A pair of Lee Enfield; SMLE, and No4Mk2 sporter (Whitworth)

[louthepou]

Finished a couple of refurb jobs recently. One is a 1917 SMLE; pretty typical refurb; slight colour difference between the butt / rear handguard and the forend / front handguard; I should work harder on this type of detail!

The second one is a sporterized No4Mk2, with the mention "Whitworth rifle company". Even with chipping varnish, I had to use a wood scraper to get the varnish off once soaked with wood stripper, so it took a bit longer than usual. I used tung oil for refinishing the wood, I had some good quality tung oil lying around so might as well use it. I also reblued the barrel, receiver and trigger guard.

I probably will keep this sporter, I like the way it looks. Now I hope it shoots well too...

Lou

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[tbonesmith]

That's a beaut looking sporter.

[Patrick Chadwick]

louthepou, I hope the Enfield collectors aren't reading this, but in my experience, Enfields can sometimes shoot better in that state (which is basically similar to the Enforcers/Envoys etc). It avoids all that fretting about fore-end pressure, changes in the weather, phases of the moon etc.

In fact, I have an Enfield MkI NoV that shoots best with everything removed in front of the trigger guard (apart from the fore-end wood) - no handguard, nosecap, barrel bands, springs etc. But it just looks awful! So I reassembled it without the springs. And that was still better than with them.

I have a regular No. 8 that is a fine shooter. But about 6 weeks ago a dealer had a No. 8 that had been sporterized, like your No. 4. Sacrilege, of course, and I had intended to plunder it for parts. But I tried it out, and it is the most accurate shooter at 50 meters that I have ever had. 5 shots - one hole. As I thought that was a fluke, like a golfer's hole in one, I gave it to another club member to try. Once more - five shots - one hole. So it's a keeper.

I wanted to put it back in original condition, but a certain supplier of spares who is well known on the Enfield forum has not yet managed to reply to my inquiry, four weeks after 2 telephone calls and an e-mailed list.

So give the sporter a proper trial - it may surprise you!

Patrick

P.S. I scanned the target. Now I have to go and learn again how to post a picture!

Got it. Not bad for a 40 euro rifle?

[gunner]

Lou,

you know that the SMLE makes my drool on my keyboard! Give it the Easter bunny and i´ll happy to find it in my garden tomorrow.
Good job!

Regards

Gunner

[gunner]

Wow! Patrick you have and you are an great shooter! Fine grouping.

Regards

Gunner

[Patrick Chadwick]

Thanks Gunner, but the young guy who fired the second group was a pistol shooter who wanted to try rifle shooting!!! Now that really is a lad with talent! As he took his target home (no wonder, he ought to frame it and hang it on the wall!) I cannot reproduce it here. But it looked identical. If he practises, he is going to be an awsome rifle shot.

Patrick

[louthepou]

Thanks Gunner, much appreciated. Wish I could have handed the rifle to the rabbit that came last night so he could courrier it to your place - but maybe my dogs got to him first though


Thanks Patrick, I am indeed looking forward trying it at the range. And like Gunner said, that No.8, gee wizz that's some serious shooting!

Lou

[Patrick Chadwick]

Well, I seem to have hit a perfect match of ammo + rifle. Other types (like Ely Club) did not perform as well. So I went off happily to the gunshop to get some Lapua Master - and they don't make it any more!

I now understand those top -flight smallbore shooters who, when they find an ammo type that matches their rifle, instantly order 10000 rounds, to be safe for the next couple of years. But the thought of ordering 10000 rounds of, say, Tenex, makes my wallet cringe!

The moral is: try at least 10 shots of every type of ammo you can get for your rifle, to find the best. And then, if you are a reloader, break down a couple of rounds to make an estimate of what is in them.

The usual problem is: you don't know what the powder is. But even here you can narrow down the plausible options by weighing the powder, and assuming that a good commercial load is going to be in the mid-to-upper upper range for the powder type. And if the ammo manufacturer is also a powder manufacturer, then the chances are good that they are using one of their own powders.

My experience with old service rifles is that finding the best-matched ammo, rather than picking the cheapest off the dealer's shelf, can reduce group sizes by a factor of 3 without doing anything to the rifle other than cleaning it. Duplicating the best-matching commercial load, but reloading with neck-sized cases and seating depth adjusted to suit your rifle will improve it even more. Example: my M1917 went from 4" at 100 meters with S&B to 1"/1MOA (with a scope, my unaided eyeballs can't do it otherwise).

Good luck with your sporter Lou! And if you can get it to shoot 2 MOA or better, post a picture!

Patrick

[gunner]

Thanks Gunner, much appreciated. Wish I could have handed the rifle to the rabbit that came last night so he could courrier it to your place - but maybe my dogs got to him first though

Lou

Hi Lou,

somehow I will not let go of the feeling that you have your dogs trained to hunt the bunnies.....
I´m looking for an good SMLE but without any chance at time.

Regards

Gunner