Well, kids, it happened - I went to an indoor shooting range last weekend to dink off some handgun rounds, and was saddened to see an orphaned rifle sitting forlornly in a glass cabinet there. It was a FTR Fazakerly, an unissued last-stage copy of the old British SMLE Lee-Enfield Mark 4 No.2 bolt action rifle, made in 1955. It was, even at that time, virtually obsolete as a battle rifle, the design having been used by the Brits in one form or another for longer than two world wars.

The sign said, "$175."

Being unissued, it was assembled in January 1955, slathered in Cosmoline, wrapped in paper and put into stocks for the Irish Army, who never took it out of inventory, as by that time even the Europeans had discovered the unfettered utility of self-loading arms and high-volume fire. It's rimmed .303 cartridge was the product of late 19th century weapons design, not suitable to modern uses, and it's ten-round magazine and 60-degree bolt rotation were forward-thinking attributes for the early 1900s but have been since eclipsed by smaller rounds with higher velocity and weapons with three-times the ammo capacity at two-thirds the weight, manufacturable at one-third the cost from cheap stampings.

Nevertheless with its undamaged blonde wood, flaw-free Parkerizing, new bore, and tiny price, I found this rifle irresistible. With Mrs. Libercontrarian's financial blessing (and several rolled-eyed-smirks) I secured the rifle with attached bayonet on Sunday, and spent the next three days of spare time touching it up, refinishing the stock and using tung oil - hand rubbed with multiple coats, mind you, to bring out the true character of the wood. Cleaning the Cosmoline off the steel parts was not very much fun, but when I was done, I had a gem of high quality - completely new, as well, and a beautiful representation of post WWII history in my gun locker.

Rule Britannia! Britannia Rule The Waves!