1916 Lithgow SMLE Mk. III

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The BARREL was, in the tradition of the '53 Enfield, the "controlled" part.

They were a "consumable" item, bearing "batch numbers" but not an official "serial number" until assembled into a rifle.

Back in the "good old days", rifle club armourers had boxes of bodies as "spares" and they would fit them to whatever barrel the shooter wanted.

Given the peace-time ratio of "drills" to live firing, it is not surprising that bodies and bolts expired before the barrels did. Flogged-out bolt raceways and bolt-head retaining "ribs" would be noticeable long before a barrel was "past it".