I have since replaced most of the pitted components on this rifle, including the magazine, so it looks a lot better. I still wouldn't recommend purchasing one of these from RTI.
Good to know, thanks. I’ll continue to get AK parts kits from them. But NONE of their MilSurp rifles. Them jokers charge a premium for rifles that would’ve been in the bargain barrel at most gun shops 15-20 years ago. But since the MilSurp hobby has turned into a collectors market, these A-holes (RTI) are content to sell corroded worthless trash and think that people who haven’t been around a bit don’t know any better.
It cleaned up really nice! I guess the corrosion gives the rifle character. Also, I’ve always found the attachment methods for the Ethiopian slings to be crude but also very interesting. I’ve also seen them tied around the sling swivels or wrapped around the stock.
WOW! Im sorry to hear about the rifle. I also realize this video is two years old. But i just found RTI about 2months ago and made my 1st purchase. I grabbed one of the Carcano's that were stored in Europe ,rather then Ethiopia. It cost a few bucks more and i did pay for a good bore which i feel i got an over "all" good item. It didnt come with an enbloc but i had already found originals the day after the purchase for 4bucks a piece! So being cheaper then RTI's replicas that dont really work well if at all i am using the brass ones...lol Now the rifle i had next on my list of WWII rifles was going to be an Enfield. I like the No4 MkIII but any No4 would be fine. But i dont want to pay an arm and leg for a wall hanger and just want shooters? The only historical rifle i have in the bunch is a VZ24 my Grandfather captured along with a German Mauser. If you saw them on the wall from across the room, you wouldnt be able ot pick one from the other. But i gave a relative the german one with markings because i know it will stay in the family. I plan to start using the VZ24 for hunting hogs! LOL With the Carcano it was cheap enough to use at the range or what ever and i want to try and keep the Enfield cost down as well as i want to shoot it. I dont want wall hangers yet ,im getting into this collecting thing way late! :>/ Im now getting older too so im not trying to collect crap i cant use and have fun with before i get too damn old to shoot!LOL at 58yrs old im only 2rifles into my intended 6 rifle collection. Of course for the axis the ,Mauser,Carano, and later an Arisaka, and for the Allies the Enfield,Nagant, and Garand rather then the carbine. I really like the bigger rounds when target shooting. Since the only hunting i do, do is hogs maybe once a year ,and need bigger calibers to be humane about it, later in life i may look at an M1Carbine only when, i cant handle the recoil of the 30/06! LOL After i got out of the military i ,for some reason never, thought about firearms. I also swore i would never kill anything again, for any reason. Threw the years i was able ot come to terms with my military exp. , lets call it. So that i am willing to go hunting "only" for evasive animals only. Ant that i forgot how much fun it was to shoot clays and target shoot as i did as a kid. My Grandfather always wanted me to get into hunting when i was young but i never wanted to kill anything ,even then! I am happy with the w ay my life has turned out and i wouldnt want to ever take out my military service, as its what makes me who i am now. I know im a good man ,husband and father, and using firearms and hunting is a part of life ,and out culture! As the left tells us we need to bow to their will because of their culture and beliefs ,we can not allow our own to fall away.....America is a toilet right now and the left just flushed the toilet by getting Biden Installed! Right now we are slowly going round and round.......I just pray we all wake up and stop the spin? Look im really sorry for this i had a bad week....hehe I know im going ot look a bit of an dumbas* going off on a life story but here it is! LOL I love the video , but do you have any up to date videos? Or was this your last purchase? I was thinking about a B grade one but IDK now?
Thanks for watching! RTI is definitely a dice roll and they seem to be hit or miss when it comes to their Enfields. I have a ton of other vides on my channel regarding RTI purchases...check out my back catalog and subscribe and hit the notification button for future vids.
I stripped the 8mm mauser apart I had to take a drimel too a lot of it. Because of the pitting. You can Only do so much with sandpaper in your hand. I literally hollowed out the collar and a lot of the other parts the barrel was really really dark I can see the rifling now but I still have not shot it
What strange corrosion! Seems to be pretty consistent what can be expected with the RTI stuff. If I had to assign odds, I’d guess 45-ish % would be functional shooters with some replacement parts, another 45-ish % would be wall-hanger material that wouldn’t be a good shooter without spending more than it’s worth to fix up, with the remaining single digit (+/-) number being stuff that’s ok right out of box .
