BSA 1904 ShtLE MKI***

[Homer2]

ShtLE 1904 pictures by Homer_067 - Photobucket

I picked this up last weekend at a show in the Atlanta area. I got to spend almost 20 minutes there before I got a call that my 4-year-old smacked his face on the bathroom tile and needed to get stitches. He's fine (5 stitches), but it killed the show for me. I found this just as I was leaving and, in haste, got it for $300 OTD. I know No1's and No4 Enfields well enopugh, and I have Skennerton's big book and the "For Collectors Only" No1 book, so I knew what it was, but not what parts were correct.

I posted it on Gunboards and Surplusrifleforum, and got some good input on it. Here's what I know so far and I invite folks here to add to it or correct what is incorrect.

It's a BSA Co. 1904 ShtLE MkI***, updated to include some MkIII features. Serial is CR1975, putting it in the rifles sent to Ireland. It has a MkI rear sight base, but the middle band on the barrel has the 'III' mark on it, so I'm not sure if it's a true MkI barrel or a MkIII barrel. The barrel has other lined out serial numbers, making me suspect it was altered in the '14 time frame, as there is a '14 mark in the left side. Markings on the underside of the barrel have '44 and '45 stamps, which looks like the last time it went FTR.

I don't know how many rifles BSA produced in 1904, but Skennerton's book only lists numbers for Enfield and Sparkbrook for 1904. The other book said BSA produced approximately 165,000 rifles from 1904-1907.

The bolt is what I believe original matching, with the correct serial number. The safety is the MkIII type. The nose cone is also a non-matching MkIII type that may have been added when the stock was 'restored'.

This must have been someone's restoration project, as the forend was spliced somewhat crudely. It has a MkI rear half, and what appears to be a MkIII front half. The wood at the rear half is not inlet for the charger bridge, so that would have to be MkI, I believe.

The curious thing is the type 2 MkI lower handguard (has the two retaining bands) with the MkIII rear sight protectors added. Two sets of ears. The MkIII sight protectors are an early type. the backsight is MkIII with two lined out serial numbers.

The bore is good with only a bit of darkness in the grooves. Head-space is good, so I plan on test firing it tomorrow or so. I'll be looking for a MkI forend, but will not hold my breath. It is what it is. I really doubt I can take it back to complete MkI configuration, and don't think I want to. When it went to Ireland, it had many late features, and that is the history of this rifle, and I want to preserve it's history. I may replace the forend with a MkIII if that is proper and I find one with a relief the the volley sight. The guy I bought it from said he'd look for the volley parts for the next time he saw me, so I may get more history on it and hopefully more parts next month.

So there's my story and I appreciate any input on this rifle, especially in regards to the forend, which is the only part I feel may need attention.











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[Trilux]

Nice rifle, some very desireable parts on there. You did well.
The barrel is dated 1914 and it has a MkIII nosecap, Looks to have a MkIII butt as well.
I have an original Mk1 butt waiting for somthing like this to turn up in NZ!
I think i'll be waiting a while.

[jmoore]

Thanks for the pics. I've something sort of similar that was found in a pawn shop in Fredricksburg, Va. a while back, but its bore is quite black and the bolt head is a regular Mk III. Never seen twin rear sight protectors before!

[Son]

Nice rifle, some very desireable parts on there. You did well.
The barrel is dated 1914 and it has a MkIII nosecap, Looks to have a MkIII butt as well.
I have an original Mk1 butt waiting for somthing like this to turn up in NZ!
I think i'll be waiting a while.

A MkIII butt is correct for a Mk1***. The second and third * were added in 1914 at it's last upgrade where it should have got a MkIII butt (for the provision of a butt trap to store oiler and pull through as well as a more secure swivel) and the rear sight bed re machined for MkVII ball trajectories. It should have kept it's own foreend and nosecap. Pretty sure most of the rest of the info you need has already been provided on a couple of other forums.

[RJW NZ]

Thats a great find for the bucks. They are real nice rifle, and have a lot of nice features that were sacrificed in later mass produced wartime production lines. You seem to have most of the really hard to find parts too.
Repro fore ends are available from EFD in the Uk, the quality is very nice too. They have other no1 parts you might need.
The original rear sights are all over ebay at the moment, grab one. They come in a U or a V shaped notch, someone here might know which to get and why.
See your mail, I'll pm you.

[ripper36]

Hi I am new to this site and have really enjoyed the informative and insightful comments.I may be wrong but your forend apeers to have been spliced (or at least major repair) just ahead of the sight protectors.This may explain the unusual mixture of mk1 & mk3 features caused by field repairs made far from the ordanance, and supply of "new" replacement parts.

[jmoore]

Welcome, Ripper36! You're not wrong about the splice, but I suspect that its more of an amatuer/low buck restoration, than an in service repair. One never knows, though.

What's really odd is that the rear piece (SMLE MkIII) is probably older than the front (SMLE MkIII*) as it has the volley sight cut-out at the mid-action(body) area, whilst there's nothing up front. So there's multiple replacement work going on here!

ETA Didn't really think about that before... Thanks for bringing it up!