To Buy or not to buy - that is the question

[Alan de Enfield]

Not bought an Enfield for 2 months and getting withdrawl symptoms.

Looking at getting one of the following :
L39
L42
No8
Long Lee

Discounted the L42 on the grounds of available funds.

So that leaves :
a)L39s seem 10 a penny (well easy to find, not necessarily cheap)
b) No8s seem relatively uncommon (but I know a dealer who has 3 at the moment)
c) Long Lee.

All three of the above are round-about the same sort of pricing with the LL being the lowest.

Which of the three is likely to be the best investment (they will be shot but probably only 50-100 rounds per year. I just want to 'stroke' & nuture it).
Which would fit in best with the current family
Lithgow / FR'd India No1 Mk3*,
Ishapore No2 Mk4*,
Savage No4 Mk1*,
Savage No4 Shotgun,
BSA No4T,
BSA No5 Mk1,
BSA No7 Mk1,
Enforcer

I know enough about No8s and L39s to judge the value but I am an ignoramus when it comes to anything pre-SMLE.

Would welcome comments from 'those that know' on the following :
(If anyone in the UK could throw in a ball park price it would help).

Dealer states 'all original' LSA Long Lee Mk1*

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[krinko]

Get that LSA Long Lee.
-----krinko

[jmoore]

LSA Long Lee- ESPECIALLY if it's got a good bore. That's the tough part.

[Alan de Enfield]

If I want to get the dealer to check if the 'numbers are matching' (on the LL) where would it be marked ?

Barrel ?
Bolt ?
Action ?

It doesnt appear to have the front (trigger guard) loop for the magazine 'chain', or indeed the chain, I was under the impression LL's have these ?
Is it a 'mod' or is it missing ?

[bradtx]

Alan, I looked at some pictures of L-Es of the era and at Skinnerton V.1. There doesn't seem anything concrete as some rifles and magazines are missing loops. I would discount it as a deal breaker and select it as the Queen Mother of your collection.

Brad

[RobD]

Alan, my MLE Mk I has serial numbers on bolt and right side of receiver ring (not the rear side wall of the receiver where yours is numbered), and on the right of the barrel just fore of the receiver ring.
As regards negotiating with the dealer:
1. A good bore is hard to find in a miltary-marked MLE. Most of the MLEs I see in use at the range are commercial (private purchase) rifles.
2. What is the date on your rifle? Obviously pre-1902 preferable (Boer War usage).
3. Any unit designations on the buttplate tang?
4. The bolt dust cover has a couple of holes drilled in it which should not be there.
5. Need some better pics, but from what I can see, the nocks form has the BSA emblem. The military barrel would not have a BSA emblem, but the letter E (Enfield rifling). If a BSA emblem, this means the rifle was re-barrelled with a commercial BSA barrel, e.g. in South Africa in the 1930s. That would be a plus as regards shooting the rifle, but would bring the price down.
I would estimate around £650 - £750 for the rifle if the bore was very good.

I think this rifle might be from South Africa... partly because of the re-barrel (??), partly because the extra serial number would fit witha SA Weapons Register number, and partly because I wonder if there are some vague markings on the receiver ring seen in pic 5 which might be the South African U+broad arrow or U+diamond (?). If you can get some good-quality pictures of the receiver, nocks form, barrel under the top handguard, butt socket, and buttplate tang, I would be able to tell you more about this rifle.

[Fred G.]

I'd go with the Long Lee! I've a BSA Mk I* that has matching numbers on the bolt handle, receiver, barrel, top underside of rear sight ladder and bottom flat of bolt sear. The buttplate is marked with the rack number of 818, the date of 1901 (boer War), N.Z., and a capital S. on the tang. There is a matching S. at the bottom of the butt socket underneath BSA Co 1900 Mk I*. I don't know what the S. stands for. Suffolk Regiment? The bore is excellent and the wood undamaged and unsanded. The butt compartment has the correct round bottom Mk III oiler that was issued between 1899 and 1906 and the brass pull through and cord. I Gladly paid $1,150.00 for it and was VERY happy to do so. I considered it worth far more and I believe it is. There are other Mk I*'s that have been on Gunbroker lately that've gone for less, but they've had the stock altered by having wood removed from the Volley Sight area, Volley Sights missing etc. One Mk I that had been converted to take Charger clips but still had the original Mk I rear sight and front sight (thus not a complete CLLE), recently sold for $2,010.00 . I paid $1,400.00 & $1,500.00 for my two CLLE's that were fully converted at V.S.M. in 1910 and 1909. I considered them well worth the price paid. Simply put, the available Long Lee rifles, when complete and undamaged, are getting harder to find, while those wanting them are increasing in number. They just ain't making them anymore. Yes, the other rifles are also not being made anymore, but the Long Lee's get noticed more when they're carried into a gun show. You can't go any distance before someone will stop you and ask if they can look at them. Your final selection will be based upon what YOU want though, not what others want. What do YOU like most? No decision on your part will be wrong as long as it's what YOU want.

[bigduke6]

Alan,

Have to agree with the others regarding the Long Lee plus i know the dealer who has this and have spoken to him a few times and would give the thumbs up for this, but it all depends on the barrel, (this is "not" the pinned one i shown you at Newark) !!!!!

Just remember a replacement barrel would be as rare as rocking horse s**t even the Lithgow replacements. (unless you know a freindly RFD who could make one)

Henry Krank was knocking rifles out at around £650 would say have a look at some of his to compare.

One thing you will find with Pre SMLE and SMLE is the build quality, think this goes with any rifle built around that period, you have to consider the machinery the parts were made on and the craftmanship what went into the final build, compared to todays standards, they are works of art.

A No4 variant compared with a Pre SMLE or SMLE, Give me the Pre SMLE or SMLE any day.

Slightly off the subject but the SMLE bayonets can become more adictive than most.

[enfield303t]

Buy the Long Lee, I just got a 1897 complete and original and in very good condition. I will NEVER shoot it just admire it. Now looking for a period bayonet.

[bigduke6]

Buy the Long Lee, I just got a 1897 complete and original and in very good condition. I will NEVER shoot it just admire it. Now looking for a period bayonet.

enfield303t,

Dont think you will have a problem finding a bayonet, some nice examples out there at a very resonable price.