I bought one from classic firearms in December of 2020 for $400 with the additional hand select. It looked worn for handselect. Barrel was soaked in cosmoline but no pitting and none on the receiver either.. Barrel after extensive cleaning was frosted but still good rifling. No cracked stock. But the original stamped sight was repaired. And had a #1 bolt head. Bluing was maybe 30% mild surface rust on the trigger parts. I purchased a newish #2 bolt head and adjustable click sight. The barreled receiver and parts soaked in a pvc clr contraption and I will duracoat all the metal parts after. I completely stripped the wood to bare finish and steamed out what dents I could and tru oiled it. I can't find a headspace gauge to save my life though. I have heard the shell with the sauter trick will work though. Don't do the transfer if the rifle looks poor. The rifle won't be returnable then. Keep that in mind.
Sounds like a fun project! I've done some work on this one since the vid posted and it looks much better. Noted on the transfer, but I have a C&R lic so I get these shipped to my door.
So, I picked up an enfield from royal tiger, and I went all out. "collector grade savage or long branch, hand select." After shipping, I could have bought a very nice rifle. What I received, was more of a B grade. After seeing what you got as a B grade... oof. If you know a solid welder, you can get that pitting in the receiver filled in and ground back down... no worries of ruining the markings, since there weren't many left. Liberty tree has unissued magazines and bolts too.
At least it looks intact. Comeing out of Ethiopia. Id not expect "like new issue" condition. Or even arsenal re-conditioned. And Id wager that the "corrosion" is two parts that and at least one part "dragged behind a truck" handleing wear. Kudos on your restorative efforts. She oughta be a sound shooter.
Like they had a whole bunch of the rifles in a container where somewhere on the side and water stayed in there for months years The ones that didn't need to be thrown away they just kind of cleaned up that's the reason you see that heavy pitting
I’ve only just watched your video, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen that type of corrosion before. You will have observed that some of the rust is pretty typical of what you might expect, given the likely shortcomings of its past storage. However, the deep, moulded appearance of the erosion/corrosion strongly suggest that your rifle has been pissed on, by a dog, and probably more than once! I’m being quite serious here, I’ve seen similar before. I’m not an expert on the subject of animal urine, per see; neither am I particularly au fair with all the animals of Ethiopia, but I’d wager on it being dog. I very much enjoyed your video; thank you.
Did you try contacting RTI? I purchased 2, one I was satisfied with and the other was definitely a grade C when I paid for a B. They told me to send pictures which I did, still waiting to hear back. When you call the recording does say customer service is paramount
@@usna98 I would agree I bought a smle earlier in the year and the rifle was to my astonishment amazing amazing rifling and cosmetics. I decided to gamble on the lebel I have been looking for one for a while so I'm crossing my fingers.
I was so frustrated with classic firearms when I got that Ethiopian contract 8 mm mauser It just looked horrible then they try to tell you this is war art on it no it's not. Its storage numbers because it was in a Box
Royal Tiger ripped you off and they got me too. When asked, and complained about their poor grading I was pretty well told you get what we send. Like you, I don’t recommend anyone buying from them.
Yeah, I definitely wasn't happy with this purchase although it is a good shooter. They are definitely hit or miss, though I do have to say their customer service has made several issues right that I've experience since. I understand why people don't want to buy from them though. Thanks for watching.
Back in the early 90s, as FFL licensed dealer, I could buy Enfield #1 mk III and #4 mk I rifles from Century Arms for $49.87 all day long. In hind sight, I should have bought a hundred of them and sat on them. They were in much better than these bottom of the barrel rejects. I could have made an unrealistic godly profit today if I had and the buyer would have had something better than one of these.
I wouldn't use the word 'always' as you can still get a good rifle buying sight unseen. It's just a gamble, and not something I would typically recommend. Thankfully enough people are posting videos like these now so we're better able to make an informed decision.
