Duty First Firearms

Duty First Firearms Building, modifying and maintaining rifles with a healthy bias toward the classic Mauser 98.

The “bad boy”. SKS, gas operated, air cooled, box magazine fed complete with fold out bayonet for all your Third World D...
11/02/2018

The “bad boy”. SKS, gas operated, air cooled, box magazine fed complete with fold out bayonet for all your Third World Dictatorship needs. This particular example is a “sporting rifle” exported from China to us when that was still a completely acceptable thing to do. Having been on the receiving end of one, I’m glad we don’t do that anymore, there’s no need. Firing the same round as the AK47, it is a soviet design and very well made, you could say it’s a close cousin of the AK. It was developed during WWII but too late to make a massive difference for the Soviet Forces and the AK47 very quickly replaced it. They made A LOT though. The design rights were given to communist China who also churned them out by the million along with a number of other communist regimes.

Aussie ingenuity at work. Lithgow SAF Model 12. Following the model 1, Lithgow SAF produced these for Slazenger. Some sa...
08/02/2018

Aussie ingenuity at work. Lithgow SAF Model 12. Following the model 1, Lithgow SAF produced these for Slazenger. Some say they’re a close copy of a Re*****on, probably true. I can tell you that they’re not a lot of fun to work on, overly complicated in some ways and just plain cheap in others. Once you get one running right they’re accurate (barrel and action most probably still created from surplus SMLE barrel blanks as per the model 1) This one came from Adelaide gun shop in a sorry state. Looking like a proud Aussie now though with the ability to fit a scope. I don’t bother staining the wood because I like to show the features and the fact that it’s a two piece stock, another post war cost cutting measure.

This is a Savage Model 3B that came in with a bunch of guns from Adelaide. As single shot .22s go it’s a bit of a tank. ...
07/02/2018

This is a Savage Model 3B that came in with a bunch of guns from Adelaide. As single shot .22s go it’s a bit of a tank. It’s almost centrefire rifle dimensions and comes into the shoulder smoothly. The wood is walnut and pretty tidy, fitted with a sturdy steel corrugated butt plate. I like it because it is reminiscent of a time when you would hunt for the pot and .22s weren’t toys. It was a rusty neglected relic from someone’s shed in SA. It would have been sad to see it end its days that way so I gave it the treatment.

Another Ma**er 98. I built this one out of what I had laying around. A Parker Hale barrel screwed to an old 1943 German ...
06/02/2018

Another Ma**er 98. I built this one out of what I had laying around. A Parker Hale barrel screwed to an old 1943 German action with a Leupold bridge mount atop it. I milled out the military magazine box and trigger guard off an F.N to accommodate a Bold trigger. The muzzle brake was just for fun and the stock was also a Parker Hale left over from something. The Pecar scope, being fixed 4X, offers a wide field of view for a fairly short barrelled .308. Anyone for bacon?😁

Custom 98 in .308WIN built on a Zastava action.This rifle uses a 29 inch Swan barrel Allan Swan Gunsmithing & Swan Rifle...
04/12/2017

Custom 98 in .308WIN built on a Zastava action.
This rifle uses a 29 inch Swan barrel Allan Swan Gunsmithing & Swan Rifle Barrels and muzzle brake.
Test fire and group proved promising with factory ammunition; 3 shots in 15mm at 100m.
The stock is a Hatcher’s stock Cameron Hatcher in Claro Walnut with white walnut grip cap and forend tip for something different. It is a True oil hand rubbed finish. A few custom touches for a bit of fun and colour.

Haven’t done one of these before. An Arisaka in 6.5 x 50SR Reputed to be even stronger than a Ma**er 98, the Arisaka was...
14/11/2017

Haven’t done one of these before. An Arisaka in 6.5 x 50SR Reputed to be even stronger than a Ma**er 98, the Arisaka was the mainstay for the Japanese forces during WW2. This one is a Type 38 model of 1905. Often criticised for its lack of power the 6.5 was eclipsed when the Type 99 came into production in 7.7mm. What a logistics nightmare. An army with two different types of ammunition for a similar looking rifle. This one has been thoroughly cleaned and assembled correctly with a few minor repairs along the way. Not one number matches. It was probably built using parts from various wrecked rifles toward the end of the war. It’s nicely balanced and easy enough to use but I’d take a Lee Enfield over it any day.

This has been a fun project. Mosin Nagant Type 53. After coming across an action with a burnt out barrel and a truly hor...
14/11/2017

This has been a fun project. Mosin Nagant Type 53. After coming across an action with a burnt out barrel and a truly horrendous butchered stock, I decided to make something out of it. I had a stainless barrel kicking around in 30-06. I removed 8mm from the front and rear shoulder and re-reamed it to 7.62x54R. An aftermarket plastic stock would have been way too light and flimsy for something like this so I glass bedded it and had the stock modified to a more user friendly design. Initial group and zero showed a cloverleaf and although it was only 25m that’s not too bad with factory ammo and a rifle that started as an experiment. Blasted, blued and finished, it’s a rugged bit of kit. Thanks to Grant Allan Swan Gunsmithing & Swan Rifle Barrels for helping with the extractor recess and humouring me while this frankenrifle took shape.

Lithgow Small Arms Factory Model 1B. I love restoring these little Aussies. Just knocked out these two. I often restore ...
29/10/2017

Lithgow Small Arms Factory Model 1B. I love restoring these little Aussies. Just knocked out these two. I often restore little single shot rifles because they don't take a huge amount of effort and the result is very satisfying. Nothing sadder than someone's pride and joy getting cut up, so I save every one I can. These two have been fully stripped, cleaned, reblued, oiled and function tested with a true oil finish to the natural timber colour. They are 3000 rifles apart serial number wise.

Anschutz 1840-E in .243WIN with Swan 1:10 twist. After 2 sighting shots (also touching one another), this group was ach...
13/09/2017

Anschutz 1840-E in .243WIN with Swan 1:10 twist.
After 2 sighting shots (also touching one another), this group was achieved:
3 rounds
75m
Federal 100gr
14mm

This Anschutz 1840-E is a family heirloom of sorts and it was important to try to get it original but with a few little ...
13/09/2017

This Anschutz 1840-E is a family heirloom of sorts and it was important to try to get it original but with a few little touches just to speak of its heritage. It is chambered in .243WIN and was built in Germany not long after WWII. This is evident in the gunsmith modifications to war time equipment such as the the trigger and magazine assembly. It has been rebarrelled with a Swan barrel 1:10 twist so it'll shoot well.

This Lithgow Small Arms model 1B was made in the fifties using steel and wood that was intended to build Lee Enfields to...
13/08/2017

This Lithgow Small Arms model 1B was made in the fifties using steel and wood that was intended to build Lee Enfields to fight the Japanese. When the war ended the factory came close to closing and we would have lost a wealth of small arms manufacturing knowledge. The sporting company Slazenger commissioned Lithgow SAF to build a range of sporting rifles. Just about every Aussie kid that learned to shoot has handled one of these model 1 rifles at some point. This one was fully restored with a beautiful oil finished stock done by Mick Harding. (Note the stock is actually two pieces! Times were tough.

Savage SMLE No4 MKII. Complete restoration with new Swan Barrel. Thank Uncle Sam for this one. On lend lease to the Bri...
13/08/2017

Savage SMLE No4 MKII. Complete restoration with new Swan Barrel. Thank Uncle Sam for this one. On lend lease to the British Commonwealth when Hi**er was being a pest.

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