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"lightened" SMLE No1Mk3 buttstock... any official story behind this?
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03-13-2020 03:51 PM
# ADS
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Legacy Member
The lightening holes are a feature of pre WW1 SMLE MkIII aren't they? Mk1 SMLE have four holes drilled around the stock bolt hole.
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Fix Bayonets
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Legacy Member
I've got one like this somewhere. A piece of sophistication that got dropped.
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Deceased August 31st, 2020
Butt stock is taken from a 1903 Sht.LE Mk.I that was fitted with a steel butt plate without a trap door. (It appears that a plate with a trap was later fitted, I see an inlet for the spring's screw.)
Yes, I believe that the holes were for lightening the butt. Don't forget, when introduced this was the cutting edge 'new lightweight' service rifle of the Empire.
A lot of design changes between the MLE and the SMLE, the butt stock being one of them.
Last edited by englishman_ca; 03-14-2020 at 08:23 AM.
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Thank You to englishman_ca For This Useful Post: