No1 MkIII question

[LongRifle75]

Will the wood (stock, handguards, buttstock) from a No1 MKIII work on a No1 MKIII*? The reason Im asking is I have a No1 MKIII* RFI, 303 caliber, from India and the wood is falling apart and beyond repair. Ive found a complete replacement set but it says it for a No1 MKIII. Will this work? Id hate to spend the money on it and it not fit.

Thanks

Information

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[Thunderbox]

Yes, they are essentially the same wood.

The only difference is that the Ishapore RFI wood often has a No4-style backstrap on it, in place of the pin and plate found on other forends.

You may well find that the advertised wood is, in fact, Indian surplus No1 MkIII* - this is far more common at the moment than other types.

[Alan de Enfield]

You may find that there is some 'fitting' needed - I took a forend off one rifle and put it on another, then the bolt would not cock - the wood was fouling the cocking mechanism.

No1 Mk3 (3*) rifles were pretty much hand built (which is why the No4 came about - to simplify manufacture) and this shows by the need to 'adjust' parts to get them fitted.

[Peter Laidler]

I would part agree with AdeE (thread 3) but just add that '....you most definately WILL find that the fore-end has to be fitted (or refitted) to the rifle.

If you don't feel up to doing it yourself - and there are plenty of pitfalls to trap the unwary - then Brian at BDL is just down the road from you.

[Bluenoser]

I am a rank amateur compared to those who have already replied.
As stated, they are interchangable, but if the forend is truly off a Mk III, it may be cut for the magazine cutoff. In my experience, folks tend to generically refer to forends as Mk III even if they do not have provision for the cutoff.

[LongRifle75]

Thanks guys. I might just go ahead and invest in that wood then.

[LongRifle75]

I also see where Liberty Tree Collectors sells replacement wood for them off of old drill rifles.

[Colonel Enfield]

As stated, they are interchangable, but if the forend is truly off a Mk III, it may be cut for the magazine cutoff

It's worth bearing in mind that it isn't uncommon to find SMLE Mk III* rifles with factory-fitted Mk III wood (notably including the cut for the cut-off_ - when the order came to "upgrade"* to the Mk III* standard the factories still had piles and piles of the old Mk III wood furniture ready to go and they weren't going to bin it and wait for new wood to come in, especially since there was a war on. The fact no-one seemed to be able to make up their mind after the war about whether or not to keep the magazine cut-off or not also seems to have contributed to the Mk III furniture still being produced in that period as well. And as I'm sure our esteemed friend Mr Laidler will confirm, I can't imagine armourers needing to replace a stock saying "Well, I've got this useable Mk III stock but this is a clearly a Mk III* rifle, so it will have to remain unfixed until I can get the proper furniture for it."

*For certain values of the word, anyway