ArizonaBeagle and I have corresponded about this rifle offline prior to this thread. There is no matching two-digit date on this one. Only some (not all) of the commercial rifles had that. I am close to a theory of exactly why and which ones did; I just need to test it out on more samples.Quote:
Originally Posted by Surpmil
This rifle is definitely pre-1898. It was a commercial model (made for sale to civilians) that was made to the specifications of the service pattern Magazine Lee Enfield MkI rifle. It is possible that it was part of a commercial contract to a foreign government, but because I'm still analyzing data on those contracts and their serial number ranges, I cannot tell yet. However, I would guess that it was a private purchase, for two reasons: 1) an aperture target sight was fitted at some point (evidenced by the cut out wood at the rear of the fore-end; the rear volley sight was also removed for the same reason); 2) the barrel has been shortened to approximately SMLE length, which tells me the owner was a competition shooter. Many shooters in the 1930s cut down Long Lees to SMLE length to comply with new rules, and these are known unofficially as "range rifles." We can be pretty certain that the owner (maybe not the original owner, but some owner) was a competition shooter.
The barrel is probably original. Not only because of the matching numbers (which were sometimes re-stamped on replacements), but because it would have been too easy to replace it with a common SMLE barrel, which wasn't done. So this barrel is the original, but chopped down.
This rifle is a great example of a commercial Lee Enfield, made with a pre-1914 craftsmanship that was never seen again. It has probably seen some adventures in the hunting field, and certainly did its job well at someone's favorite rifle club. Any further adventures are up to the imagination. I would think that it would still be an excellent sporter, after the keyholing problem is solved. Since the wood is already cut away and the volley sight removed, it's a good candidate for a vintage BSA or Parker Hale aperture sight (not cheap, but pretty cool). Maybe its best days are still ahead of it!
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Bearhunter,
Have you and I corresponded about your Army/Navy sporter? (I corresponded with another guy named "beerhunter"!) Please send me a PM if you are willing to discuss, and I will send you my Lee Speed survey. Every bit of data I can collect on surviving rifles puts me a step closer to working out a reliable dating scheme for the difficult ones. 300+ rifles sofar, so we're getting there! Thanks!
jc5
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