SMLE III (No. 1 Mk. 3) Lee Enfield

[5thBatt]

Australian made barrel, and also have my doubts about the fore-end.

Photo 5 of post #25 doesn't seem to show the right shapes around the dial plate inletting.

Not a Lithgow barrel, it is 1912 dated BSA barrel with additional Lithgow inspection stamps, the barrel & receiver on mine are similarly marked (Photobucket is under maintenance at the mo, so no photos yet) mine does not have the additional numbers below the woodwork but the other than that & the commercial proof & the P in a heart, its a pretty much the same.
The forend is modified for Volley sights as the D with the small line proves as that a imposed EFD mark which dates long after 1912.

---------- Post added at 11:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:13 AM ----------

I love the stamping on the buttstock 5th.

i'm fairly sure I've been to Upokongaro and the Wanganiu area, for me, was the scene of one of the most memorable firsts of a young mans life.

I am in Wanganui (now spelt Whanganui due to PC crap) so the rifle has not travelled too far.
Who was that, i might know her??? lol

[Eaglelord17]

I am suspecting it is a restored sporter at the moment, which wasn't what I thought I was buying. On the other side, it is a great candidate for it as it is matching bolt, receiver, barrel, and sights. Definitely going to have to look into my options to get it as close to how it was in WWI, as that is what I want it to represent.

[5thBatt]

Markings on mine

[Eaglelord17]

Wow, once the stock is off yours and mine are very close to each others in terms of markings. Very interesting, I wonder what the story behind the Lithgow markings being added was.

[Eaglelord17]

I figured out where the fore end came from...

Forestock, Walnut, Inletted for Long Range Volley Sights Gun Parts | 1288970 | Numrich Gun Parts

[Bindi2]

Wow, once the stock is off yours and mine are very close to each others in terms of markings. Very interesting, I wonder what the story behind the Lithgow markings being added was.

The Brits returned the same Number of rifles that Australia had given them at the beginning of WW1. It could have returned from WW2 with an Aussie soldier. Either way it would have gone back through Lithgow. My thoughts are WW1 return.

[browningautorifle]

I figured out where the fore end came from.

That doesn't surprise me, about what we were figuring too...but it's fine.

[Eaglelord17]

I ordered a reproduction volley sight set to fit into my reproduction stock. In any case it will allow me to practice my mad minute with the proper rifle. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to see how it shoots, and maybe attempt a mad minute if it is all working proper. I figure if I can do 22rds with the P14, my goal should be at least 30rds a min with the No. 1 Mk. 3

[henry r]

I am in Wanganui (now spelt Whanganui due to PC crap) so the rifle has not travelled too far.
Who was that, i might know her??? lol

they seriously changed the name???? what is the world coming to.

she was an Australian girl, we were both there at the same time (at the scout camp, but you can't really say you lost your virginity at a scout camp without some bad jokes being made ) .
even if she was a local there is no way i'd put a name on the internet... could you imagine googling your wife (or mothers) name and reading that story...

[Eaglelord17]

I got the rifle out shooting today, and I am now very happy with it again. It might not be all correct but it functions beautifully. After sighting in the rifle, I did a quick attempt at a mad minute. Found out that just like the P14, the Lee Enfield needs the longer bullets to function properly (I was using .310 123grn pulled 7.62x39 bullets). That being said, the bore is VG on this rifle, and it has no problem with the .310 bullets (unlike some Lee Enfields). Even the brass is coming out not misshapen like what is so common on most Lee Enfields, I guess this rifle missed having its chamber enlarged.

I am going to have to buy some larger bullets for proper mad minute practice, however for the moment, I am fairly happy. Things I also noted was if the magazine cut-off comes on even slightly it can cause the right hand side round to be unable to be picked up by the bolt, and the charger guide on this rifle doesn't kick out the chargers when I close the bolt, so they will have to manually be removed. At least I have a good idea for the areas I need to pay attention to for practicing the drill.

Here is the shooting. The spread out stuff was the mad minute attempt, the tighter groupings was me figuring out where to aim.