At least grade them lower. If the customer can flat out understand UR grading. & it doesnt match YOUR GRADING... THEN MAYBE U SHOULD GRADE IT HOW U KNOW IT IS TO BE GRADED. NO 1 CARES THAT U DROVE UR CAR 200,000 MILES.. IT DOESNT MAKE IT WORTG MORE. THE NEW OWNER WANTS TO KNOW IS IT WORTH BUYING, WILL IT PUT OUT OR PISS OFF. WHEN I SAY PISS OFF. I MEAN IT. I have at least 2 firearms I get upset and they looked so much better than they did. But it took an unreasonable amount of work. It had replaced several parts.. barrel shot out. Yet it was good to new condition.
Thanks for posting. Just re-enforces that buying from these guys is a shot in the dark. Pun intended. I know that the price seems ok but only if you get really lucky and more often then not people seem to be getting the business.
I would not give $25 for this you guys are taken to the cleaners really i wathed Mike b's channel he bought 5 of them and has may be one shoots ? come on now..
It's woefully apparent that the owner of RTI cherry picks the few good examples for himself and a few of his select cronies, and leaves the sloppy seconds for everyone else. I've seen him interviewed, and couldn't help but come away with that impression. Dishonest grading, and inflated prices.
That is honestly disgusting quality. Last year I bought a No.4MkI that had 90% of the suncorite finish left, no rust, no parts missing or broken, beautiful brass but plate and good wood. It cost me $700 Australian. That's $420 USD. I hope you didn't pay much for this sad and neglected old rifle. What a rip off.
Why can't these guys just use the NRA grading system? This A,B,C 1,2,3 grading is not indicative of anything more than these are fair to poor quality guns. Some should just be referred to as non-shooting parts guns.
You wouldn't buy a car MSU testrovax and look at it yourself why would you buy a firearm that's blind you don't know what's wrong with it what it looks like sorry to say but that's a big waste of money like a car I wouldn't buy a firearm unless I can test it
I have since replaced most of the pitted components on this rifle, including the magazine, so it looks a lot better. I still wouldn't recommend purchasing one of these from RTI.
Good to know, thanks. I’ll continue to get AK parts kits from them. But NONE of their MilSurp rifles. Them jokers charge a premium for rifles that would’ve been in the bargain barrel at most gun shops 15-20 years ago. But since the MilSurp hobby has turned into a collectors market, these A-holes (RTI) are content to sell corroded worthless trash and think that people who haven’t been around a bit don’t know any better.
Thanks for the heads-up. 👍😎🙏
Thanks so much for the shout out. I need to return the favor in my next No.4 video
It cleaned up really nice! I guess the corrosion gives the rifle character. Also, I’ve always found the attachment methods for the Ethiopian slings to be crude but also very interesting. I’ve also seen them tied around the sling swivels or wrapped around the stock.
Yes, all the Ethiopian slings I've seen in other videos look like that...not sure why they did that.
Heck yeah man. Looking much better. The corrosion is a bit of cool history for the rifle and it looks like a decent shooter.
WOW! Im sorry to hear about the rifle. I also realize this video is two years old. But i just found RTI about 2months ago and made my 1st purchase. I grabbed one of the Carcano's that were stored in Europe ,rather then Ethiopia. It cost a few bucks more and i did pay for a good bore which i feel i got an over "all" good item. It didnt come with an enbloc but i had already found originals the day after the purchase for 4bucks a piece! So being cheaper then RTI's replicas that dont really work well if at all i am using the brass ones...lol Now the rifle i had next on my list of WWII rifles was going to be an Enfield. I like the No4 MkIII but any No4 would be fine. But i dont want to pay an arm and leg for a wall hanger and just want shooters? The only historical rifle i have in the bunch is a VZ24 my Grandfather captured along with a German Mauser. If you saw them on the wall from across the room, you wouldnt be able ot pick one from the other. But i gave a relative the german one with markings because i know it will stay in the family. I plan to start using the VZ24 for hunting hogs! LOL
With the Carcano it was cheap enough to use at the range or what ever and i want to try and keep the Enfield cost down as well as i want to shoot it. I dont want wall hangers yet ,im getting into this collecting thing way late! :>/ Im now getting older too so im not trying to collect crap i cant use and have fun with before i get too damn old to shoot!LOL at 58yrs old im only 2rifles into my intended 6 rifle collection. Of course for the axis the ,Mauser,Carano, and later an Arisaka, and for the Allies the Enfield,Nagant, and Garand rather then the carbine. I really like the bigger rounds when target shooting. Since the only hunting i do, do is hogs maybe once a year ,and need bigger calibers to be humane about it, later in life i may look at an M1Carbine only when, i cant handle the recoil of the 30/06! LOL After i got out of the military i ,for some reason never, thought about firearms. I also swore i would never kill anything again, for any reason. Threw the years i was able ot come to terms with my military exp. , lets call it. So that i am willing to go hunting "only" for evasive animals only. Ant that i forgot how much fun it was to shoot clays and target shoot as i did as a kid. My Grandfather always wanted me to get into hunting when i was young but i never wanted to kill anything ,even then! I am happy with the w ay my life has turned out and i wouldnt want to ever take out my military service, as its what makes me who i am now. I know im a good man ,husband and father, and using firearms and hunting is a part of life ,and out culture! As the left tells us we need to bow to their will because of their culture and beliefs ,we can not allow our own to fall away.....America is a toilet right now and the left just flushed the toilet by getting Biden Installed! Right now we are slowly going round and round.......I just pray we all wake up and stop the spin? Look im really sorry for this i had a bad week....hehe I know im going ot look a bit of an dumbas* going off on a life story but here it is! LOL I love the video , but do you have any up to date videos? Or was this your last purchase? I was thinking about a B grade one but IDK now?
