I want a Lee-Enfield.

[Gewehr98]

Had a No4Mk1, but sold it. It didn't have any special appeal to me.

But I still have my 1917 Enfield Lock SMLE NoIMkIII*, it just looks, so, "Trench Warfare" after all those years:



And a 1941 Lithgow, dressed in Slazenger's finest coachwood, wearing a vintage Weaver K4:



BTW, Tamara, the rifle you're pining after is third from the left in Miketv's post above, a between war "Trials Rifle". I like his Charger Loading Lee Enfield (CLLE) to the right of that one, it predated the SMLE, with it's charger bridge on the receiver, by a few years.

 

[CZ52GUY]

Where to get SMLE gear?

I inherited mine and put the ATI stuff on it to get it functioning...interested in good on-line sources for SMLE gear.

I love shooting mine. There is just something special about the feel of it when it goes bang.

Thanks in advance,

CZ52'

 

[MeekandMild]

Me thinks you got a lemon, don't condemn the design tho.

Its barrel was pretty rough, looked like a washed out gravel road with HUGE milling marks and it had a whole lot of trigger creep. It cost, to my best recollection, $24.95, which in 2003 dollars would be about $250 ???

I suspect the match grade rifles had some pretty good gunsmithing work done on them before they were used in contests.

 

[Robert Farrar]

Hi Gents,
Found a #4MkII from '54 at a show several years back.
Not a lot of history but brand new. Hosed the cosmoline out
and what a nice riffle!
Not bad for ~180 wrapped, twined, greased It took a while to clean up
but a very nice shooter.
Bob

 

[Bill Hook]

Worth double that now, or so.

 

[Willard]

MikeTV, I want the third one from the left......No1 MkV, right? Sweet!

I've got a 1943 Fazakerly with the micrometer rear site, I shoot it in matches against semiautos and beat about half of them. Enfields are f-a-s-t fast. One friend of mine shot a 100 yard 3/4" group from the bench with 1949 RG Mk7 and a 1944 Canadian N04 Mk1. Several others and I witnessed this, and he framed the target :^)

I am currntly looking for a sporterized N04 to make a scout type rifle out of. They are my favorite bolt guns, bar none.

 

[scbair]

I lucked out several years ago.

Saw a sales flyer from Rose's Dept. Store (they sold mil surplus rifles in those days; probably 6-8 years ago). No. 4 Enfields for $49.95. I wanted one as a source for spare parts for a sporterized 1943-vintage model that my son "adopted" as a deer rifle (synthetic sporter stock, scope mount installed by gunsmith, barrel shortened to 22" with a Parker-Hale ramp front sight).

I got to the counter at Rose's and asked to purchase an Enfield; clerk said, "I'll get it from the storeroom; we only have two left." A guy who had walked up right after I did told the clerk to bring 'em both, as he wanted one. The clerk returned & opened both cartons. Mine turned out to be in excellent condition, manufactured by Long Branch Arsenal in 1951.

The other customer got the "character-filled" veteran I thought I'd find; battered, used & abused.

The look on my son's face was priceless when I told him I might someday need to cannibalize "his" Enfield for spare parts for "mine."

By the way, if MuzzleBlast sees this, I STILL want to know some specifics re: the folding stock on the rifle in his pic.

 

[jrhead75]

Speaking of No4 MkIIs...

Barely managed to talk myself out of buying the slightly overpriced Russian SKS at the local gun shop last Thursday, and decided on a whim to brave the traffic and visit a somewhat less local G/S. Glad I did, because I stumbled across a '54 Fazakerly No4MkII, Irish contract, all matching including bayo and wood, in really nice albeit "used" condition for $199. They had just taken it in on consignment that day.

Needless to say, she followed me home, and we have a play date at the range tomorrow.

 

[0007]

My dealer down here has a several Mk4's with different style rear sights in his racks. He also has a "real" Mk 5 carbine. Prices run from $150 for the Mk 4's to $450 for the Mk 5. He's also got a chopped stock sporterized # 4. I bought one of the 4's with the screw-style micrometer sight. Had a "PF" 54 stamp and a new serial number on the receiver.

Saw a Long Branch 1941 at a show last week. Handled it several times with the thought of buying it until I finally saw the big "DP" stamped on the bolt and the receiver...

 

[DamnedDirtyApe]

I finally saw the big "DP" stamped on the bolt and the receiver...

What's "DP" stand for?

I'm the proud new owner of a Long Branch 1943 NO4 Mk1* with the flip up war-expedient rear sight. It is a tack driver - two to three inches @ 100yds with the nasty bandolier ammo.

