White Stripe on buttstock?

Hello everyone! I recently went to a local pawn shop that had received a large amount of military surp rifles, most have been sold but there are several lee Enfields. I am in the market for one so I was happy to see some. The one that caught my eye was a 1917 smle.it is missing the bolt and magazine. but other than that it looks great( I am far from an expert.) anyway it has about a two inch stripe all the way around the buttstock right up against the butt plate. any thoughts on this? I am worried that it is a decomisseiond rifle but I didn't see a DP mark on it. any advice or comments welcome thanks a lot! oh he is asking $100.

Walk on by.:thdown:

Bummer! I believe you but why do you say that.

Missing the bolt. A big PITA to find and correctly fit another. Also is marked as a DP with the white band so a non shooter. Keep looking a better one will surface.

Thanks I appreciate it. there are several other surp rifles there, they are mostly project rifles I may dig a little deeper to see if there is something a bit better. I have ww2 British gear on display. I wouldn't mind a rifle for this display only. about how much would this be worth for a non shooter? (I guess its worth what I would pay.) I may offer a little bit to use as a display. and maybe for a replacement stock for the future. minus the white stripe it is a pretty nice looking stock.

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Originally Posted by Bindi2

Also is marked as a DP with the white band so a non shooter

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It is not marked Dp, or does the white stripe mean the same thing? thanks again

A $100 good buy for a wall hanger, go with Bindi's advice walk on buy pay a tad more and get a shooter that you do not have to take to a gunsmith to get up and running they do not just put a white stripe on it for fun although our cadet rifles in 1970 had all manner of stripes mainly red and yellow our greens I seem to remember were stored in a separate rack, did not get paraded and were our range rifles.

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Originally Posted by Walch

..... I may offer a little bit to use as a display. and maybe for a replacement stock for the future. minus the white stripe it is a pretty nice looking stock.

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Changing the butt will not change the status of the rifle - all it will do is to lead to confusion in the future when you pass it on. No one will know its not safe to fire, are you prepared to take on the responsibility for anything that happens to its new owner ?

Sure it is worth offering $75 and putting it away - one day a sportered early SMLE may come up at the right price and and a complete set of wood would have to be worth that (in Australia a set of wood is worth much more), let alone what other parts which might still be serviceable.

Thanks for the advice guys. I f I was to get it as a wall hanger I would no doubt one way or another disable the gun so there is no confusion. And refinish the stalk. But as of now I think I will take the advice of walking away unless I can get it dirt cheap. I appreciate it guys!

Hey Alan De Enfield, I think there may have been some confusion. I wast going to swap the stock for a better one, I would keep the white butt stock, refinish it and put on a better rifle. If another rifle needs one its a nice piece of wood to be tossed with a junk gun.

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Originally Posted by Bandit12

Sure it is worth offering $75 and putting it away - one day a sportered early SMLE may come up at the right price and and a complete set of wood would have to be worth that (in Australia a set of wood is worth much more), let alone what other parts which might still be serviceable.

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Thats what I would do, a SMLE fore-end sold on ebay for £132 not so long (also a No8 Enfield fore-end £57 and hand guard £132) ... think its time to start building a stock duplicator.

Walch.....

maybe we ought to re read your original post and address the issues raised by Walch

Also... Skennerton addresses a related issue regarding the significance of paint stripes on the stocks of AUSTRALIAN sourced rifles..... So before you condemn the rifle based on piffle banter and blather here....

Best that, if you get into this end of the hobby, you invest in either Skennerton's and/or Strattons books. You may be able to teach some of us a thing or two. Clearly we need to be schooled.

Bolts are easy enough to come by and are affordable. Fitting one will require time and the skills of a gun smith. If your going to restore the rifle then 'smith costs are the same and pretty much bolt costs are the same. It just may take more time. Brian Dick might be able to inspect and fit a bolt to your rifle.

if the receiver. the barrel and other parts match then the rifle may be worth every bit of 100 dollars. if the barrel is good; better still, if the wood is all there and good even better still. If you were to buy the parts separately they might cost more than what you would pay for the rifle.

the presumption that dishonesty would occure because you intend to conceal the condition of the rifle based on some paint scheme on the buttstock....totally unrelated to skennertons reference , and remove and replace it ...? well I never read that intention in your original post.Its not even clear that there is anything fundementaly wrong with the rifle based on the paint scheme on the but stock. No DP markings? why is it already a wall hanger. Where is there any reference to the paint stripes he described indicating its a condemned rifle? That butt stock paint job? It represents the condition of that rifle?