Thanks for watching! RTI is definitely a dice roll and they seem to be hit or miss when it comes to their Enfields. I have a ton of other vides on my channel regarding RTI purchases...check out my back catalog and subscribe and hit the notification button for future vids.
I stripped the 8mm mauser apart I had to take a drimel too a lot of it.
Because of the pitting. You can Only do so much with sandpaper in your hand. I literally hollowed out the collar and a lot of the other parts the barrel was really really dark I can see the rifling now but I still have not shot it
What strange corrosion! Seems to be pretty consistent what can be expected with the RTI stuff. If I had to assign odds, I’d guess 45-ish % would be functional shooters with some replacement parts, another 45-ish % would be wall-hanger material that wouldn’t be a good shooter without spending more than it’s worth to fix up, with the remaining single digit (+/-) number being stuff that’s ok right out of box .
I bought one from classic firearms in December of 2020 for $400 with the additional hand select. It looked worn for handselect. Barrel was soaked in cosmoline but no pitting and none on the receiver either.. Barrel after extensive cleaning was frosted but still good rifling. No cracked stock. But the original stamped sight was repaired. And had a #1 bolt head. Bluing was maybe 30% mild surface rust on the trigger parts. I purchased a newish #2 bolt head and adjustable click sight. The barreled receiver and parts soaked in a pvc clr contraption and I will duracoat all the metal parts after. I completely stripped the wood to bare finish and steamed out what dents I could and tru oiled it. I can't find a headspace gauge to save my life though. I have heard the shell with the sauter trick will work though. Don't do the transfer if the rifle looks poor. The rifle won't be returnable then. Keep that in mind.
Sounds like a fun project! I've done some work on this one since the vid posted and it looks much better. Noted on the transfer, but I have a C&R lic so I get these shipped to my door.
So, I picked up an enfield from royal tiger, and I went all out. "collector grade savage or long branch, hand select." After shipping, I could have bought a very nice rifle. What I received, was more of a B grade. After seeing what you got as a B grade... oof. If you know a solid welder, you can get that pitting in the receiver filled in and ground back down... no worries of ruining the markings, since there weren't many left. Liberty tree has unissued magazines and bolts too.
And thats a long branch rear sight. the LB overlapping proof is still visible.
Thanks for the suggestions. Learning how to weld is on my bucket list, so maybe I'll tackle it at some point (after some practice!).
The blue under the wood looks nice
I know exactly what that corrosion is ... It's definitely metal eating mice 🐁
You're welcome for answering this question
At least it looks intact.
Comeing out of Ethiopia.
Id not expect "like new issue" condition. Or even arsenal re-conditioned.
And Id wager that the "corrosion" is two parts that and at least one part "dragged behind a truck" handleing wear.
Kudos on your restorative efforts.
She oughta be a sound shooter.
Thanks. It won't win any beauty contests, but it should shoot fine. Now just need to find more ammo like everyone else!
Man you did a great job on this
Thanks!
