Bought the rifle, scroll down for pictures!
My brother and I stopped in at the local gun shop earlier today. He was looking at holsters and handguns, I was just coming along to browse and hope for some 22LR for my little brother and sister to shoot.
After looking over the long guns on display and examining a few pistols my brother was interested in, I saw a blue plastic barrel in the back of the store, halfway behind the counter, obscured by a cardboard box and a coat lying on the top. I also saw what looked like two older rifles, and being curious, I asked what they were.
The gentleman working the counter told me it was a beat up Japanese rifle and a 6.5mm Swiss. Assuming he meant one of those straight pull bolt actions I'd always found intriguing, I asked if I could maneuver around the counter and boxes and take a look.
I looked at the Japanese rifle first. I don't know much about the service rifles they fielded, Arisakas and such, but this one was in clearly bad shape, with a terrible bore and the upper forend gone. The sights were like an aperture mounted where a conventional rear sight ought to be, with very poor visibility. I doubted the thing would shoot anyway, and had never seen it's cartridge available anywhere.
I then pulled out the "6.5 Swiss". With the forend extending all the way to the muzzle, I assumed it was indeed what I had been told it was. Then I noticed the box magazine, the firing mechanism at the back of the bolt, the sights, the curved bolt. It was a No 1 Mk III Enfield. Being fairly ignorant on Enfields, I failed to note the manufacturer or even check if the parts matched. The stock was a little worn, the metal had some surface rust, but the action was very smooth and the bore and rifling looked nice. The chamber was a nice smooth silver. It didn't have a sling nor a bayonet.
The rifle had a crude orange sticker marked $279, but the owner of my LGS isn't opposed to haggling, and the rifle was pretty much buried out of sight anyway. He would probably take less, how much less depending on how much he had in the rifle in the first place.
I'm thinking of going back tomorrow for a second look. I've restored a few Mosins, SKSs and the like, and I could make the Enfield prettier if that was its biggest issue.
I don't know much about Enfields, so could I have some advice from those more knowledgeable?
Is $279 a fair price to pay?
What would be a fair price if the numbers matched?
If they didn't?
Should I even go back?
Any red flags to watch out for?
I'm sorry I don't have any pics, but I am sure some of THR's surplus aficionados will still have an opinion they would be willing to share with me.
My brother and I stopped in at the local gun shop earlier today. He was looking at holsters and handguns, I was just coming along to browse and hope for some 22LR for my little brother and sister to shoot.
After looking over the long guns on display and examining a few pistols my brother was interested in, I saw a blue plastic barrel in the back of the store, halfway behind the counter, obscured by a cardboard box and a coat lying on the top. I also saw what looked like two older rifles, and being curious, I asked what they were.
The gentleman working the counter told me it was a beat up Japanese rifle and a 6.5mm Swiss. Assuming he meant one of those straight pull bolt actions I'd always found intriguing, I asked if I could maneuver around the counter and boxes and take a look.
I looked at the Japanese rifle first. I don't know much about the service rifles they fielded, Arisakas and such, but this one was in clearly bad shape, with a terrible bore and the upper forend gone. The sights were like an aperture mounted where a conventional rear sight ought to be, with very poor visibility. I doubted the thing would shoot anyway, and had never seen it's cartridge available anywhere.
I then pulled out the "6.5 Swiss". With the forend extending all the way to the muzzle, I assumed it was indeed what I had been told it was. Then I noticed the box magazine, the firing mechanism at the back of the bolt, the sights, the curved bolt. It was a No 1 Mk III Enfield. Being fairly ignorant on Enfields, I failed to note the manufacturer or even check if the parts matched. The stock was a little worn, the metal had some surface rust, but the action was very smooth and the bore and rifling looked nice. The chamber was a nice smooth silver. It didn't have a sling nor a bayonet.
The rifle had a crude orange sticker marked $279, but the owner of my LGS isn't opposed to haggling, and the rifle was pretty much buried out of sight anyway. He would probably take less, how much less depending on how much he had in the rifle in the first place.
I'm thinking of going back tomorrow for a second look. I've restored a few Mosins, SKSs and the like, and I could make the Enfield prettier if that was its biggest issue.
I don't know much about Enfields, so could I have some advice from those more knowledgeable?
Is $279 a fair price to pay?
What would be a fair price if the numbers matched?
If they didn't?
Should I even go back?
Any red flags to watch out for?
I'm sorry I don't have any pics, but I am sure some of THR's surplus aficionados will still have an opinion they would be willing to share with me.
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