1915 LSA MkIII with MkVI 215Gr RN sight ramp

[RobD]

I don't think a target shooter would build up a sight ramp - many of us use home-loads, and it's simple just make a note of the sight setting to use at various distance. Also, there is an inspection mark, which means it is military. Question is: who was using obsolete ammo (Mks II - VI) after 1915? I reckon it was used in the colonies or something like that, where they had crates of old ammo for their troops to use up. After all, we regularly use 1930s dated .303 ammo today - I imagine that when the Mk VI - VII change happened, there were vast stocks of Mks II-VI ammo laying around.

[Mk VII]

Hmm. It's got the Mk VII-type slide with the clearance groove in the underside of it, and (apparently) the short-head Mk VII-type spring retaining screw.

LSA were, at the start of the war, ordered to make Mk.VI-sighted rifles for the colonies, this plan was dropped at the end of August.

Manufacture of Mk.VI ammunition continued for India and the colonies, and the Admiralty. After the end of 1914 contracts (which were comparatively small) were confined to America, with India making its own.

[Thunderbox]

MkVI ammo was in stockpiles in Hong Kong and other territories well into WW2.

[jmoore]

Great HUGE pictures! Very nice. It looks to me that there are seam lines showing on the inside of the sight ramp profiles that would match Mk.VII sight geometery.
That clue seems to indicate a very skilled build up for some very slow moving projectile- a custom load or special sub-sonic thing? Since the sight leaf shows no S/N, maybe there was another leaf used w/ different grads. at one point?

[OxfordAndy]

jmoore...thanks - I was worried that the pictures may be too big!

The pics of the rear of the sight leaf are not brilliant. I tried a few times to get a pic of the bottom of the leaf but it is really hard to get close enough without blocking off the light.

If you look closely at the pics you can make out the serial number (seems to be struck in the same type face as the other stamps on the nose cap, bolt etc.). There is also an LSA "X" inspection mark above that with the inspector's number(?) F7

[jmoore]

No, they are SUPER! Although it seems there ought to be a way to get the "thumbnail" resized pics smaller, I'm not complaining- since I hardly know how it's all done myself. I figured out one thing that works and have stayed with it so far.

It's a nice rifle, regardless of the origins of the sight ramp. Details surely don't hurt when searching for answers. I'll stay "tuned in"!


However, I'm now racking my brain trying to figure out how to fit a QD Maxim style suppressor to an SMLE....

[smle13]

it is probably a good idea to only shoot 215gr 303 ammo bacause the bore was only meant for that kind of pressure.