$9.59 No1 MKIII

[wallyss]

I few weeks back I mentioned that I would get a No1 MKIII from my step-father.
He purchased the rifle in 1962 from an ad in popular mechanics. I think it cost him less than $10. He got it home and then let it sit, and it was "discovered" in '00. Since then I have been after him to sell me the rifle.

I finally got my hands on it. It's an Enfield, 1917. It looks amazing. The stock is really nice, the wood almost looks the arctic birch on my Finn Nagant's? I am anxious to disassemble it.

I took pictures and then the camera lost the ability to focus....on anything (see pic 4). After much time cleaning the camera, and talking with support, the cheap point and shoot died, time for me to finally step into the digital SLR world.

Anyway I will get some more pics of it up when I get a new camera or borrow one.

Anywhere I can get a stock disc?

Information

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[jona]

The fore end is beech, so your Enfield was restocked in WW II or just after. The butt is either birch or beech, hard to tell from the pictures. Butt discs are available from e-pay, Springfield Sporters, or Numrich Gunparts.

[JBS]

Great score. If that is a little active rust I see in some spots arrest it as soon as you can.

[jmoore]

With post WWI wood, don't worry about getting a disc, its not supposed to be there anymore, as they were not used after the War to end all Wars (roughly).

[5thBatt]

With post WWI wood, don't worry about getting a disc, its not supposed to be there anymore, as they were not used after the War to end all Wars (roughly).

I see this mentioned a fair bit, if it was so, why were the MkV, No1 MkVI & the Trials No4 of the 1920s & 1930s made with the butt disc's fitted?

[jmoore]

Don't have my resources at hand that would give dates, but you're right, the provision for unit marks on butt discs must have run to a least the early thirties. I probably could have given you a date 20-30 years ago, but I've forgotten!

[Peter Laidler]

My understanding of the butt marking discs was that they were obsolescent and not obsolete so while butts with marking disc recesses were still in wide circulation, they'd be fitted with a disc. BUT, no more butts would be made with marking disc holes. So you use up what yu have in stock/stores. Because brass was a strategic and expensive material, discs were also made in phosphated steel.

My understanding also is that this was mandated much later than has been assumed. It was a requirement of the Pilkington Committee for the simplification of small-arms in 1940 because the marking disc on the Bren got the chop at the same time. Mind you, new Mk1 Bren butts were still available in the 70's, still with the marking disc hole that was always filled with a wood insert by the very clever Danny Southgate. I know, I know...., someone will remind me that the little No2 revolver had a brass or steel disc too, but contrary to popular belief,that wasn't a rifle disc and served another purpose; that being to spread the compressive load over a greater area of the grip when tightening up. Otherwise the bloody bakelite grip cracked/broke. Just like old 78 records!

The only real service No1 rifles I ever worked on (except for Cadet Forces No1's while at Base Workshops) were the EY rifles in the 60's and early 70's but they had a mixture of plain butts, brass discs and steel discs and wood inserts - but never the hole left empty. That applied to the Cadet Forces rifles too because they also had to conform to the current EMER spec.
The only difference was that on Cadet force No1's, we were permitted to cut off and round the handguard 'ears' where they were cracked around the backsight bed. On the EY rifles we had to replace the handguard or patch the ears if they were cracked. We didn't of course, we just cut the ears off and made good and swopped them for a set on a Cadet Force rifle! But they all went for the chop within a few years anyway!

Where were we...... ah yes, butt marking discs...... Well, we got there in the end!

[5thBatt]

Here's a link to a thread on Surplusrifle about butt disc's
Surplusrifleforum.com View topic - Longbranch stock disks
The fitting of butt disc's to rifles has been confusing to me as in NZ I come across rifles that you would not expect to have them, i have a 1940 dispersal MkIII* that has one.
As you can see in the link, NZ fitted disc's to rifles that would not of had them originally fitted, what i need to find is a NZ marked WW2 production Lithgow with its original butt with a disc fitted to be sure NZ retro fitted them to SMLEs.
What i can be sure of is, Butt disc's with markings were used in service (in NZ at least) fitted to Lee Enfield Rifles up until 2008.

[jmoore]

So a BLANK disc is proper for a post WWI rifle. So its just the practice of actually marking them that was discontinued, yes?

Its odd that so many rifles now have nothing in their marking disc holes, but are otherwise complete. I remember seeing racks of them at the Army/Navy surplus stores, virtually all of them w/o any sort of discs- wood, steel or brass.

[harry mac]

Very pleased to hear you got this rifle. Was he as good as his word and he let you have it for the original price?
Give the barrel a good clean to get rid of the spiders and bird's nests, oil the stock and get yourself down the range to try out your "new" toy.
Then let us know if you have a hankering to git yerself another.