An interesting 'naughty' Irish Trainer, Rifle No. 2 MKIV

[tappo]

I recently came across this splendid, interesting and 'very bad' .22lr calibre trainer rifle.

It is an Enfiled so I won't explain why it is splendid, to be precise it is an Enfield type rifle, model no. 2 MKIV.

I will however try to explain why it is in my opinion interesting and "naughty".

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You will certainly have noticed the unusual plate for mounting a probable sight scope,

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the plate held by a Phillips-type screw instead of the normal screw/ejector (which is not needed in trainers) will immediately turn the noses of purists, but before making hasty judgments let's move on for a moment.

. . BSA barrel in .22 with the commercial logo of the well-known Birmingham manufacturer

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Curious brass disc that at first glance screams "bubba!" because the characters are not consistent with the most common identification discs, but here too let's wait a moment before making hasty judgments...

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Let's take a good look at the brass disc...



Here we see why 'naughty'...

ANTRIM is a county (and a town) in the north-east of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water.

BALLYLURGAN is the English name of a locality in the aforementioned county. The Irish call Ballylugan 'Baile na Lorgan'....

USC stands for 'Ulster Special Constabulary' More commonly known as 'B Special', a paramilitary reserve police force in what would later become Northern Ireland.
It was established in October 1920, shortly before the partition of Ireland. It was an armed force, partly organised on a military basis and called upon in times of emergency, such as wars or insurrections.
It played this role especially in the early 1920s, during the Irish War of Independence and the IRA campaign of 1956-1962.
During its years of operation it was guilty of atrocities committed often in revenge against the Irish people.
The Special Constabulary was disbanded in May 1970, its functions and members largely taken over by the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

The rifle can therefore be traced back to the fearsome Irish Paramilitary Police Force.

Let us now take a step back, and see why I find it interesting (as if the story of its identification disc wasn't enough...)

The attachment of the sight scope...

It is well known that the "B Special" used "custom" training rifles, in fact the Parker Hale diopter (called the B Special) is known to have been produced expressly for this purpose (the ugliest diopter ever seen).

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In order to be used, the safety lever had to be brutally bent in order to function properly...

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If I had been told that the above-illustrated diopter was original equipment for the weapon, a piece of sheet metal folded with a thinner horizontally sliding plate with a hole in the centre for aiming, I probably would have laughed. Documenting a little, I not only found evidence of the existence of such a diopter, but it turns out to have been manufactured by Parker Hale specifically for B-special. Over the years, I have found four rifles with mounting holes for such a diopter. To mount it, it was necessary to make a small cut in the wood and drill two holes in the receiver (photo below)

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Of these four rifles, only two were still complete, one had only a recess in the wood with holes and one (mine) had a recess in the wood, holes and a folded safety lever. All were, however, traceable to Northern Ireland Paramilitary Police equipment.

So, before I cry foul when looking at that unusual scope mount, I prefer to tread lightly and do some research.
I ask, has anyone ever seen anything like it?
Thank you all for any answers.

[browningautorifle]

the plate held by a Phillips-type screw instead of the normal screw/ejector (which is not needed in trainers) will immediately turn the noses of purists, but before making hasty judgments let's move on for a moment.

I wonder what thread pitch the Phillips screw is? I wonder if it's machine and non-gun thread?

The head looks like the later straight cross of the JIS Phillips and not the original Phillips of the 1930s with a slight open center. That might date the mount as later?

[Atticus Thraxx]

I don't have any useful information,but what an incredibly cool piece of history. Nice pickup.

[Flying10uk]

You could remove the screw, measure the diameter to see if it appears to be a "standard size" metric screw which I suspect it may be.

If it's not an imperial or gun thread size thread then I would say it's a relatively modern fitment.

In general engineering terms the use of imperial size screws in the UK was continued for a long time after WW2 in engineering.

[browningautorifle]

If it's not an imperial or gun thread size thread then I would say it's a relatively modern fitment.

My thoughts too.

[tappo]

Thank you all, interesting observations.
I will try to measure the screw as soon as I can. At the moment I still don't have the rifle in my hand, it's on its way to me :-)
I will keep you posted.
Any other suggestions are most welcome

[newcastle]

Are there pictures of two different rifles here? One appears to have the wood chopped, the first pictures (1 and 3) the wood appears intact on the left side of the rifle. Also, to me, and from the single picture, the crudely attached plate that required the safety to be bent looks like a home made rear aperture sight.

[Sapper740]

Lance Lysiuk devotes 3 pages to the sheet metal rear sight equipped .22 RF trainer in his excellent book, "A Collector's View; The Lee Enfield .22-inch RF Rifles". He states that the majority, though not all have Parker Hale tubed barrels and were most likely altered in the 1950's or 1960's.

[Sapper740]

What is stamped on the butt socket of the top rifle? SHT '22 IV or SHT '22 IV*

[Sapper740]

Are there pictures of two different rifles here? One appears to have the wood chopped, the first pictures (1 and 3) the wood appears intact on the left side of the rifle. Also, to me, and from the single picture, the crudely attached plate that required the safety to be bent looks like a home made rear aperture sight.

Two separate rifles. The lower one is believed to be one of several that were altered, possibly for Cadet use to imitate the rear aperture sights of No.4 and/or L1A1 rifles. The sights are poorly done with no manufacturer's marks or stamps and required wood to be removed from the stock and the safety catch bent to clear the sight. They're actually quite rare and according to Lance Lysiuk quite collectible.