones if it's a Lithgow-made one.
These sell in well-kept but used condition around here for $1000 or more, depending on the place their sold. In other words, in country town gunshops, usually 25-50% less than the city areas where there is more income and demand, and there's less casual shooters and more "work" related shooting that an SMLE isn't any good at.
It's likely that any gunshop costs in tightening the sights would not be recouped in any sale, especially if you wait till the last minute and have to basically accept a low offer to get rid of it. Most real buyers expect some things they can sort out themselves.
Donate it to your son instead?
Maybe he could sell it on a gun broker website? Even if you've moved overseas and left it with him to get a good decent price for?
Disclaimer - I've never used one to buy a gun and never look at them, but it seems even from being a member here that there's heaps of people looking for stuff online.

[bladeracer]

"australians hate fun"

Australia is a disaster area for shooting. As you say, the fun has been sucked out of it. It is not just the firearms laws, it is the proscriptive requirements just to use a range or even shoot on private land.

In Europe, I could wake up, just decide I felt like shooting, go to the range without a booking, without a range officer, without any other people and just start shooting. Any time. Any day. No eye protection. Supressors, so I'd even take a view on wearing hearing protection or not. None of this Australia style waiting until 9am to 12pm on a Saturday when you are allowed to shoot at a fixed distance under the supervision of a range officer.

Anyway, your SMLE. Impossible to say the value without seeing the stamps on it and if the numbers are/aren't matching. I'd just sell it as is and buy more stuff when you are in the United States. I'd buy some interesting stuff, like an M1 Garand and obv sevearal ARs.

I consider ACT and NSW to be right behind WA when it comes to making life as difficult as they can for shooters. Maybe come down to Vic and find yourself a few acres in an out of the way spot. Anytime I feel like shooting I grab some rifles from the safe, pack some ammo in a bag, and walk out to a paddock. I'm shooting the ANZAC shoot on Saturday so I'll be out in the paddock tomorrow with the .303 checking my holds for 300yd prone, 200yd seated, and 100yd offhand. If I feel more like shooting pistols I can go to my local range on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday between 1000 and 1600 to shoot on my own or go to a range 45 minutes away where I can shoot on my own 24/7 (the only three days we can't shoot there are on ANZAC Day, Easter, or Christmas Day). We can also shoot rifles and guns at this pistol club as it's privately owned. I don't attend any rifle clubs so I can't comment on what life is like at those. I suspect that if you are near a city centre then controls are likely to be tighter and rules are likely to be far more stringent than further out in the sticks. I would think closer to cities the RO's are dealing every day with unknown shooters of unknown skill levels, who might not be members and are probably unfamiliar with the rules of the specific range, which is probably why they want an RO on-site to begin with. Out in the sticks it's more likely to be regular members attending the range, who know each other, are not going to destroy range infrastructure, and understand the rules of the range, so there is really no need to have an RO overseeing them. I do have what I'm told is a very good 800m rifle range 20 minutes away (Moe City RC) but have never been there. I do want to take a friend there though so I should find out what the place is like quite soon. My initial investigation I think said they only shoot on Saturday mornings which is very difficult as I shoot pistol matches on Saturdays.

[bladeracer]

"australians hate fun"

Australia is a disaster area for shooting. As you say, the fun has been sucked out of it. It is not just the firearms laws, it is the proscriptive requirements just to use a range or even shoot on private land.

In Europe, I could wake up, just decide I felt like shooting, go to the range without a booking, without a range officer, without any other people and just start shooting. Any time. Any day. No eye protection. Supressors, so I'd even take a view on wearing hearing protection or not. None of this Australia style waiting until 9am to 12pm on a Saturday when you are allowed to shoot at a fixed distance under the supervision of a range officer.

Anyway, your SMLE. Impossible to say the value without seeing the stamps on it and if the numbers are/aren't matching. I'd just sell it as is and buy more stuff when you are in the United States. I'd buy some interesting stuff, like an M1 Garand and obv sevearal ARs.

I consider ACT and NSW to be right behind WA when it comes to making life as difficult as they can for shooters. Maybe come down to Vic and find yourself a few acres in an out of the way spot. Anytime I feel like shooting I grab some rifles from the safe, pack some ammo in a bag, and walk out to a paddock. I'm shooting the ANZAC shoot on Saturday so I'll be out in the paddock tomorrow with the .303 checking my holds for 300yd prone, 200yd seated, and 100yd offhand. If I feel more like shooting pistols I can go to my local range on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday between 1000 and 1600 to shoot on my own or go to a range 45 minutes away where I can shoot on my own 24/7 (the only three days we can't shoot there are on ANZAC Day, Easter, or Christmas Day). We can also shoot rifles and guns at this pistol club as it's privately owned. I don't attend any rifle clubs so I can't comment on what life is like at those. I suspect that if you are near a city centre then controls are likely to be tighter and rules are likely to be far more stringent than further out in the sticks. I would think closer to cities the RO's are dealing every day with unknown shooters of unknown skill levels, who might not be members and are probably unfamiliar with the rules of the specific range, which is probably why they want an RO on-site to begin with. Out in the sticks it's more likely to be regular members attending the range, who know each other, are not going to destroy range infrastructure, and understand the rules of the range, so there is really no need to have an RO overseeing them. I do have what I'm told is a very good 800m rifle range 20 minutes away (Moe City RC) but have never been there. I do want to take a friend there though so I should find out what the place is like quite soon. My initial investigation I think said they only shoot on Saturday mornings which is very difficult as I shoot pistol matches on Saturdays.

I was coming through Dandenong yesterday so I dropped past Springvale for a look. The staff were lovely, despite being flat out with customers. While I was there for a few minutes two groups of young people came in wanting to have a go, requiring some basic safety coaching before being handed a .22 rifle each to shoot 50m prone. Awesome to see, but with about 40 positions on the line I can see it'd be a huge workload on the RO's on a busy day. There were licenced shooters there as well for some practice. I was mainly interested in the pistol ranges which are in the back as they are where the various pistol clubs shoot, not so much open to the public. The lady that showed us around was lovely, despite it being a very busy place. So I can certainly see why some places, those open to the general public, need some pretty tight rules and supervision. I don't think I could shoot on that rifle range at all, far too much happening around me to be comfortable. But a mate shoots Cowboy there and I want to get along to one of his shoots soon.

[bladeracer]

I'm planning to leave the country early next year (sooner if i can) as i'm tired of living in a nanny state, & can't bring my SMLE with me.
It's a 1941 model that i'm certain has seen action against Japanese forces. The rear sight guards, or "ears", are loose, however. The front guards, barrel, action, & rear sights themselves are tight, but the front & rear "ears" have a bit of rust. Bolt is super smooth, crown is still rather prominent, & in the hands of a better marksman, it's a good shooter. I was using the sights wrong & stored it dry, but after storing it oiled & running 2 dry patches before shooting, it started clovering at 20 metres. The eyepro kept fogging up at longer ranges.
I paid $750 about 2 months ago, but i'm hoping to make a bit of a profit. I have 20 genuine unissued stripper clips & 6 boxes of PPU soft points. I also have a hoppes cleaning & oiling kit.
How much do you think all this would be worth? Would it be worth sending it to a gunsmith to tighten those back ears? Should i just cut my losses & sell it as is? Keeping it is not an option for me

I would talk to LERAA via their Facebook pages, they can give you a good valuation, and very likely find an interested party.
Or take it to Tom - https://www.t-boneshipwrighting.com.au/contact-me/