Tell me about this Enfield rife

[BSA1]

Tell me about this Enfield rifle

I would like some information about a Enfield rifle I saw at a LGS. The markings on the right side of stock under the bolt are;
MA
LITHGOW
SMLE
Unreadable mark followed by *
1942

Caliber 303 is British. All the serial numbers match exterior metal and bore are in very good condition. However while the stock is also in very good condition with no dings or marks one would expect of a military rifle. It has a coat of varnish (maybe). It could be refinished but the butt stock has some runs in the finish like the finish was hastily applied under wartime conditions and the stock was allowed to dry in a vertical position hence the runs. All in all it appears to be all correct issue condition only missing the swivel for the sling on the butt stock.

Can you folks give me a primer about the Enfield rifle? I would like to collect a nice example (I actually want a Lee No. 1 from WW1 but will settle for a nice WW2 piece) to add with my MN 91/30.

What is the value of a Enfield in this condition? LGS wants 5 bills for it but it has been sitting in the back of his gun rack for a long time.

 

[Curator]

Lithgow made No1MkIII* are some of the nicest Lee Engfields out there. Some of the war-time made Lithgows have problems with forearms splitting (Coachwood) But they were not being made while being bombed like the English factories during WWII. My Lithgow 1943 is my most accurate No1MkIII* rifle. Buy it you won;t be sorry.

 

[Roadkill]

$500 is too high - if its in very good condition maybe $350, $400 top. They can be very good rifles but also problematic. Some were simply worn out plus a steady diet of corrosive ammo over the years didn't help either. They are great wall hangers and occasional shooters. I reload and mine are very accurate but it took some time and replacement parts. Parts are available and the bolt design allows easy replacement. Again, I'd put $300 on the table, then maybe be ready to go $400 but that would be it.

 

[huey148]

Agree with Roadkill.... and Privi makes some good commercial ammo for them

 

[huey148]

Enfield's are addictive by the way...

 

[huey148]

BTW... Paid way under 300 for the top 2 and the No4 Mk 2 at the bottom for 400 but it included a 1914 pattern bayonet that was worth a good 125 on its own....

 

[bainter1212]

The rifle you describe is a great example of that gun and a perfect collector's piece.

If the store owner won't budge on price remind him of how long it has been sitting there.

I bought my No4 Mk1* for $200 at my lgs a couple of years ago. It was marked at $400 but had been sitting on the rack for two years. Not the best shooter but a good piece none the less.

 

[Robert]

Lithgow was the Australian Enfield factory so what they have is a 1942 No1 MkIII* Australian made rifle. The * denotes the update that was performed after 1916? that eliminated things like the volly sights and the mag cutoff switch.

I have a nice 1941 Lithgow and Australian bayonet.

 

[BSA1]

Thanks for the comments so far.

One big difference from huey148 pictures is the wood used for the stock and handguard are light colored. However the buttplate and all other metal furniture fits correctly. Any ideas what the wood is?

I figure he has the gun way overpriced especially if the stock has been refinished which I suspect as the finish is a bit shiny and hard. Hence my thought it has been varnished (or maybe Tru-Oil) although the runs in buttstock throw me a bit. Should the wood have a dull oil type appearance? That said stripping the varnish off and refinishing with correct WW2 finish would not be a challenge.

As I said it is all correct with the exception of a missing swivel on the rear of the buttstock. The bore looks very nice although I didn't have a bore light with me to see if it was dark.

I reload just about everything. Are brass and bullets commonly available?

It sounds like after Christmas I need to go back and dangle some cash and my C&R license.

 

[Mk VII]

Australian ones are usually stocked in Australian Coachwood (or occasionally Queensland Maple), often soaked in creosote which gives it a dark finish. The natural wood colour is rather orange-ish.

 

[Scoped]

Buy as many as you can.. you wont regret it.. EVER!

Here is my No.1 Mk III BSA 1918

 

[Ash]

The only real problem with Lithgows is that a fair number were sold to India and were used up before being sold here. Also, be wary of any Lithgow in new condition as there were a fair number built up from spare parts and dumped on the US market. That is not to say all Lithgows in great shape are parts guns, just a bunch of them were.

 

[Limey46]

As others have said, it's Australian. The Aussies made their own rifles during World War Two at the Lithgow arsenal, using the older No. 1 Mark III pattern, never the No. 4 Mk 1 pattern the Brits and Canadians were making by then. The Aussies were still using those guns in the Korean War and they stayed in service until Lithgow began making L1A1 pattern rifles in the 1960s.

Value is a tough call without pictures. If the gun is an all-original 1942 production in good shape, it's worth considerably more than the examples you see more often these days, the guns made up by an American importer (I forget who) from brand new Lithgow replacement parts bought as a job lot back when. Those look great and usually shoot just fine. As a rule of thumb, you can figure that if the wood is really nice, un-dinged, un-gouged, you're probably looking at a put-together gun.

Personally, I'd seriously consider paying $500 or even more for a real 1942 Lithgow rifle in decent shape. I wouldn't pay that for a put-together gun even in pristine condition, let alone badly varnished.