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Old guy, tommy atkins , has a new toy. I'm looking at my LE I and wondering what the heck? It has a 25+ barrel, no mag cutoff from factory, a bayonet fitting like the long barreled guns, no cleaning rod provision, safety like the No.1 LE. Couldn't properly decipher Skinnington's book to identify it. Anyone know what I have my hot little hands on? In short, long of tooth, short of knowledge, not afraid to ask.
Welcome to the forums Tommy ... :cheers:
To help you out better, perhaps start by reading this thread .. :thup:
What can you tell me about my rifle? (click here)
Regards,
Doug
Welcome aboard, Tommy. Sounds from the description you might have a Range Pattern rifle. Back around just after WW1 the rifle clubs in Australia had been still using the "Long Lee Enfields". The time had come to upgrade to the SMLE and so a lot of Long Lees were converted both by the gun trade and the Lithgow SAF to what became known as "Range Pattern" specs. These rifles either had their 30" barrel replaced by a 25" barrel or if in good condition, the 30" barrel was shortened to 25" and re machined for the front sight. Just expanding on this, the factory had been making and fitting replacement 30" barrels for the club members for quite a while, so they were shortened and re machined for the SMLE front sight too. As the profile was heavier than the 25" barrel, these shortened 30" barrels were a little stiffer than the standard SMLE barrel and could be tuned to shoot very well. They began producing the 25" "H" heavy barrels for the target shooters.
If converted from a Long Lee, the target rifles had their standard foreends cut back 5" and the end re made to take the nosecap/ bayonet fitting original to the rifle. I often see the obviously shorter "Range Pattern" rifles offered for sale as Long Lees.
If you can post a couple of pictures it will be easy to confirm. In good nic these rifles shoot very well, and are considered a collectable in their own right.
Why don't you tell us EXACTLY what is written on the butt socket part of your rifle? It just sounds to me like you could have a bog standard No1 Mk3* rifle
Tommy: This forum has an excellent setup for attaching photos to a post. Look for instructions in the "sticky threads" section. Personally I'm about as computer literate as a Borneo headhunter but have managed to attach photos to a number of posts. We'd all love to see photos of your rifle.
Ridolpho
Pictures are the way to go on this one for sure. It could be some sort of range rifle as Son suggested. If the butt socket is marked LE I but there is no slot for a cutoff it's even possible that it's a "Khyber Pass Special".