Lee Speed.......My Little Beauty.......

[ArizonaBeagle]

I have a Lee Speed that I have owned for quite some time. I have been conversing with jc5 and Smellie (Thank you both), through PM and E-mail and it was suggested that I should post some information and pictures up of her so all you experts, collectors and knowledgeable people could have a look.

She's had a bit of rough handling before I got her, but for an old lady she's in pretty good shape. The stamping detail on the butt socket has been scratched (by rubbing against another bolt it appears.) If fact, when I first got the rifle, the trigger guard was held in place by a (gasp!) a galvanized bevel head machine screw!

So without much further ado here's my Lee Speed pretty girl.......

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These were supposed to be thumbnails. I don't know what happened......


Questions, comments, suggestions and information gratefully accepted.

ArizonaBeagle

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.

[jmoore]

We don't need no steekin' thumbnails!

"Speed" is apt! It even looks fast.

Looks like it ought to be a fine stalking rifle. What's it weigh?

[browningautorifle]

The thing that impressed me about the early L.E. was when the cheek hits the stock, the sights are on.

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

I like it. If it were mine I'd reduce and sharpen up the "schnabel" forend tip so it looked a little more graceful. Howzitshoot?

[ArizonaBeagle]

Steve H. in N.Y........Howzitshoot?

Funny you should ask. The last time I took it out it was key-holing. That day I took 5 Lee Enfields out and we had a 5 man shoot off. I kept the Lee Speed to shoot and was slightly embarrassed when an old wire wrapped grenade launcher No.1 MK III ugly stick shot the best group of the day.

I have been reading the key-holing thread here and will take it out again soon with a variety of ammunition to see if it improves.

AZB

[bearhunter]

My Lee Speed is quite a bit different from yours. It is marked "Lee Speed Patents - B.S.A Co." on the left side of the socket. There isn'a a date

Mine is built on a carbine, with a flat bolt handle and 5 shot magazine. The rifle looks like it was built on a Lee Metford carbine. The mag cut off is intact and the 21 inch barrel has the shallow metford style rifleing. The twist, starts out about 1-12 and is about 1-8 at the muzzle. The front sight has a blade insert and the rear sight has been replaced with a custom ladder sight, that is marked in meters on the left side and feet on the right. Very unusual sight, no makers name. The barrel is stamped "For Cordite Only" on the top, just ahead of the knox. Under the rear sight, it is marked "Nitro Proofed" and with inspectors marks. Crossed flags, crown over B and a circle with an "E" inside. The flat on the bolt, is marked with the crossed flags as well.
The bolt cover is engraved "Army & Navy, Co-Operative Society Lim" over "London".
The fore end isn't schnabbled .
The left side of the socket, even though well finished, looks like the "D" ring mount was removed.

Overall, the rifle was quite well done and is still a viable hunting rifle. I've only fired a few rounds out of it, to check it for accuracy and it's still quite good.

It's my understanding, that these rifles were all special orders, feel free to correct me, I have seen, maybe a dozen and all have been different.
There was one at the Kamloops Gun Show, this spring, that was almost identical, right down to the rear sight. The only difference was the grade of wood and some sparse but well done engraving on all of the leading edges around the socket and on the knox and it sported a horn butt and horn insert in the fore end.

Very nice rifles over all. I'm computer illiterate and just can't seem to down load pictures to any site, photobucket has fits with my attempts. I someone wants some pics, pm me an email address, if you want pics on this site, someone will have to post them for me.

[Peter Laidler]

Do you have a Beagle Arizone Beagle? Let's see a photo to cheer us all up

[ArizonaBeagle]

Do you have a Beagle Arizone Beagle? Let's see a photo to cheer us all up

If this doesn't cheer you up.......I don't know what will.......


This is Montana......She likes warm laundry baskets.......

This is Miss Liberty......She likes to sit up in comfort.......

AZB

[Peter Laidler]

Thanks Arizona. They made us all smile here in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England, the ancestral home of MG cars. We've had a few beagles - Heroine and Honey were two that I remember well and I used to run with a pack. They all went alphabetically, from Comet, Cromwell, Crusader, Chieftain, Dainty, Daring, Dido, Dutchess then a gap to heathcliffe, harvester, horatio and on and on they went.......

[Surpmil]

The Gibson Girls of the canine world!

Oh, and about the rifle...a typical sporterization of a commercial "Long Lee" IMO. Almost certainly done by a previous owner. Notice the wood infill on the left side where a Jeffrey No9 sight (most likely) would have folded forward.

There should be a two digit date under the barrel for the year of production and this is also very likely a pre-1898 rifle, as those two digits will tell you.