No4 MK1 LEE Enfield

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22LongRifle

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I got it and 500 rounds of 1967 surplus for $150! A buddy of mine didn't want it and needed some cash. I dug into my Lefthanded Bolt GoTo Gun Jar.

I'm really liking the bolt on this classic. Its all original, except for the buttplate is missing. I had a slipon sissy pad that fitted on it. It helped with lengthening the pull also. It has the 300m and 600m peep sight and a nice thin front sight. The bore is prime, according to my gunsmith, and the throat and chamber is great. My gunsmtih also told me this reciever could be "updated" to a 308 barrel if I wanted. Seems that he has one and would consider a swap for some pistol brass I have. I might do that to a "sportsterized/bubbaized" one, but "Monty" is going to stay as is except for a fitted recoilpad. Range report to follow.

I found a 91/30 MN sling laying around that fits it. It is giving good pressure to my shoulder when I was laying prone and shooting righthanded. When standing, I can work the bolt fast and smoother than most righthanded bolts. And the spike baynot is pretty cool, but I want a "saber" one.

I intend to shoot "Monty", its not a closet keeper. I plan on hunting deer this fall in SEMO on my uncles land.

BTW, does anyone know of any aftermarket stocks, polymer or wood, for the No 1, No 4, or No 5? I guy at my gunsmith was wondering, and a fellow shooter needs one to finish his 2a.

Jerry
 
The ammunition alone would have been a deal! Add the rifle as well? Wow!

Congratulations!

Doc2005
 
Last time I bought a No. 4 Enfield, I was looking at the "shooter specials" on the AIM website. They had some listed with the micrometer rear sight for $5-10 extra so I specified for that. The total came to $107 out the door without ammo. I got it home and cleaned it up and got to asking around... I found out I actually had a No.4 Mk2 built at Fazakerly, England and FTR'd in 1957. The bore and all are in great shape... wood's still bleedin' cosmoline a year after I cleaned it up. I'm still in and out of the gunshop where they transferred it for me... the owner's wife was there when I unwrapped that greasy mess on their counter. After she saw the rifle all cleaned up, she told me she had thought I'd lost my mind.:D

22LongRifle, you said...
It has the 300m and 600m peep sight and a nice thin front sight.
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...but the Brits didn't go by metric. The Enfield sights have always been in yards. This is one thing I've learned foolin' with surplus rifles and discussin' stuff on these boards... I was in on one of these Enfield threads after I got the No.4Mk2 and made the mistake of stating ranges in yards. A Brit came on and explained that the Enfield sights were marked in yards, and then when they changed over to metric in the early '80's, they didn't changed the sights... just changed the manuals and ignored the fact that 100m is 110yds.

If you're gonna deer hunt with that rifle, you better shoot it with some SP's that are loaded to Mk7 or Mk8 ball spec because that's what those sights are set up for. I just mentioned my rifle having the micrometer... it has the 300yd ghostring battlesight, but I haven't done much with it. I've shot it with the 200yd setting on the micrometer and it's minute of clay pigeon at 100yds from standing and braced on the shed post at the range.
 
You can get a new butt plate from Springfield Sporters, and you could change out the rear sight with a Mark 1 adjustable rear sight.

You did make a great deal. Check the ammo, and if it is not South African or Greek HXP, it is probably corrosive. Just to be safe, I would clean the rifle after each outing with a Windex or amonia.water rinse down the barrel.

Enjoy your Enfield. But, beware: it will become an addiction!:cuss::banghead::D:neener:

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Well, "Monty" and I got out this afternoon. I got it on paper and the windage corrected with the front sight.

The targets were shot at 50 yards. I did the first six shots on the bench, with just the front of the barrel rested allowing me to sit up more and roll with the recoil. I have to admit, after shooting 22lr only for awhile, I was jolted back into shooting centerfire! I must be a recoil junkie though, cause i like it! Dies and molds or on the way!

Ammo was surplus MK7. I flushed the barrel with my blackpowder "mix" and believe to have gotten clean.

