Range closed tomorrow.

[newcastle]

I'll have a couple of hours to kill at least before the football, turkey and kids etc. I think it might be time to unwrap and clean a 1954 No.4 Mk2 I've been holding onto for a few years.

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[enfield303t]

I'll have a couple of hours to kill at least before the football, turkey and kids etc. I think it might be time to unwrap and clean a 1954 No.4 Mk2 I've been holding onto for a few years.

Of course you are kidding about doing a unwrap...right? Well one thing is you loose a few hundred dollars in value, the bright side is when you do it you make the remaining wrapped Lee Enfields a little more valuable.

I know the old line of guns are made to be used always comes into play, if that is the case sell the gun to someone who would "respect" a wrapped Lee Enfield and buy a good shooter with the money.

[newcastle]

Not kidding at all. Guns are for enjoying, whether that be shooting em, unwrapping and cleaning em, tinkering generally or building them up into original confirguration from sporters. The other unfired No.4 Mk2 that I removed from the wrap a few years back got fired last weekend for the first time when my old man came to visit. So this is the next step - unwrap this one so I have another unwrapped but unfired rifle in the safe ready to go. Besides how will a get a rifle for the money with as good a barrel as NEW for shooting purposes?

[enfield303t]

Not kidding at all. Guns are for enjoying, whether that be shooting em, unwrapping and cleaning em, tinkering generally or building them up into original confirguration from sporters. The other unfired No.4 Mk2 that I removed from the wrap a few years back got fired last weekend for the first time when my old man came to visit. So this is the next step - unwrap this one so I have another unwrapped but unfired rifle in the safe ready to go. Besides how will a get a rifle for the money with as good a barrel as NEW for shooting purposes?

The newness of a rifle has NOTHING to do with accuracy. From my own experience a new rifle doesn't necessarily shoot better than a well maintined used one. Gee didn't they make No4T's from testing many Lee Enfields. If this is not the first rifle you have unwrapped I guess you don't get it. Be sure you carve your name into the butt when you finish unwrapping it. Will make it a better shooter and then no one will steal this inherently accurate rifle

PS. To think you asked me to keep a eye out for a No7 and a Lee Speed for you, chance of that, Slim and Fat. Would be a little concerned you might want to sporterize them.

[newcastle]

LOL. Bummer you can't find me a number 7, I have an AR rail system already, and just bought the right nails and duct tape yesterday ready to fit it...... plus my stock carving set of course. Ach, you're probably right, and I'll see what I can do with the other one for a wee whiley first. Have a good thanksgiving.

[bigduke6]

Would say newcastle has the best of both worlds, one wrapped and one unwrapped (if it stays wrapped).
Can understand the collectors point regarding the wrapped example, but if they all remained wrapped how would we know what was underneath?

[muffett.2008]

Me thinks that the silly season has arrived early. Lot's of interesting (s...stirring posts) threads to read that bring a warm christmas glow to my heart, in the hope of future firearms gifted to me by you lot, who obviously don't really need the ones you have.
My heartfelt thanks in anticipation......

[Peter Laidler]

You're SO right about newness not being a dead cert to pin point accuracy. Most Armourers have had cause to ponder about brand new rifles, just issued from Ordnance that were simplky incapable of being zeroed accurately. I've had some that seemed to be made up from 'bad' or mismatching parts or just, well, unable to be zeroed and fail the laid down acccuracy test.

Skippy and Tankie will remember some of the early Enfield production (not initial, but mostly 1986/7) SA80's that were straight out of their Ordnance green bags and just incapable of being made accurate. Others were dead accurate with cutting bullet holes. There was a lot of head scratching and paperwork!

[newcastle]

The first No.4 mk2 I bought (unwrapped), back in the days of the Jouster forum, was in capable of being zeroed. There was a fairly substantial thread about it I recall. The gist of it was a POI which rose 6 plus inches at 50 yards as it warmed up from first shot to the 30th or so. Eventually after checking on the stock fitting for ages, to eliminate all stock interference I shot it without the foreend or handguards and it still did the same. Bad mettallurgy I think. Looked nice though.