ShtLE No1

[Frederick303]

Irish SMLE MK I***

4015 of them were Imported by Interarms in February of 1961 directly from ireland. That is the only known import of these rifles into the US of A.

CR indicates the rifle has the MK III sight protector added, as well as having the rear sight assembly replaced with that of a SMLE MK III*.

I have a database of these rifles (~125 to date )and about 40 percent come up as CR rifles, the rest are ER and G marked.

The N on the blank stock disc is a naval marking, or so I am lead to believe, this is seen on many of these rifles. Your bolt is a recycled MLE bolt, not all that common to see on these rifles.

The WWII stamped safety spring is also seen on these rifles, many unserviceable rifles were reworked and issued during the great "emergency"in Ireland between 1939 and 1945. A large spares order from the UK in late 1941/early 1942 allowed this.

Very good deal and a nice example of this type of rifle.

If you are interested check out the gunboard forums there is a more detailed discussion on these rifles on that site, along with many of the areas that are subject to debate at this time.

regards

Frederick303