I have the sling off of it when shooting at the range. I rested the fist shots to get a feel for the trigger. The rest was shot in the prone position. The blue dots are the first three shots at 50 yards. The green is the second string. The red dot was my POA. The 300 peep was used. The rest were me attemp at a "mad minute"! I only got to shoot 75 rounds, but its enough til I get some bullets casted and a load worked up. Even surplus is expensive.

I reach "Monty" out to 100yards and was able to hit the hanging bowling pins 50% of the time! I was impress, along with the other shooters at the range at the ablity of this surplus rifle and surplus ammo.

I am going to put a LIMBSAVER on "Monty". I hate to do it, but I am shooting this rifle! And the short stock and stout recoil is a bad combo.

This is my first attemp of shooting righthanded with a centerfired. The bolt was a breeze to work compared to others I've tried. "Monty" seems to just point naturally.
 
Just a word of advice, if your "black powder mix" doesn't include a hot water stage, go back through it with some hot water to dissolve those corrosive primer salts. You may have made it look clean as a whistle, but if you didn't use water, you probably left salts in there that will have the bore starting to rust by morning...

Oh, and outstanding find! :D
 
Good shooyin"!

Your rifle is a British made one. On the socket for the butt stock, there are some ID marks. can you post them so that we can ID the manufacturer? (Fazakerly, Maltby, or BSA)
 
I have a No.4 Mk1* longbranch rifle and I love the thing to pieces! You got a great gun at an insane price.

I'm betting your ammo is pakistani (copper-washed casing and 174 grain bullet?) so you will want to use ammonia or really hot water to be sure to kill all of those corrosive salts that end up in your bore! Also, if you notice any kind of delay between the trigger breaking and the gun actually firing, then I'm betting you're shooting pakistani ammo.

That said, my enfield rather likes the pakistani ammo
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When you work up a load it likes, or just get used to shooting it, you may be very suprised at what it can do.
 
One thing, what is a "longbranch"? I've seen that name in several places I've been looking at for Enfield info.

And yes, I did have a few rounds that was "slow" to fire. Go thing I'm use to shooting flintlocks!

OK, here is the marking I could find.

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Jerry
 
One thing, what is a "longbranch"?
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"Longbranch" is the name of the Canadian factory that made Enfields. Some collectors feel the Longbranch No. 4's are nicer and they attribute that to the fact that Canada was not bombed during WWII. While I've seen some nice Longbranches, my Fazakerley takes offense to those kinds of statements ;).
 
By the M47 marking on the socket, your rifle is a BSA, or Burmingham Small Arms Factory. 1943 manufacture and the CAI markings (Century Arms Int, the importer), plus the "bill board" new serial number and the 300/600 flip sight match up to a batch of rifles that came in January 2006. I bought 6 rifles from Century in Feb 06, and I ended up with 4 Maltby's, 1 BSA, and 1 Fazakerly.

Those rifles were all real nice in very good condition. I think it was determined that they came in from Turkey.

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Thanks Doug!

I also found the L on the stock. So I have a long stock. I'll get a bluttplate to fit it so I won't have to put a recoil pad on it to lengthen the pull.

Jerry
 
My No.4 is pretty much the same. Century import, 300/600 sights, M47 factory code, dated 1943. Except on mine the billboard serial number had the CAI markings underneath it instead of on the barrel. Mine was in fair shape, with most of the blue gone and somewhat rough wood. But the bore is like a mirror.

Mine's a serious mix-master, though. No two parts have the same serial number. Came up a little too wide for comfort on the headspace, too. Managed to fix that with a #2 bolt head (I had a #0).

Does pretty well with S&B 180 gr...
 
Butt plates are available...

on ebay all the time, cheap.......Your rifle will probably not shoot as well with a plastic stock vs it's military stock......chris3
 
22lr, you are fortunate indeed having a L stock. They were not common. I bought a #5mk1 that came in with a L stock (really rare). I had to purchase a L butt stock from a friend to put on my shooter Fazakerly.
 
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