Military Surplus Collectors Forums - The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum

Savage Lee Enfield not lend lease

enfield303t — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:54:03 GMT

I have a No 4 made by Savage that is not marked US Property. It does have the "flaming bomb" mark meaning it was US Arsenaled ? How common were these guns compared to the Lend Lease guns?

Thanks

smle ishapore volley sights

smle13 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:56:02 GMT

post pics of your ishapore's with volley sights

Almost an awesome deal

Lance — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:03:56 GMT

Once in a while unobtainium appears on epay and it did this week. For the price it was on ok deal but if the one guy did not bid at the last few seconds it would of been a $26 deal. Damn....

So can you guys pick out the gold??

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? on Parker Hale conversion of centerfire rifles to .22 rf

breakeyp — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:44:17 GMT

In the 1930's catalogs, Parker Hale offered to convert centerfire rifles/pistols to .22 rf single shot using their barrel liner system and alterations to the rifle's firing mechanism.

Has anyone encountered an arm converted in this manner? Other than the normal markings at the muzzle indicating Parker Rifling, are they marked elsewhere as having been converted by Parker Hale? I wonder if they did any of the Winchester lever actions?

I have a US M1917 and a Pattern 1914 that have been converted to .22. The bolt extractor system is different for each design. One has been reproofed but the other has not. One may have been done in the US as I doubt that a British gunsmith could do such an extensive conversion without having to have it reproofed.

Nr 5 Jungle ?

uzz75 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:48:11 GMT

Hi, i just buy this nr 5.
I was an old German law (baionet lock cut).
It seems original nr 5, but the bolt seems to be a nr 4.
Al s/n match.

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Pof cia (p) 67

841NER — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:52:22 GMT

I have an option to buy about 600 rounds of this in cartons of 32. My understanding is that this is corrosive MkVII from the Pakistan Ordnance Factory made in '67. Any thoughts on it's AU$ value?

Lithgow No1 - so many markings

xa-coupe — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:05:58 GMT

Greetings all.
I have a no1 MkIII* that's been in the family 40 or so years. Thanks to this site I have figured out a lot about it and where it was issued to.
The barrel shank and receiver ring have been stamped by just about every one in government service it seems.
It was issued to the Air Farce but I don'tr see any 'D' markings, is this the case with AF issued rifles?
The dates I see on the rifle are:
1942 - Manuf
1943 - barrel (matching serial no )
1948 - a proof mark? on the barrel
1953 ( on the bolt head, no size numbering )
1955 on the left hand side of the receiever.
Are the number of different dates all over the place common ?

It was FTRd at some stage, how do I tell where? I suspect Lithgow but would like to confirm

Here is a pic of the area in question:

thanks for any help.

A must have for the "t" nuts'

tarplett — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:23:28 GMT

ive just finished reading a long out of print book thats a must for all the t nuts out there, its called "with british snipers to the reich" isbn0-935856-02-1 published 1948 and re-printed in 1988. written by captain C.SHORE, any body else read it?. found it on e-bay and got it for a song.:thup:

Rare Enfield Rest - Australian Arms Auction Catalogue

paulseamus — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:23:14 GMT

This unsusal rest caught my eye in the latest Australian Auction Arms Catalogue (Sunday October 3rd) - Item 447

RARE ENFIELD REST: for sighting in sniper rifles; frame cast SAF 789; complete with sighting scope in fitted box; marked RIFLE LAYER A48 C.S.O. NO.42. A very complicated piece of equipment suitable for a museum.(Rifle not included)

Thought the pic was worth sharing.

Paul

(Perhaps Peter Laidlers fingerprints are still on it from his time down under - would that make it worth more????)

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No5 Mk1 Questions

coolhandluke — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:19:40 GMT

I purchased a Jungle Carbine a few months ago and have been trying to figure out what the painted "603" on the buttstock refers to. Do the numbers correspond to an infantry regiment or something else? If the numbers are an infantry, is there any way to pinpoint where the rifle was used in service at?

Here are a few photos...

Gunsmith for rebarreling two N�4s?

Youngblood — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:15:05 GMT

I am hoping that someone here knows of a "nearby", reputable & reasonably-priced Lee-Enfield gunsmith to whom I can mail 2 excellent-condition barrels-on-rcvr-stubs & 2 barreled receivers w/bolts (and an assortment of boltheads) for a barrel swap.

Quite awhile ago I tried "de-stubbing" one of the barrels in my oak-block-inserts barrel vise and it was the source of GREAT frustration and not a little profanity.