Like they had a whole bunch of the rifles in a container where somewhere on the side and water stayed in there for months years The ones that didn't need to be thrown away they just kind of cleaned up that's the reason you see that heavy pitting
I love milserps it looks good the pitting on the outside wouldn't bother me Esther I would just reblue it
Says a lot of them taking your review down. I have a review coming soon on my page of a No1 MKIII
I’ve only just watched your video, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen that type of corrosion before. You will have observed that some of the rust is pretty typical of what you might expect, given the likely shortcomings of its past storage. However, the deep, moulded appearance of the erosion/corrosion strongly suggest that your rifle has been pissed on, by a dog, and probably more than once! I’m being quite serious here, I’ve seen similar before. I’m not an expert on the subject of animal urine, per see; neither am I particularly au fair with all the animals of Ethiopia, but I’d wager on it being dog. I very much enjoyed your video; thank you.
I don't doubt it...I was also thinking urine or blood. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Did you try contacting RTI? I purchased 2, one I was satisfied with and the other was definitely a grade C when I paid for a B. They told me to send pictures which I did, still waiting to hear back. When you call the recording does say customer service is paramount
I didn't...good luck with yours. Thanks for watching.
Any updates?
@@ShitboxFlyer Nothing to update other than what's in the pinned comment.
People are saying RTI is going to be bringing in French Rifles soon and No.5 Enfields
I've heard that as well...we shall see.
Lebel and berthiers have arived
@@zacharyschmidt7222 Yep, and I will not be buying either at those prices without seeing what I'm getting.
@@usna98 I would agree I bought a smle earlier in the year and the rifle was to my astonishment amazing amazing rifling and cosmetics. I decided to gamble on the lebel I have been looking for one for a while so I'm crossing my fingers.
@@zacharyschmidt7222 Good luck...interested to know what kind of condition they're in when you get it.
I was so frustrated with classic firearms when I got that Ethiopian contract 8 mm mauser It just looked horrible then they try to tell you this is war art on it no it's not. Its storage numbers because it was in a Box
Royal Tiger ripped you off and they got me too. When asked, and complained about their poor grading I was pretty well told you get what we send. Like you, I don’t recommend anyone buying from them.
Yeah, I definitely wasn't happy with this purchase although it is a good shooter. They are definitely hit or miss, though I do have to say their customer service has made several issues right that I've experience since. I understand why people don't want to buy from them though. Thanks for watching.
You were generous with your stars.
Looks like they should be in the scrap metal and firewood business.
Blood pitting? Looks kinda like it.
It's possible, but I've always been skeptical of those claims.
@@usna98 I was given a gun that sat in some for a few days, it looked very similar.
Ouch that looks rough! At least the bore looks decent.
It does...hope to get it out to the range soon, and will try to get some footage.
@@usna98 What process did you use for "weathering" the replacement parts? I am going to have to do the same for one of my rifles.
Given it's original configuration, I'm not sure, I would even wanna know how much, they goes for?
$350 without shipping.
v good would you like to tell me about french made no 4 mark 1 ?
There were no French made No4’s to my knowledge. Some were provided to the French resistance.
@@usna98 thanks a lot i want to buy but she was made in france i git in peshawer pakistan
Not to sound stupid but blood left on metal surfaces will leave corrosion exactly like that
Not stupid. It's a possibility given the conditions they were stored in.
Blood splatter?
Back in the early 90s, as FFL licensed dealer, I could buy Enfield #1 mk III and #4 mk I rifles from Century Arms for $49.87 all day long. In hind sight, I should have bought a hundred of them and sat on them. They were in much better than these bottom of the barrel rejects. I could have made an unrealistic godly profit today if I had and the buyer would have had something better than one of these.
Yeah, it would be nice to have a time machine to go back to the days of cheap milsurps.
That’s insane I’m so glad I didn’t buy any of the carcano carbines from them
The Carcano carbine I bought from them was ok...I have another video on it and hope to shoot it soon.
I got one of the pw arms important and it was in much better condition then all the ones I’ve seen from Ethiopia and it was 100 dollars less
The corrosion looks indicative of rifles that were just left stacked in piles on a floor.
I agree.
That type of corrosion usually comes from electrolysis, where one piece of metal makes contact with another.
Indeed so, but my guess is that it was urine, probably whilst stacked against a wall, or in a corner.
I would have blued the white metal. But great job
I may still do that...thanks!
