$20ish grand?

Top condition, with all tolls, runs perfectly, etc.

Or is there money better spent elsewhere?

this is what came to my mind...




 

Who needs 303?  They at easily converted to 7.62x54R!



A Black River Militaria conversion will run about $500 with your supplied Finn M1910 barrel ($325) as a trade in.  The feedblock will still work in 303, but the modified extractor may not.  A spare extractor will run about $25.

$20K for a Vickers is a bit high IMHO, but that can certainly vary with provenance and accessories.

Here is one with conversions for 7.62x54r and 8mm Mauser. $22k.

It's a nice looking gun overall, made from a Colt balloon gun.  It has a nice array of spares and accessories.  The transit cases are readily available but the spare parts boxes are not.  I'd like to have one of those...

The 54r caliber conversion is a "poor man's" version made by running a 54r reamer into a 303 barrel.  This creates an oversize chamber towards the front, which causes the front shoulder to expand outwards when fired.  I believe these generally work pretty well, but can but subject to the occasional ruptured case.  The high end conversion uses 54r M1910 Maxim barrels externally machined to Vickers specs.

The 8mm conversion just isn't worth much (IMHO) unless you are sitting on a pile of 8mm surplus.

The promise of 30-06 and 308 conversions are fairly hollow.  Mentioned were South African conversion kits, but only about 50 were imported, each with about 1,000 links.

I guess the real question is, is it worth that to you?  What is your goal, to actually get a Vickers, or would another quality WC do?  With careful shopping, you can find a nice Maxim or Browning WC variant for that amount or less.  If you feel $20K is worth it, and you have pockets that deep, I really don't think you would be one tiny disappointed in a Vickers (or Maxim or Browning WC for that matter).

Did you know that Vickers, Brownings, Maxims all share the same mounting points (pin diameter and spacing)? For example, you can put an American Browning on a Vickers tripod or even a Russian Sokolov wheeled mount. (The reason is they all followed the lead of the original Maxim-Nordenfelt.)

This is correct and works best the way you described (Browning on the older mounts).  Various features on the other guns can make it less than optimal going the other way.  For example, the 1910 Maxim and Vickers have a small boss on a pintle pad, which prevents the Browning M2 tripod pintle mounts from mounting and/or pivoting.  The Vickers and Maxim have much better mount interchangeability.

FWIW, I believe that to be another balloon gun reassembled on a non-Colt kit.  The earlier link is the better deal from a price and accessory standpoint.

If it's truly a Colt through and through, then sure.  A true Colt gun should have a few differing parts and certainly Colt markings, but it's hard to tell from those pics.  The rear tripod leg is supposed to be different, but is hidden in those pics.  Some folks (including some dealers) apply the C&R label generously.  For example, there are but a few (4 or 5?) true C&R Russian M1910 Maxims on the books, while almost all are made from 1908 German Maxim side plates.  Many of the 1908 sideplate guns are advertised as C&R.

I'd want a closer look or at least better pics.

the biggest issue you have is the ammo

303 is very expensive to shoot.

yes you can get parts, but the cost of parts is more than others

the forgotten weapons deal is way better due to all of the other parts he has. over all you would be better with the forgotten weapons one.

fyi they did make one in 308 winchester also, but those are so rare goo luck

the 30-06 one is the one to find, but good luck those are rare as hens teeth