I am just now getting back into this hobby following a hiatus of several years and would like to get this accomplished.

FWIW, I am located in rural northern Virginia, USA.

Thank you!

Kim

Enfield Date question....

thepalmsUK — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:13:08 GMT

Hi all,

Some advice needed please...

I have a chance to purchase a BSA made SMLE. The item has a magazine cut off, but no date stamped on it.

Can anyone think of a reason for this? The seller seems loathed to go into details.

Good? Bad? Ugly....please help.

Thanks in advance

Question on early No. 4 "T" Enfield conversions accuracy.

rayg — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:44:00 GMT

I know the Trials rifles, and a few others were converted by Enfield originally but were any accuracy acceptence tests done like had been done with the ones mfg later that were stamped TR and sent to H&H for conversion or were they just standard rifles that were in stores or off the assembly lines?
My Trials rifle that was converted to a "T" sniper has the sniper stylized "T" stamped on the barrel under the wood by the receiver. Could that mean that in addition to the set up to sniper, mounts, cheek rest etc. that the barrel/rifle met sniper accruacy tests or had been improved to do so. Ray

Battle Damaged Enfields?

Badger — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:15:36 GMT

In the process of gathering photo montages and background information of an upcoming Knowledge Library article about Enfield rifles (any genre and period) which have suffered obvious "battle damage" when being carried by their owners. :eek:

Here's what we have so far, scattered amongst various threads and independent articles …

SMLE hit by AP round !! (by Peter Laidler)

Friday 13th SMLE sniper damage (by Kev G)

Exploding P14 Grenade Discharger Cups (by Peter Laidler)

1912 No.1 MkIII Enfield Rifle (Battle Damaged) (by terryinvictoria)

Peter Laidler mentioned he might have some additional information or pics from his archives which would be great !!!

So, if any other members have additional pics or historical data that could be added to these, please let us know, as I think it could make for an excellent stand alone Knowledge Library article.

Thanks .. :cheers:

Regards,
Badger

Q about "P" marked backsight.

madcratebuilder — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:27:51 GMT

Lately I have seen a few backsights for the No5 marked "P" on some of the auction sites.

Is the "P" mark for Wah Pakistan? Or is it for Poole, Dorset, UK?

I have been under the impression the the "P" mark was for Pakistan Ordnance Factory. If these No5 backsights are from Pakistan that brings up the question why were they making No5 backsights?

Canadian Binoculars

rayg — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:01:15 GMT

A guy I know has a pr of Canadian Binoculars he's selling and I thought they might fit in with one of my "T" kits. They are dated 1945 and are in a hard canvas case dated 1943 and which has the full shoulder strap and also attachments for the belt in back. I can't recall the mfg name on the binoculars but it is a Canadian firm. The binoculars have their leather carrying straps also and are in excellent shape and I can't recall the power either as I didn't pay much attention to them when I saw them because I wasn't interested in them until later when I thought that they might fit in one of my sniper sets.
Here's a photo I found of the type of case. I can probably get them for around $100 and just wondering how rare are WWII Canadian binoculars and would that be a decent price? I know it's hard give opinion without more info on the bins. But would appreciate a general one, Ray

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Odd Enfield

Calfed — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:18:02 GMT

Anyone know what type of Enfield this is?

Supposedly marked "7mm" on the receiver

Chile Mauser with British proofs

Patrick Chadwick — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:19:52 GMT

I know it is not a Lee-Enfield, but someone's general knowledge might explain how a DWM Chile Mauser type 95, cut down to make a carbine, with no national emblem, comes to have British civilian (London) proof marks. Please take a look at my posting on the Mauser forum. Maybe one of you can help!

Patrick

Lithgow Family Portrait.

Son — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:42:24 GMT

Finally took a bit of time to get an updated pic of my nice Lithgows together. There's been a few new additions since I last did this.
Front to back;
1923 MkIII*
1940 No1 MkIII
1941 No1 MkIII* ('52 FTR)
1942 No1 MkIII* ('55 FTR)
1944 No1 MkIII* HT (1916 action)
1945 No1 MkIII* HT/1 (1916 action)
1945 No6 Mk1/1
Lithgow/ Slazenger .22 Hornet (1917 action)
1970 Lithgow Single Shot target rifle.

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bedding the ol H barrel? Plus a bedding material Q

RJW NZ — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:52:04 GMT

Does anyone have experience or seen a barrel bedded H barrel in action? The stock profile benefited from stiffening exercises, someone must have tried it on an H barrel to see what would happen, any ideas?

