Just bought a 1918 SMLE No.1 Mk III with Arabic stock disk, looking for information

[lthilsdorf]

Sorry I don't have pictures as I know they are helpful, but no camera here, ha!

Anyway, I just bought this SMLE No.1 Mk III (I believe) for $300. As I like well used looking rifles, and rifles with a possible Middle Easter history, I thought that was a decent price. Hopefully that wasn't too much for my first Enfield?

The markings on it are:

G.R.
B.S.A Co
1918
Sht LE
III (a little star and a line through it and under the star is next to this)

The stock disk is brass with some Arabic writing on it, and there are some faint Arabic markings on the buttstock as well (rack number?). There is also some markings on the receiver that look Arabic, but I'm not sure if they are. There is a slight crack in the stock in the middle of the stock on the left side above the trigger area that I missed. Doesn't seem too bad but I'm not good at this judgment, ha! There's a brass pin there already so maybe that was an attempt at repair?

Bore is very nice, shiny, with strong lands and grooves.

I know very little about Lee Enfields, so any help with figuring out what I have would be great. I can chime in with information until I get some pictures up sometime. Some people on another forum believe it was a Training Only rifle that may be unsafe to fire. The clean bore leads me to believe it may be. If so would this unsafeness (is that a word? Ha!) be due to excessive head space, general unsoundness of the parts, or other factors? It does have a crack in the stock as mentioned and the buttplate shows alot of wear, leading me to believe the training rifle idea. I'd love to shoot it and would be pretty disappointed if I couldn't. I want to keep it, but if I can't shoot it I may end up selling it (for less I would guess, ugh!) Thanks everyone for helping this obvious Lee Enfield noob! Hopefully next time I will do a bit of research BEFORE I buy the rifle, ha!

I will also get pictures as soon as possible!

Information

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[smellie]

You get the pictures up and we'll have a crack at it.

Markings to watch for include the ever-feared "DP" meaning the rifle is to be used for Drill Purposes Only...... but this could be switched back again by an Armourer or by FTR (Factory Thorough Repair, meaning that the rifle was factory-restored to 'new' condition).

The one marking to DREAD is the legend "ZF" in PAINT, about 1-1/2 inches high, on the right side of the butt. This one means that there is something about the rifle wrong ENOUGH that only the Factory can possibly put it right.

Lacking these or their equivalent, there is no reason apparant that the rifle can not be shot, although it should be checked over first.

BSA made very good rifles and they made a lot of them. I have a couple which are doing very well at the range, just as old as yours.

The brass rod is actually threaded and screwed into the wood to rejoin the pieces. This was the only way it could be done in the days before modern epoxies had been invented. That particular spot liked to crack; I have a couple repaired like that. Another place the stocks on these liked to crack was down inside, at the rear, just in front of the iron butt socket, where the trigger meets up with the sear. The wood is very thin there and it does crack. This is referred to by some as The Damned Crack and it is responsible for more rotten shooting than about half of the bad barrels in existence. I have an Aussie rifle which had The Damned Crack, at which time it was shooting groups an inch wide and 14 inches high at 100 yards. Following repair of The Damned Crack and tuning up the bedding a bit, the rifle is shooting about HALF an MOA, which is very darned good for ANY 93-year-old rifle.

You get the pictures up and someone will help.
.

[jrhead75]

Just to be clear about the advice given on other sites...The Arabic script needs to be translated before shooting it. There have been some rifles out of Iraq and/or Egypt with Arabic inscriptions on the butt and metal that have translated to..."Training use only", "No live ammunition" and the like.

Maybe it's just me, but if the good folks in that part of the world consider a rifle unsafe...I'd tend to take their word for it.

[lthilsdorf]

Took the pictures earlier today! So what do you guys think? I get get more shots of stuff as needed.








Arabic markings on the receiver? I wasn't sure about these but I couldn't get a good shot. Maybe I'll try again later.




Arabic markings on the buttstock?


Stock crack.




Doesn't do it justice, but the bore is excellent. I'll try and do this one again sometime!


Random damage to the stock.


Markings near the rear sight.


This hole is supposed to be here right? Ha! Just making sure.

[Nabs]

That is a very interesting rifle!

The butt plate appears to be steel ? with a brass trap door.

The markings on the stock disc appears to be a word in Arabic that I cannot translate but the characters underneath are numbers in Arabic script that translate out to "9 2 1".

Dare I say she may have been a contract rifle or some sort ?

The "H.V / S. C" is stamped exactly the same on yours as it is on my 1940 BSA Contract SMLE. From what I have read online it means "High Velocity Short Cone" and relates to the Mk VII ammunition. I think this also means that the chamber does not have the "mud of flanders" modification to accept dirty cartridges but someone correct me if I am wrong please.

The hole is a gas escape port which is normally found there on SMLEs.

[lthilsdorf]

A little update:

Managed to get the stock off the barreled receiver and here is what I found: some pitting and a cracked stock, ha!

This pitting is on the barrel right where it connects to the receiver. Is this a possible danger or does it look safe based on this photo? There is also a bit of pitting on the barrel, but it's not too deep at all.



And here is the crack. The smaller piece that is now separated off the main part of the stock by the crack can be bent back a good deal. How should I go about fixing it? Thanks!

[Buntlineguy]

I think I have the brother of your rifle. No1 MkIII, brass Arabic disc, 1918. I'll have to get it out and take some pix for you. I got mine for $125.00, but the barrel is somewhat worn. Shoots great with round-nosed bullets. I also had to rebuild rear sight (managed to keep original #). All matching numbers including mag. Hope you have as much fun with yours as I have had with mine.
B

[Mohawk]

I have one also. A 1918 BSA. Has a nice maple? stock with a mismatch Aussie hand guard. Bore was a bit dark when I got it. Put some Blue Wonder and a few rounds through her and it is nice and bright now. Guess I should Post some Pics......