BSA commercial No1 MkIII Fultonised? - Any advice gratefully accepted yet again!.

[superbee]

I think a book on Enfield target rifles would be a great addition to the history of Lee Enfield Rifles.To find out all the tricks of the trade that were used by Fulton,A J Parker,Alex Martin,Tippins,W J jeffery,and the special order SMLE target rifles direct from BSA,would be very interesting .
Roger,are you up to the task?

[Peter Laidler]

Ah, yes, I see and understand now. It's not a welded/brazed on part to impart a more equal recoil load but a welded/brazed on part to equalise the load of the body while being drawn down onto the fore-end by the front trigger guard screw. Yes, footprint as in down pressure as opposed to what I was thinking....., footprint as in rearwards loading of the bolt

[RJW NZ]

I think a book on Enfield target rifles would be a great addition to the history of Lee Enfield Rifles.To find out all the tricks of the trade that were used by Fulton,A J Parker,Alex Martin,Tippins,W J jeffery,and the special order SMLE target rifles direct from BSA,would be very interesting .
Roger,are you up to the task?

It would be a qualified yes. Its something I'd much enjoy doing but the depth of my knowledge in the arena of who was accurizing Enfields over the years and what their techniques were is slim. It could be done with contribution of knowledge and pictures from others, and I'd be open to a co authorship etc. if someone had the knowledge and pictures but didn't want to write. The practical side of writing, in the past, where thousands of copies had to be budgeted and balanced against probable sales no longer applies, books can be affordably created for limited readerships...

I've added some pics here of my Navy target rifle which has the metal addition Frederic303 and Peter mentions. The use of the word welding on the receiver threw me off, I didn't realize it meant this corner addition,

[Peter Laidler]

Just from the engineering point, I would imagine that the little block was eventually brazed and then eventually welded in place because soft soldered joints as exhibited here don't have good shear value. Just my view thinking out aloud!

If it was me being asked to investigate the idea, I'd have made a shaped .1" or so thick, .75" wide and long steel collar to sit around/astride the front trigger guard screw block and reduced the depth inside the fore-end accordingly. This would give a greater 'footprint' area when pulled down by the trigger guard and screw and eliminated the need for a soldered bodge!

Or, if it was accuracy AND durability that I wanted, I'd have just bought a No4 and be done with it!

[Jc5]

It would be a qualified yes. Its something I'd much enjoy doing but the depth of my knowledge in the arena of who was accurizing Enfields over the years and what their techniques were is slim. It could be done with contribution of knowledge and pictures from others, and I'd be open to a co authorship etc.

The Lee-Speed book will contain a chapter on Lee Enfield and Lee Metford target rifles, but only those of commercial manufacture. It will not be the "how-to" material that many shooters would want, though; it will mainly be a history, rather than a technical manual, and a high-level history at that. If you're interested in collaborating on something, please send me a PM.