Lee-Enfield No1 Mk III* Manufactured by SSA

[smellie]

There were a LOT of rifles being manufactured for The War To End All Wars.

If you take British SMLE production in the period of the Great War as a whole at 100, ignoring Lithgow and Ishapore completely, Enfield comes out at about 60, BSA at about 30, London Small Arms at about 5, Standard at about 2 and National Rifle Factory at about 3. NONE of these last three factories made ANY rifles during the Second World War.

There were NEVER a lot of Standards about and they are a lot scarcer now than they were even in 1918. When I determined to assemble a "set" (one from each manufacturer), it took me 20 years to find an SSA which was within my price range. I bought it a week before I stumbled across the last one I needed, an NRF in completely untouched condition and with a really decent bore..... at about half what it was worth. "When it rains, it pours!", says the little girl on the salt-tablets box.

Yes, you have rather a scarce item there. Treat her gently and feed her only top-quality handloads and she will love you for the attention.
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