Bandit12 got it right:

offer 75 bucks and set it aside for a future rebuild or parts gun. Don't condemn it based on mere opinion. and don't disable it. it may be perfectly good and serviceable.it may even be worth more than 100 dollars.

Big duke thanks.

Mike16, again I appreciate everyone's comments and willing to help out. I am new to enfields don't know the maker of this rifle I have a lot of research to do on enfields and this enfield in particular. Dishonesty is not my thing, as I think you understand that I would refinish the stock and toss the Junk receiver or whatever is wrong(if anything) . I hope I am clear, wish I could have been clearer from the start. I can see how there was confusion for sure. I'm definitely going to be cautious with buying this rifle but will definitely do my homework first. Thanks

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Until I know it is a dud I will not disable. Or do anything other than get it inspected. But I haven't bought it it is just a possibility. The man has a sporter also, he has not shot it but appears functional. Another option I suppose. But I'm in no hurry to just buy any rifle I see

Two things to avoid, rifles with white stripes on their butts and small animals with white stripes on their butts.

And Corporals with white stripes on their arms!

If the gun has been DP'd or ZF'd, or is otherwise unsafe, and you decide to buy it, put a small plaque below the receiver stating "Not Safe to Shoot." Restore the gun (economically) and make it a wall-hanger with a fascinating story.

Consider removing the striker pin to prevent an accidental shooting. Then put a history of the gun and what makes it unsafe on a piece of paper, roll up the paper tightly around the striker pin, and put the pin and history in the buttstock hole for future owners to understand what you found. This will protect someone's grandchild from shooting the gun sometime ages hence.

Good luck, Robert

Or better still, look up the photographs on this site of a real, genuine Enfield L59A1 Drill Purpose No4 rifle. Then with the aid of a small workshop, using your 'unknown quantity - or should that read 'unknown QUALITY' rifle, - convert it into a fully functioning but non firing, never to fire again UK Military DP training rifle.

Quite a simple job, taking just a few hours and.......... Hey, it won't be the real McCoy as converted in our large Base Workshops but it's a non working copy. And to be honest, the L59 DP rifle deserves a worthy place in ANY Enfield collection. I say a collection is poorer without one

And here's something else you never knew (but you all do now.........) The L59A1 rifle was the last true Lee Enfield rifle EVER to see service in the UK Military. It out-lived the L42 and while the No8 is still in service, it's not really a Lee Enfield is it? Well, not among the big bad boys.......

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

Or better still, look up the photographs on this site of a real, genuine Enfield L59A1 Drill Purpose No4 rifle. Then with the aid of a small workshop, using your 'unknown quantity - or should that read 'unknown QUALITY' rifle, - convert it into a fully functioning but non firing, never to fire again UK Military DP training rifle.......

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Great advice. I did this to a DP'd Long Branch after reading Capt. Laidler's advice. Previous owners had removed the stripes and stencils, refinished the gun, and sold it to a friend who bought it as a fully functional gun -- he then discovered it had a severely bulged barrel. I bought the gun from him to ease his pain, discovered the DP stamps on the barrel bands and stock, and put the painted markings back on it.

The gun is not just a wall hanger, but the bright DP stripes and stencils are a conversation piece; everyone wants to know about it. (No, I don't tell them DP stands for Detroit or Dublin Police, but the thought has crossed my mind with a twinkle in my eye).

Here's one of the web connections Peter is talking about:
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/L59A1_and_A2_DP_Rifles.htm

That article was written by me!

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

That article was written by me!

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Absolutely. Peter: you probably don't want to let the world be more aware of your James Bond alias -- "Captain Mainwaring" (unless I'm mistaken, which is more often than I wish) -- Mainwaring is probably Ian Fleming's role model for "Q;" fighting the forces of evil with inventive contrivances. Informants have recently leaked: there were probably secret listening devices imbedded in those DP rifles, hoping the Ruskies would use them in Soviet Bloc countries where we could spy on the KGB :-). Behind the scenes Captain Laidler may even have an entourage of beautiful 007 ladies trained as British Armourers (but don't tell his wife!). MI-5 is proud of you.

Nope...... this Mainwaring was taken from the one from Dads Army - due to the fact that another author for them went under the name of Cpl Jones!