The first 'Lee-Enfield' in my "collection" - I'm a sucker for pretty wood

You guys have been awesome and provided me with so much valuable knowledge regarding my first real Lee-Enfield. Thank you!

First, I used the term "collection" ever so loosely! My small gathering of firearms hardly qualifies for a collection.
But this rifle is the one that started my trek down the milsurp path. I mentioned that I had a LE that was done after the war by Golden State Arms. One guy made a comment about GSA making decent rifles, and I got a request to post pics of it at some point. So here it is.

At the time, I had zero interest in anything military surplus. I walked into my LGS one Saturday morning, and saw the wood. I asked the owner if I could look at the rifle with the pretty wood. I had no idea of what it even was.
"Oh, an Enfield? I don't have one of those yet..." The bore looked clean, the action was smooth, and the trigger; while it had a lot of take up, seemed to have a decent release. So I took the rifle with the beautiful wood home, and then started to learn a little about it. LOL!

Yeah, the bliss of the uninformed. :P

Since then, I discovered that several things are not "right" about the rifle, but that is basing things off from a bonafide military Lee-Enfield.

I bought this because of the wood, and while it shoots alright, it is not what I would call a precision rifle by any stretch. But I certainly do enjoy it's appearance! :D

Well, I hope you enjoy the pics.

Just a few more pics...
These are of the metal, showing some of the stamps.

Very interesting figure in the wood. Yes, it used to be a BSA Shirley #4. The mag is a promag though and I wouldn't hold my breath about it working correctly. The rest is sporterized #4.

That is exactly what i thought as well. :)

The mag "works", but i despise it. I hate the sharp angles on it and it feels so different than the real one on my LB.

Can you get some more light onto the wrist under the serial No. as it appears to either be a "D" or the top of an "R" looks like a D.
The wood style looks like something Parker Hale conversion would do as the front wood is typical of the 1200 series as I have a PH 22/250 1200 series Safari grade.

You can likely find a mag here if you post in the WTB section. I had one of those and got rid of it as soon as possible. They're just gross looking. Regular mags can be had hereabouts.

Were I you, I would cut the mag off flush, close up bottom. If it still has the original blade leaf, break off the bottom one. Makes a 4/5 shot mag. leaves a clean looking rifle.

That is a nice stick of wood

I'm not sure if a Santa Fe conversion can be returned to normal. From the limited pictures, she appears to be a good candidate for restoration. Find a fore stock, butt stock, 2 upper handguards, handguard ring, rear barrel band, front barrel band, an original magazine and a sight protector and you would be pretty close to original. You already have the nice adjustable rear sight which is a plus. Of course, she is beautiful as is!

First step is to check barrel length. I believe they were all shortened, making full restoration impossible. I believe metalwork was also done. Enjoy it as it is, a handsome rifle and a good shooter.

From Wikipedia it might be a 1941 Supreme or Mountaineer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Singer B

she appears to be a good candidate for restoration.

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You can see the muzzle has been shortened by the length of the bayonet lugs.

I just posted some pics of my BSA Shirley in another thread...this is the original configuration

From what we can see in the photo's of the OP's rifle (isn't that wood just beautiful?!?) it would be possible to restore it to full military trim, though would probably cost more than buying another complete as issued No4. The body & bolt look good, & unadulterated, but pretty much everything else would have to be replaced, & likely at considerable cost. Probably best to do as others have suggested & enjoy it as it is, & just buy another rifle if the OP wants one in service trim.

Good point, thanks!

CINDERS, here is another picture of the writ that you asked for.

Does this help you see what you are looking at better? If not, just let me know, and I will try again.

I am not certain of what exactly you are looking at, so I am trying my best to help.
I do not not see anything at all below the serial number though.


A number have wondered about the feasibility of trying to bring this back to something resembling a 'correct' Lee-Enfield. From my limited knowledge of these, I do not believe that is a really an option.

The receiver is marked a No4 Mk1, the cocking piece is a MkII and the rear sight is a Mk III. The barrel has been cut down 1.50", and the end of the barrel turned down a bit to accept the front sight.

All in all, this is quite the Frankenstein. But the wood is nice! LOL!

In getting the picture, I did notice that I was unfamiliar with some of the markings that I saw.
The "N.67" on the cocking piece? and the very small stamp on the bottom of the bolt handle knob... JNB? I am just not sure. For whatever it is worth, the number 7 is stamped on the bottom of the bolt handle.

Hi Gaijin. The N67 means that the cocking piece was made by the Singer sewing machine factory. Earlier in the war they used their initials with the last two digits of the date, eg SM41 (Singer Manufacturing 1941), but later on changed to the secret code allocated to them of N67, & they also dropped the date at the same time.

The mark on the bolt handle is an oldish BNP or Birmingham Nitro Proof stamp (together with the crown). It is the civvy proof mark for Birmingham Proof House. It should be on the receiver, barrel, & bolt head somewhere, too.

Cool. Thank you Roger!

Looks like a one-off stock to me, but hard to say. Very nice wood, the figure would show up much better with a refinish.