New old No4 MK1 TR owner with mismatch question

[RobsTV]

Just received a couple Enfields from my dad's collection that were in poor storage the past 50 years. Mainly caked on dust. I remember these in the gun room growing up in the '60's, and thought they were long gone or beat to crap by us when we were bored kids. Cleaned up a little and test fired with great results!

No1 Mk III from 1917 and No4 MK1 TR from 1945.
The No4 MK1 has matching numbers of U32356 on all parts except on butt near reciever band which shows 27940, and scope mount. The scope is No 17262 with scope mount of L32517. I can not see a * after the MK1, so I am thinking it is not a No4 MK1*.

Looks like somewhere along the line, the scope and mount were installed from wrong gun?

All screws on scope are original untouched and staked. Scope is a little cloudy though.

Can anyone explain the mismatch in numbers, and what should I do about cloudy scope?

Thanks

Information

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[Roger Payne]

Looks a nice honest rifle/scope/backet combo. Yes, you're right in that it looks like the scope & bracket were originally fitted to a L prefix 1944 BSA manufactured rifle. Your rifle, also a BSA is of '45 production & is very crisp indeed; note the textured brunofixed finish & how sharp the edges to the woodwork are. IMHO this is all 'original' (whoops! Sorry, I used the 'o' word again!) finish & has not been refurbished.
I gather when a lot of the rifles were sold off many years ago some of the dealers just had a rack of rifles & a stack of scope tins & purchasers were invited to select whichever rifle & scope/tin they liked, regardless of whether they were matched. You just picked the ones you thought were the prettiest! But I suppose they were much more plentiful (& less sought after) then.....

Even as an honest mis-match, what you have is very nice & also quite valuable. I'd give it house room any day!

ATB

[Peter Laidler]

Roger is right. That is what untouched original wood looks like. CRisp, clean edges. The explanation of the mismatched telescope is probably quite correct too.

It looks to me like the middle 3 in the serial number was dollied out and reestamped. Clearly at the factory because the stamp is the same

You need to look through the rest of his stuff because somewhere, hopefully, you'll find the chest and sling and with current prices, all of your Christmas's will have come at once

[RobsTV]

Thanks for the replies. Good info.

Is there any sort of database kept for serial numbers that might allow a slim chance for owners to swap parts with others in the same boat?

Can I do something myself to clean the cloudy scope, or is it best to leave it as is?

Also, as shown in above photos, the 2 piece scope lense leather cover seperated, and the two parts no longer stay attached to each other. Any quick and easy way for me to repair this without damaging it further?

Finally, I do not see it mentioned when inspecting for authentic sniper models, but mine has the matching bolt handle hollowed out. Was that also a commmon thing only done with the snipers?

No luck on any other parts from storage. These were displayed on a wall for years before going under a bed or in a closet. The other parts, if they were owned, were probably in the attic and disposed of years ago as junk.... But even without them, christmas did already come early for me!

[RJW NZ]

there is a lost and found page for matching parts here in the milsurps forum, Angels Match making service, or you can go to Markings-Reading-Organizations | The Lee Enfield Rifle and click on the link.
Nice rifle,
the hollow bolt handle is a random makers choice, you can do a search on the forum , we had a recent thread on them.

[Peter Laidler]

We used to get absolutely loads of leather lens caps that were separated like yours and we'd just get a bundle together and every so often we'd send them to the 'equipment repairers' who would put a few stitches across across to sew together as a now 'one piece' set. Dunk them in the lanolin tub which they had and they'd last another many many years

[Demo]

The fitment of the butt into the butt socket looks a little rough. Would that be normal.

[Peter Laidler]

The butt (or any woodwork now that I think about it.....) should always be proud of the wood with a small gap, just less than the width of a hacksaw or so between the wood and the butt socket. That one looks OK to me

[Roger Payne]

I'd agree with Peter on the wood.
BSA always sent out their rifles with the lightened bolt handle knob (hollowed out). Earlier Faz rifles also had this feature (?& possibly ealry LB's ---- someone will pick me up on this if I'm wrong), but most manufacturers soon dropped this feature presumably to save machining time. For some reason BSA always maintained it. Indeed if anyone out there has a wartime BSA No4 (T or otherwise) with a 'genuinely matching original bolt' that isn't hollowed out, I'd be so bold as to say have a really good look at it.......

ATB

[spinecracker]

My 1941 LB has a hollowed out bolt handle knob (and is "original" to the rifle), and I have seen other 1941 Long Branches also with hollowed out bolt handle knobs.