Looks to have been heavily rusted at one time, more like a "D" grade. RTI has grading issues with these rifles.
Agreed
You saved me 300$ i knew its from Ethiopia before you said it, it was rusted, it was cleaned off before shipping to usa
You're welcome!
To by old rifle sight unseen is always a mistake, TI or any other importer.
I wouldn't use the word 'always' as you can still get a good rifle buying sight unseen. It's just a gamble, and not something I would typically recommend. Thankfully enough people are posting videos like these now so we're better able to make an informed decision.
The amount of corrosion is simply unacceptable. It looks like it was stored underwater.
Worse, Ethiopia sadly
At least grade them lower. If the customer can flat out understand UR grading. & it doesnt match YOUR GRADING... THEN MAYBE U SHOULD GRADE IT HOW U KNOW IT IS TO BE GRADED. NO 1 CARES THAT U DROVE UR CAR 200,000 MILES.. IT DOESNT MAKE IT WORTG MORE. THE NEW OWNER WANTS TO KNOW IS IT WORTH BUYING, WILL IT PUT OUT OR PISS OFF. WHEN I SAY PISS OFF. I MEAN IT. I have at least 2 firearms I get upset and they looked so much better than they did. But it took an unreasonable amount of work. It had replaced several parts.. barrel shot out. Yet it was good to new condition.
Mine is Ethiopia.. Is horrible condition
I had to put a lot of filler on the wood
Bud's Gun Shop seems to do a lot of review scrubbing, too.
Good to know. I've heard good and bad things about them.
Thanks for posting. Just re-enforces that buying from these guys is a shot in the dark. Pun intended. I know that the price seems ok but only if you get really lucky and more often then not people seem to be getting the business.
Thanks for watching. It's definitely a dice roll with them though they've gotten better since that video was made (in my experience).
looks like a find in the ground.
WOW
Maybe it was all the goats peeing on top of the rifle stacks
You might be on to something!
Looks like it was cleaned with tire cleaner
Good job on the clean up, not so much of a ugly duckling now. I bet you’re upside down on it but you have a good rifle at least.
Thanks. Not upside down but close to what I could’ve gotten a decent one for somewhere else.
blood corrosion,
it's a good shooter rifle.
Yeah, that's what some have said. It is a good shooter.
If you have any interest in selling for parts I am badly in need of a forend
Sorry, I'm happy with this rifle now that I've fixed it up.
Dude the front barrel band looks like Swiss cheese
Yeah, it was ugly.
I would not give $25 for this you guys are taken to the cleaners really i wathed Mike b's channel he bought 5 of them and has may be one shoots ? come on now..
Thanks for watching!
My C-Grade definitely looks better
Holy cow that's a grade B ???
F man I worry what a grade c would of been glad I dodge that gamble. Sorry man
This thing looks lik its straight from Ethiopia
I would restore it
I thought about rust bluing it, but think that the parts with the pitting would look pretty bad.
@@usna98 might as well save it new stock new Butt plate new bolt. blueing
Looks like a D grade to me
They ripped you off sir.
It's woefully apparent that the owner of RTI cherry picks the few good examples for himself and a few of his select cronies, and leaves the sloppy seconds for everyone else. I've seen him interviewed, and couldn't help but come away with that impression. Dishonest grading, and inflated prices.
None of the guns that come out of Ethiopia are ever in good condition. They are not going to look after rifles very well
C all day long. I know I've seen better C grades on here
Pretty gruesome.
That is honestly disgusting quality.
Last year I bought a No.4MkI that had 90% of the suncorite finish left, no rust, no parts missing or broken, beautiful brass but plate and good wood.
It cost me $700 Australian. That's $420 USD.
I hope you didn't pay much for this sad and neglected old rifle. What a rip off.
Definitely wouldn’t buy from them definitely con artists. Would have se t that junk back
It was bird poop
Why can't these guys just use the NRA grading system? This A,B,C 1,2,3 grading is not indicative of anything more than these are fair to poor quality guns. Some should just be referred to as non-shooting parts guns.
Yep you got a turd
You wouldn't buy a car MSU testrovax and look at it yourself why would you buy a firearm that's blind you don't know what's wrong with it what it looks like sorry to say but that's a big waste of money like a car I wouldn't buy a firearm unless I can test it
scrap