Safety Question

[Jc5]

I make no assertion--I'm just quoting Reynolds. Keep in mind, I am NOT suggesting that any DP rifle is safe to fire, and I'm not taking issue with any of the facts presented in this thread. I'm just trying to learn more about how/why/under what circumstances the Birmingham Proof House would prove a DP rifle, and how their policies might have changed over time.

Thunderbox, I'm not sure I follow you about the target (civilian owned) Enfields. If you mean the commercial rifles --a.k.a. Lee Speeds, and target rifles made on the Lee Enfield pattern by BSA and LSA---they would not need the Sold Out of Service or Sale Permit stamps because they were never in government service. Such rifles always had commercial rather than military proofs. Or are you referring to ex-service rifles being on the market in the 1960s? How soon after adopting the SLR did the British government begin selling off their stockpiles of service rifles to civilians?