I have a particular passion for Long Branches - that's suburban Toronto - my home town.

 

[diyj98]

"DP" stands for "drill purpose". This means the rifle or at least the part in question if the rifle is made up of mixed parts was found unsatisfactory for normal use and regulated to nonfiring duty such as drill or parade use. I personally wouldn't fire any rifle marked "DP".

 

[Beetle Bailey]

Drill Purpose

My buddy's first rifle was a Garand parade rifle. He bought it because of the way it looked (it looks great and is fully operational) and didn't know much about rifles at the time. The front sight was bent crooked and the barrel was a worn out pitted mess, but everything else was fine. He rebarreled it and put on a new match front sight and now has a great shooter and great looker.

 

[Bill Hook]

I got my 1941 Lithgow #1MkIII* today in nearly unissued shape (thanks to being FTR'd), all for $275.

 

[MuzzleBlast]

SCBAIR:

By the way, if MuzzleBlast sees this, I STILL want to know some specifics re: the folding stock on the rifle in his pic

Not my picture, actually. It is from the website at the link in my post. Lost of other very interesting Enfield conversions on the site.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

Bill Hook, that's a really nice No. 1 Mk III*. All the No. 1's I see in the shops around here look like they've been in a war or two . Congrats!

 

[jrhead75]

Bill Hook, that's a beauty! I've got a 1918 Lithgow on the way from Brian Dick. Looking forward to getting it.

All the No. 1's I see in the shops around here look like they've been in a war or two

They very likely have.

 

[Bill Hook]

Some of the screws were buggered, but GPC had more, most of which look only slightly better.

There's also a small crack near one of the brass reinforcing pins in the coachwood behind the stripper clip bridge in the forestock, but I tend to think that it is "as-issued." Some really thin cyanoacrylate from a model store will make sure it stays a small crack. I went around the back of the forestock with more CA to add a little reinforcement where the wood was split to add pins and reinforcement plates, since coachwood is a little weak.

Thanks for the compliments.

 

[Freedom in theSkies]

As for longevity of the rifle, the Inuit Rangers on the Canadian Arctic are issued these rifles as standard issue, "one each for the use of".
There are reportedly thousands of these fine rifles in the Canadian Forces War Reserve. There is still a class for the Enfield at the annual marksmanship competition (CDN version of Camp Perry) at the Connaught Range in Ontario, Canada each summer. They do quite well!

I got mine (No.4 Mk1 Savage Mfg.) as a surplus back in 1990. All numbers match and it was refurbished in England in '46. New barrel too.
Shoots very well and has all the original accessories and cloth pieces including an action cover.
Part with it? Never! It is the perfect piece of history and has the battle scars to prove it.

 

[Willard]

I paid $85- for mine in the mid 80's at a Woolworths.

Picked up and finished a Scout Enfield-1944 BSA that had been sporterized in the fifties by Santa Fe, added a buttplate, scout scope mount, and QD studs. Sweet and fast rifle.

 

[foghornl]

I'm not even close to being 'up-to-speed' on the Enfield series, so someone please enlighten me as to how I can determine which Number and Mark a particular rifle is.

My local Dunham's Sporting Goods had some, complete with the "wire-wrapped forend for grenade launching", but the ad didn't say which series they were.

 

[Stoker]

If you find a nice one, buy it. They aren't making any more and they are becoming scarce. A very ordinary No4 is £250 to 300 here in the UK.

I imported a really nice No4 Mk2 from Brian Dick (BDL Ltd) - with tax and shipping it cost me £500 and I was glad to pay it, because it is a beautiful rifle and I love shooting it. Also, as has been remarked it is the definitive bolt action service rifle. Rear bolt locking lugs, ten round magazine and cock on closing are such good ideas.

It is also the first rifle my wife has ever fired (last Sunday) and she thought it was great too.

Try Parallax Bill's Enfield site, Richard's Lee Enfield forum, Jay Currah's site and Steve Redgwell's site for a wealth of information about these rifles.

 

[BamBam-31]

The wire-wrapped are No. 1 Mk. III's, usually with shot out barrels (which is why they were selected to become the grenade launching rifles in the first place). I'd stay away from them if you're looking for a shooter.

The quick and easy way to tell the difference between the earlier No. 1 Mk. III from the later No. 4 Mk. I is by looking at the muzzle end. The No. 1's stock goes all the way to the end and covers up the entire barrel. Look at the pics at the top of the page, those are No. 1's. The No. 4's stock stops a couple inches short of the muzzle, so you can see the barrel peeking through.