Who's a fan of the Brit .303 No4 Mk1

Status
Not open for further replies.
L

leadcounsel

member
Joined
Jun 5, 2006
Messages
5,365
Location
Tacoma, WA
Let's talk about what you like about the .303 and British Enfield.

I know it has a large following. I have an Ishapor and a bubba'd .303 Enfield. Have never fired them though...

There's a Brit .303 No4 Mk1 for sale locally for $200... thoughts?
 
I sold mine after 2 cases of ammo.

It was a blast, literally, and probably the best bolt action battle rifle made.

That said, after the good, cheap surplus ammo dried up I grieved and moved on.

BSW
 
I managed to pick up a 1950 Long Branch years ago, haven't shot it much but it is really a nice rifle, good wood and barrel...
 
leadcounsel said:
Let's talk about what you like about the .303 and British Enfield.

I know it has a large following. I have an Ishapor and a bubba'd .303 Enfield. Have never fired them though...

There's a Brit .303 No4 Mk1 for sale locally for $200... thoughts?
Click to expand...
what do you call local and what does the bore look like? i bought a No4 Longbranch back when they were $75 and a case of 303 was $50 best shooting rifle i had. unfortunately it got the worst of a trailer fire. i still have the remnants of it in the event of buy back program.so far no one in South Alabama has been that stupid
 
Thought about buying one, ammo price was just too much of a negative for me so now I have my sights on a mosin nagant carbine.
 
Just like any Mil-Surp of the early 20th century, its pretty tough, durable, and powerful.
Ammunition seems to give it a bad reputation, as the .303 British is NOT very common. If found, it is often expensive.

As far as power goes, the .303 and all the other Mil-surp cartridges are somewhat similar. .303, 7.62x54R, 8mm, .30-'06, etc are all pretty hard hitting rounds that will take down most of your hunting desires in North America.

If ammuntion price isn't an issue, then go for it! The Enfield is a great rifle platform.
The price of $200 you stated would be a decent price, if the rifle is in shootable condition and matching.
 
The enfields are outstanding milsurp rifles. They are butter smooth and fast as heck. The .303 isn't as powerful as the .30-06 or the .308, but it has recoil that is pleasant. Having shot one for about 5 years now I would take it, hands down, over any other milsurp bolt gun. I know ammo is expensive so if you want to shoot one reloading is a must unless money is no object. Workmanship in these rifles is usually outstanding especially for a milsurp rifle.
 
It's sad that so many of us rate rifles on "How cheap is the ammo?" If all one wants is the limited satisfaction of shooting surplus ammunition (and I know that many do), then the availability of such ammunition is a factor.

By allowing the presence or absence of surplus ammo to dictate our rifle choices, we could lose out on owning many rifle types which would otherwise give great enjoyment and recreation.

At today's prices for DECENT surplus ammo, it would be easy to set up a hand-loading outfit for the cost of a limited amount of surplus stuff.

I have several .303s here which have never fired a factory round since they came into my hands. Most of their shooting these days involves cast bullets. The cost-per-round can be very low, and the rounds are FAR better than anything on the surplus market.

The #4 Rifles are superb instruments. They are fast-handling, fast-firing (with practice) and effective, as already mentioned, for almost any North American game. I might draw the line at bison, with which I have extensive experience, but moose? Bear? Deer? Not a problem, given a good bullet. I chronographed some commercial Canadian 180-grain .303 British ammo some years back. It ran at 2560 fps average....compare that to commercial .30-06 180s, and you just might be surprised!

My first service rifle was a Long Branch #4 (#85L7408) issued to me in '58. Reward offered, if anyone sees it.
 
I like them. I saw a few at gun shows, but I figured that $300 was too cheap for a good rifle. It turns out that I've been wrong all this time.
 
I am a fan of the Enfield platform as well as the 303 'British' cartridge.

I own a No.1 MKIII SMLE, as well as a No.4 MKII - both are great rifles.

The No.5 'Jungle Carbine', Well done sporters, as well as the Ruger #1, are all on my watch list and I would not hesitate to buy if I can find any of them for a good price.
 
i don't really care for the blocky, square, ugly duckling no4 mk1's, but i do like the no1 mk3's, lec's and i really like lee speed sporting rifles. the cocking piece safeties of the early rifles are much cooler than gear shifter size clunkers that replaced them. only the bsa tang safety is cooler than the cockingpiece safety.

here are a few pics of my bsa lee speed sporting rifle & a 1899 lec project rifle that will end up being chambered in 375x2 1/2NE. the lee speed was rebarreled while it was in africa many moons ago, adding african providence to the rifle.
leespeedlec.jpg

leespeedlec1.jpg

leespeedcuaction.jpg
 
I lucked out

I picked one up a Long Branch that was never issued for duty and sat in a warehouse for decades with tons of cosmoline on it. Cleaned it up and put it in the safe. The bore is bright and only slight drag marks on the bolt guides. I want to shoot it but I'm saving it for my stepson. He's also going to get a NIB stainless 686, bought in the 80's, when the time comes.
 
Got to have one for nostalgia. The .303 Brit is mild in recoil and shoots just as good Know the rifle like others.

The Swiss K 31 is the one i need to hunt next time.
 
As I got older, I admit not always making the smartest decisions. But one of my better ones involved buying surplus ammo back when it was all over the place. Now I seem to have plenty. .303 is one of them, along with my 8mm and 6.5 Swedish. So I'm happy. When I bought the stuff all my friends made fun of me.
 
Does the No4 MK2 count? I grew up shooting the No4 MK2 Lee-Enfield and have probably carried one over greater distances than most on this forum. On one occasion, I had to run a couple of miles with one held high over my head with a nasty little Para sergeant screaming at me the whole way. I've always wanted to own at least one and I was lucky to find and buy an unissued and unfired No4 MK2 last year. I'm still looking for another. I have reloading dies, 200 new cases, primers, powder and 1,000 Sierra MatchKing 174gr bullets. I just need to work up a load and then I'll be using it for Service Rifle matches. Not the best photos but it's all I have at the moment.

lee-enfield_2.jpg


lee-enfield_4.jpg
 
I really like them, once you get used to the cock on closing bolt, you can keep up a pretty decent rate of fire. I much prefer shooting one with it's full ration of wood. I had one for about 20 minutes that had been Bubba'd. It kicked like a mule.:eek:
 
DirtyJim said:
i really like lee speed sporting rifles.
Click to expand...

Very fine gun.

I've been looking for a nice Lee Speed for sale, and I have had no luck. Gunbroker has only a .22 trainer, for $700. :(
 
Love the Lee Speed dirtyjim.

It is very high on my want list. I better snag one before they get any more expensive though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
Price Check on British Enfield SMLE No4 MK1
Replies
3
Views
1K
wizzegun
W
3
  • Locked
Lee Enfield help .303/7.62 Nato
2
Replies
26
Views
5K
Oohrah
O
Rockrivr1
  • Locked
Which: Eddystone M1917 or Enfield No4 Mk1?
2 3
Replies
55
Views
6K
GBExpat
GBExpat
T
  • Locked
Cheap, Bubba Enfield...Rechamber?
2
Replies
35
Views
4K
mio
M
BrocLuno
  • Locked
Experience with Enf No4 Mk2 ??
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
BrocLuno
BrocLuno
Back
Top