End of a (Lee Enfield) era in Canada

[RangeRover]

Latest coverage of the long farewell to the No. 4 Mk I* in Canadian service. (with a shot or two at the Ross)

http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1187...rs-of-service/

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

Is anyone keeping tabs on the amount of times it's announced that the No4 is being replaced by/for the Rangers

[Stevo]

It's not gone yet, by a long-shot.

[enfield303t]

First we have been so well served by our Rangers working in some of the most inhospitable areas and it does boggle the mind the conditions they patrol in.

I will believe it when I see them with a new gun as like Peter Laidler questioned they have been going to get replacement guns for as long as I remember.

Of course reality is they need to be replaced at some time the sad part is for sure the Gov't of the day will destroy them rather than sell them to honest Canadian shooters. Just think of the provenance of owning one of these. Would love to add one to my collection but know it will never happen.

[Ridolpho]

Unfortunately for the Rangers, they're about to find out we still have a quantity of Sniders in storage. Super reliable, function perfectly in cold weather. The old .577 is a reliable bear stopper too.

Ridolpho

[browningautorifle]

I'll trade them two for one if the Sniders are in good shape.

[bros]

I'm a Ranger living in the Yukon....we have been hearing about a replacement for the lee enfield for the last 20 plus years, I'm not holding my breath. I would be quite happy to stick with lee enfield, why the heck not it's my favorite rifle and issued ammo, it does not get much better. My greatest fear in the politically correct environment we live in is that these classy, historical significant rifles will be heading straight for the smelter, shame on them. I've personally met the Defence minister of Canada when we were on patrol on Ellesmere Island and I mentioned that each ranger should be given the option to purchase their issued rifle when they are to be replaced.....I think my plight fell on deaf ears. My issued rifle is a No4 mk2 fazarkey and in beautiful shape, most of the rifles issued in our patrol group operating out of Dawson City are longbranch enfields. They come in varying degrees of condition. I've seen new recruits issued rifles that the barrels were completely shot out while others were in very good to excellent condition. I've seen some beautiful 1950 longbranch issued. Each rifle comes with one mag and yes parts are getting scarce.....maybe it is time but for %*@# sakes don't melt the beauties down.

[Roger Payne]

Do we know if it is lack of certain specific spares that has led to the desire to replace them? If so, which parts are they that are needed?

[Lee Enfield]

Do we know if it is lack of certain specific spares that has led to the desire to replace them? If so, which parts are they that are needed?

The reason given for replacing the Parker-Hale M.87 (C3A1) sniping rifle was that parts are no longer available from the manufacturer, and the military has exhausted its store of spares. Having said that, I'm not too sure how hard it is to purchase M.98 Mauser bolts and replacement trigger mechanisms on the open market these days...

Part of the problem is that it takes actual skill to repair a Lee Enfield which has problems, you can't just replace a barrel and expect the forend to fit, or the bolt to headspace.

I have seen photos of Diemaco manufactured extractors and front sight blades, so I'm confident that they are capable of manufacturing any parts which are actually needed.

The world of military small arms "armourers" has become a world of minimal skill. Interchangeable C7/M16 standardized bolts and barrel extentions make replacing damaged barrels and componants a matter of straightforward parts replacement.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

At least let the Rangers themsleves purchace them as a keepsake. They have been good stewards to this point.