Enfield Rifle scope with attachments ....

[Peter Laidler]

Could the platform have been unpicked from an old cover and shunted a bit firther forwards on this new cover? Someone mentioned the spot welds.........jeeeees, they look awful.... mind you, needs must and all that! The welded mounting of the No32 base rings looks even worse! But I maintain that it's still an L1A1 cover albeit, as Skippy alludes, somewhate modified!

[Simon P]

There were quite a few civilian-made L1A1 scope top covers back in the days when the rifles were legal to own in UK

Pat Walker Guns in the 1980s were offering service exchange dust covers fitted with with scope rails for about £50, I bought one for my Lihgow SLR at the time

[Surpmil]

To my eye both mount, cover and scope have see a lot more wear and use than civilians give their weapons. ;-)

[Warren]

Oh my God!! Pat Walker...does that bring back memories. Wonder if pat is still this side of the grass or not. What a man!!!

[shilly]

Hi roger ,you expressed an interest in my scope some time ago , i have finally decided to sell it and was wondering if your still interested in buying it,as i am thinking of putting it on ebay,but i would much rather sell it privately than risk the vagaries of ebay

regards eric

[Roger Payne]

Hi Eric, I've PM'ed you.

ATB

Roger

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

I would quesdtion that it was a "put together" It could have been an experimental mount predating the standard SLR optical sight. I would base this on the attachment to the bolt cover.. I have a tip-off mount and scope for an SLR that has the windage and elevation adjustments in the base.

[harry mac]

It should also be borne in mind that during the early days of the "Troubles" in NI units were apt to be a bit more lax on the modifications they alowed soldiers to make (get away with) to their rifles, just as long as the mod was reversable. When I first joined my unit in 1983 one of the lads was still "famous" for having fitted a Singlepoint sight to his SLR. I've also seen one rifle (and pics of others) which had been fitted with a GPMG bi-pod.
I'd say that there's every chance that this is something which might have been done to an in-service rifle and, if not done by the OP's father, then it could be something he's subsequently purchased from an ex squaddie. I'm sure that with the purchase of enough packets of biscuits or jars of coffee to suplement the armourer sergeant's brew fund, a "buckshee" scope wasn't too hard to come by.

[Peter Laidler]

There were and still are local EMER modifications and Harry is right, that they were sanctioned locally just so long as the stuff was returned to 'as issue' prior to its return (L39's are a good example.....) But lose a telescope, especially a serially numbered one matched by number to a rifle no less was just one step worse than losing a compass or a pair of binos but not quite in the suicidal depths league of losing a weapon. It was a board of enquiry no less. And an Army Board of Enquiry was not to ascertain guilt as in the normal course of the Judicial process. No......, you were already guilty, that's why you were hauled before the Court of Enquiry!. It was just to find out HOW guilty you were before you found yourself before the Company Commander or even worse, the Battalion Commander.

Nope....., I still recon this was a home made thinggy. It would be no good putting this thing onto your rifle if there wasn't even a chance of hitting a cows arsx with a cricket bat

Talking of Boards of Enquiry, remind me one day to tell about 'losing' the .300" Browning machine gun at Castlemartin tank ranges