I have a good original fulton smle here thats been bedded along 2/3rds the barrel with what looks like 1/16 or 3/32 cork sheet. The cork's also been surface treated with a silvery, very slippery, powdery/clumpy material that comes off on my fingers easily. Any ideas what clever old world substance that might be? I'd say graphite except for the color and texture, it stains the same and feels slippery the same.

thanks

ENERGA grenade launchers for the No4 (and L1A1)

Peter Laidler — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:43:56 GMT

Maybe not quite the right place to ask this but..... Are there different sized grenade launchers for the Energa grenade? I ask because there is a tail and fin assembly on 'that' auction site and some has asked what the internal diameter size of the tube is. The British and Commonwealth ones were all the same because the Energa was the same, throughout! I have measured up a UK Military No4, L1A1 and a rarer No5 launcher and, yep, they're all the same

Any answers?

What about differences betwen any variations. What about the L1A1. I can only recall seeing one variation of that while the No4 had a few

Fulton's Scope Base

gjwardman — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 02:09:05 GMT

Recently bought a Fulton's scope base and it is not fitting properly. I figure that I'd ask here first before I started smithing on it.
Specifically, it is the piece that fits into the stripper clip groove on the receiver...it simply will not fit.
Any suggestions?

.303 Ammo Reference Book

tlvaughn — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:30:30 GMT

Any recommendations on a good .303 Ammo reference book? I tried google and it directed me to a couple of good sites, but I was hoping to add a good reference book to my Enfield library.

Rare Skeleton (Sectionalised) Lee Enfield No4 MK1 Rifle

Alan de Enfield — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:56:05 GMT

There was a thread some time ago about the legal staus of sectioned / skeletonised rifles.

Here is one being sold as a 'de-act' so MAYBE that answers the questions as far as the UK is concerned.

But -

If it doesnt come with a de-act certificate is it truly (legally) a de-act ?

Rare Skeleton (Sectionalised) Lee Enfield No4 MK1 Rifle - Allied Deactivated Guns - Deactivated Guns

Lithgow 1916?

fisho-123 — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:35:18 GMT

Greetings from fisho-123,I have been collecting militaria for the past 30 years,I am a disabled Vietnam Veteran,my main collecting field is Boer War and WW1,mostly medals and trench art.Recently I was shown a Lee Enfield 303 Sniper Rifle,it is marked Lithgow 1916,and on the butt is marked M/A either 1 or 7/.45,it is fitted with the cheek piece and scope mounts.the serial number of the rifle is 48880,can anyone tell me anything of the history of this rifle and if I decide to buy it how much should I pay??any information would be appreciated.

Military Odyssey this bank holiday weekend.

bigduke6 — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:32:29 GMT

Just a reminder about the the Military Odyssey

http://www.military-odyssey.fsnet.co.uk/mo/mo-f.html

Never been to this, but if the trade stands are anything like the War and Peace show, it will be a long day.

Planning to go Saturday if any forum members are going drop me a PM.

Indian Made Rifles And The Ishy Screw???

traindriver — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:27:02 GMT

What is the purpose of the Ishy Screw and is it limited to Indian made rifles?

Tunnel Gun...

Cruisey — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:05:44 GMT

Just watched "Below Hill 60", about the 1st Australian Tunneling Company, during the Battle of Messines.
Briefly shown a few times was one of these: Attachment 15237 used for fighting in the tunnels.

I've not read much at all on this particular field modification & I wonder how widespread it was ?

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No.4 Mk.1 buttsocket markings

spinecracker — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:14:14 GMT

Any idea what the "0912" stamped on this No.4 Mk.1 buttsocket might mean? I did read something a while ago, but I can't remember where now (dementia is a pain in the butt....)

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Has my LE been Frankensteined?

xmingan — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:23:31 GMT

I've rencently taken to closely inspect my LE, and stuff looks odd to me. Maybe it's just because the markings are faded or I'm just maing up things in me head.
(I can't post pictures right now, for lack of a decent digital shooter)

So here goes: (From front to back)
1)On the front sights: marked SM42 and an up arrow
2)On the sling swivel band: marked VNS and 7
3)On the receiver: 3 mostly erased marks with a circle
Practically illegible No4Mk1
4)On the neck band: an arrow mark, pointing down
An 'A', all alone
1942
S/N AA14200
On the peep sight there's a mark SM43

There are other markings, but are mostly illegible squiggles.