7.62 Target Rifle from the Lee Enfield Factory

[Son]

Mick, as Lithy said it didn't get any official designation. I've got to wonder what would have happened if they had succeeded and went on to produce thousands of them. Perhaps the Military may have used them in competition against the rifle clubs as they had done with the No1 for many years before, and continued close ties with each other. But no- they had to go and suss out the Omarks too!

No4mk1 (T)- silly question... if my rifle (a purpose built single shot) is illegal in Canada because of an L1A1 lower receiver, then how do you get to own one of the 220,000 odd L1A1's made by Lithgow? (even if it's not a Lee Enfield either) And how does a "well healed collector of things Enfield" have one?

Lithy- during the match today I had a couple of "soft strikes"- the firing pin barely marked the primer. Any idea what could cause that? The rounds fired the next time they were loaded... I was thinking maybe a bit of brass from under the extractor claw getting into the firing pin hole. Ever seen that before?

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[No4Mk1(T)]

No4mk1 (T)- silly question... if my rifle (a purpose built single shot) is illegal in Canada because of an L1A1 lower receiver, then how do you get to own one of the 220,000 odd L1A1's made by Lithgow? (even if it's not a Lee Enfield either) And how does a "well healed collector of things Enfield" have one?

Not a silly question at all as you would have to live in Canada to understand our gun laws.
Back in the day it was legal to sell and own the L1A1 and many other interesting rifles for that mater here in Canada. As the noose tightened here first full auto and then converted auto rifles became restricted meaning they could be used but were treated like a handgun needing a permit to transport to designated ranges. The FAL design was lumped into this at the time I suspect because it was our service rifle . The next step was prohibitation with a grandfather clause. I was lucky enough to own a few examples and am therefore able to possess and sell to other collectors within my prohibited classes. No more new FAL’s may enter the country and no new collectors are allowed to own functional examples.
One of the odd things about this law is I can own any L1A1/C1A1 I can afford but I can’t buy an Israeli one because they were selective fire and would have been converted to semi auto to be sold here in Canada which is a class I don’t have.

[Strangely Brown]

It does seem like an attempt to try and keep the target rifle discipline that we shoot in Commonwealth countries alongside military shooting that was very much the era of Service Rifle "b" in the hey days of the 1950's.

I can also see that an Omark rifle would always have the edge in TR and would enevitably win the day.

Thanks for the replys!

[Son]

Not a silly question at all as you would have to live in Canada to understand our gun laws.
Back in the day it was legal to sell and own the L1A1 and many other interesting rifles for that mater here in Canada. As the noose tightened here first full auto and then converted auto rifles became restricted meaning they could be used but were treated like a handgun needing a permit to transport to designated ranges. The FAL design was lumped into this at the time I suspect because it was our service rifle . The next step was prohibitation with a grandfather clause. I was lucky enough to own a few examples and am therefore able to possess and sell to other collectors within my prohibited classes. No more new FAL’s may enter the country and no new collectors are allowed to own functional examples.
One of the odd things about this law is I can own any L1A1/C1A1 I can afford but I can’t buy an Israeli one because they were selective fire and would have been converted to semi auto to be sold here in Canada which is a class I don’t have.

AHA! The smilies say it all, mate. As with some of the firearm laws here, logic and common sense play no part in the process.

jmoore- that's a possibility- I'll have to study the action. I was under the impression the hammer could not strike the firing pin unless the breechblock was in lockup. Pehaps I should have full length re-sized the cases when loading. Thanks for the tip.