desporterizing a long branch no4 mk1*

hey everyone,
I`m working on desporterizing a 1943 Long Branch no4 mk1* that my uncle gave me as a present in July. It seems to be an older sporterization since it has an enfield stock on it already. I ordered all the parts I need to convert it back to a battle rifle but it will still be my favorite hunting rifle. It hits bullseyes at 300 yards almost every other shot so it`s very accurate. It has a older scope on it but it can be removed if I wanted to do that. I put a new magazine and sling on it in the beginning and since it will never have matching numbers anyway I figured it would look nicer as a battle rifle. Anyway here`s what it looks like now and I`ll be sure to post pictures as the desporterization continues.

I'm not too sure how this is going to go for you. That is, the barrel has been cut and the receiver has been drilled and tapped. The wood has to be changed completely and you need almost all the hardware for the complete rifle. It may be more cost effective to buy a military rifle and keep this one as is for hunting. After all, more IS better in this case. More guns that is...

i measured the barrel out and it was 24 1/2 inches long, which is the right length for the original barrel (I think). The scope and the rail can get unscrewed out since what they drilled into doesn`t seem to affect how it shoots (I`ve taken it off before and shot it with a spare L shape sight I got from a friend). All of the other parts I only spent about $100 on so it was fairly cheap. If I need a new barrel I can get one for $70 but all in all it should be an ok piece to rebuild back. I always heard buy a sporterized rifle cheap and rebuild just as cheap. Seeing as how I have no money tied up in it already and I`m only spending at max $170 it is a great deal. I`ve seen similar rifles here in mississippi sell sporterized for around $300 depending on the quality of the work, which this one`s pretty good for its age.

Original barrel length is 25.2". It looks like they cut the barrel to just behind the front sight.


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That makes sense. Thank god I have the money in the budget!

Hi Burb,

I think if it was me I would keep it as it is, the barrel has been cut or been replaced with a possibly South African barrel (no rear or fore sight). Look around for a reasonable condition bubba one that has a good barrel with sights and just replace the wood work IMHO

It may be that you can get a new barrel for $70 but you will need to pay a gunsmith to have the old one taken off and the new one properly installed - that will more than double the cost of the barrel. Since you are happy with the way it shoots, I have to agree with the Aussie48, I would keep it as is and buy another still in military configuration. After all, there is no guarantee that it will shoot as well with the new barrel, in fact it may not.

Thank you all for the advice. I would buy another one but the military configs here go for about $400 to $500 if they are in decent shape, even a little higher in better condition and that`s not taking into consideration which arsenal made them. I do have a friend of mine who helps me in researching old bolt-action rifles who was a gunsmith for a time. He said if I ever needed his help with any of my rifles all I needed to do was to come to his workshop and put in some work so that I didn`t have to pay him for the work he does. I don`t really see the point in buying a whole new rifle if I can rebuild one for less $ you know? Besides in the long run it`ll be worth more as a non-matching military rifle than as a sporterized rifle.

I think that they are recommending possibly finding another bubbed rifle that has not had the metal butchered not necessarily buying a rifle in full military dress. Replacing a barrel on one of these looks to be a very involved and expensive proposition and finding a gunsmith that is competent to work on an Enfield can also be a problem.

*Update* I managed to find a barrel but for even less than I thought. I was talking to a friend of mine who collects enfields this weekend and I told him about this project. He was interested in what kind of rifle I could make so he asked what parts I still needed. I told him about my barrel concerns and he brought me to his parts box (it is literally a cardboard box that he has all kinds of enfield parts in organized in plastic bags by model and year). He found me a no4 mk1 barrel and I asked him what he would want for it. He thought about it for a minute and asked if I had $50. I did at the time since I spent most of my money on a different enfield at a gun show Saturday. I gave it to him and looked at the rifling, which looks really good when light is shone into it. I`m taking over to my gunsmith friend`s place on Wednesday to change the barrel out. This is really exciting for me to bring a rifle back to the way it was meant to be and for less than it would cost to buy a whole new rifle, at least down here in Mississippi anyway. I`ll post pics of the new barrel on it on Wednesday for all interested.