Sitting here snowbound to some extent I got to thinking about the Arctic military units around the world and their equipment, especially their firearms. What I found was an amazement to my modern thought process.
One of the units I studied, partly due to it being a national neighbor, is a group called the Canadian Rangers.
The Canadian Rangers are a militia force sponsored by the Canadian government and supervised by the Canadian Army. It is an all volunteer force, 5,000 strong and contains members of both sexes and ages from 15 to "who knows" since there is no mandatory retirement age.
The Ranger units were first organized at the beginning or WW2 as a stop gap measure provide reconnaissance and defense against Japanese invasion on the Pacific coast. The organization spread across all of Canada and is still the first line recon effort of the Canadian military in the arctic regions.
The force also provides police and search and rescue services in the remote areas. In Canada that means they may be out on patrol for extended periods in all weather situations and facing several species of predators and evil humans as they roam the forests of the Taiga.
To meet the defense and survival needs of these Rangers the Canadian government equips each Ranger with a #4 Enfield Rifle (they also get 200 rounds ammo each year). Since they are on call 24/7 each Ranger keeps their issue rifle at home.
Yep, the rifle first issued in 1888 is still issued to select Canadian forces 130 years latter.
Due to a severe shortage of repair parts and the excessive ages of most of the #4 rifles in service it was decided that a replacement was due, and the standard combat rifle of the Canadian forces was not suitable. (Not suitable due to being full automatic firing mode.)
Specs were posted and several companies answered the call for submissions. After several years of testing a winner was selected. It is a rifle designed by Tika, submitted by Sako and produced by Colt.
Below is a write up about the old rifle and the new replacement, a high quality bolt action rifle in 7.62x51.
http://www.guns.com/2016/09/16/canadian-...on-photos/
One odd thing about this process is that while the Canadian government whiles away their time and takes years to complete this re-equipment process a civilian shooter can buy this rifle off the rack right now. Which brings up another point.
Suggested retail on this rifle is $2,800 U.S dollars.
Price on the shelf is $1,150, or 834 pounds your money.
The last Enfield rifle I purchased cost me $80 U.S.=58 pounds in your funds.
And the Enfield is not being replaced due to performance issues, but due to lack of repair parts!
It makes me proud to be the owner of an old example of this rifle that is still performing in the most adverse conditions on Earth. I think I will reload some ammo for mine so I can play with it when the spring thaw comes.
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