Need help identifying unusual Enfield rear sight

[Mk VII]

The public schools promptly replaced this sight with one of the commercial ones, often the Parker 'Regent', but the cadet forces had no choice.
Quite large numbers of these sights are currently on the market in various states of completeness. You will note the milled head has been punched or drilled in between the detents to give 1/2 min elevations, and a 7.62 elevation scale engraved on the left side (which most users never even noticed).

[Pattern14]

The moral of the story is, please don't bugger your rear sight axis pin hole to install that sight which was never designed for the No.4 but unfortunately marketed as such by an unscrupulous company from New Jersey that most of us here in the USA all know and love. I've got one in the repair rack right now that someone did it to, (a nice No.4Mk.2), and I'm going to have to sleeve the holes in order to get a proper Mk.1 rear sight back on. He also drilled the little hole on the side of the body for the ball detent so I'll remove it, fill it with steel filled epoxy and touch it up with Suncorite to restore it to it's former original configuration.

Brian,
Are you talking about the sight that was advertised as "The No. 4 Enfield Target / Match Sight" for $69.95?

[Enfield trader]

They are still advertising them.

[Peter Laidler]

L81A1's again......
Oh, yes, the elevation scale on the side of the leaf. That was also another cause for concern as I recall. The problem with THAT was that is was only relevant if the, say, 300metre mark equated EXACTLY with the MPI at 300 metres. There was no way of adjusting it so if it didn't match the MPI, then all of the calibrations were useless. Rifles were returned to our workshops for this very reason that 'range calbrations do not match MPI'. There was some thought to adjust the height of the calibrations with shims under the plate. Good idea at the time, but if it needed to be LOWERED, then you were naffed.

The first attempt by P-H at fitting a target backsight also failed because the bolt handle fouled the overhanging deflection bar of the sight so a half round recess had to be ground out of the top of the bolt knob. That's the reason if you have such a modified knob! Choosing my words carefully, I'd say that the rifle was, er, ........found wanting in several respects.

What's more, they charged an absolute kings ransom for them. The GOOD bit was that they came in a very nice, black, alloy crinkle finish transit case.

However, it wasn't all bad news because any school or Cadet force that had these target rifles was also allocated a sizeable amount of extra 7.62mm sniper quality ammunition for which to a) practice and b) enter competitions. They also had .303" or 7.62mm L4 Bren guns too so, guess what happened? Yep, got it in one......... The extra ammo allocation went into the big training pool and was used on range days in the Brens. Which is what they REALLY wanted and I have to confess that I used to take out and act as the Range Conducting Officer for my sons school Cadets on the range. Well, it's better when dads do these things because they make it interesting. So, quite unknown to me of course, they fired all this extra amo off in a couple of L1A1's and Brens instead of wasting it in the single shot L81's. It's a shame really...................

[Brian Dick]

To answer Pattern14: Yup, that's the one.

[Peter Laidler]

While not quite Lee Enfield, does anyone admit to actually owning one of these L81 monstrosities. Apparently very accurate though

[Brian Dick]

I know of at least one in New York in a private collection. I've never had one through here. I do have the user handbook available for them, (as you know), and had one complete rear sight assembly that was new in the box that was purchased for that rifle in NY after it was imported a few years ago. I've only ever sold a few user handbooks for them so they can't be very common here in the lower 48.