New Jungle Carbine Day!

[heyheyuw]

Hi everybody!

I just joined and wanted to say hi by showing off my newest acquisition, a 1947 BSA Shirley No5 Mk1 that I just found at a local gun shop I frequent. It's extremely clean with probably 80%+ original finish, and no import marks. It has typical British export marks.

It's all matching except for the Savage marked magazine and Mark 2 flip sight. I just picked up a BSA marked Mark 1 sight from Numrich, and am looking for a BSA marked magazine (with no serial if possible) to complete the rifle.

This rifle will be my fifth Lee Enfield, I have two No4 Mk 1s, a No4 Mk2, and another No5 Mk 1 that came into the country in the early 2000's from Indonesia I think. It's all matching and has the mystery shellac coating that everybody loves so much.

I've been very impressed with this forum as I've been lurking around and am looking forward to sharing with y'all!

Here are a few pics of my collection and my new baby!

Cheers,
Chris

P.S. the Bobby helmet in the first pic is a helmet that my Grandfather traded for from a Bobby that saved his butt in a bar fight in Birkenhead during the war. I have a picture of the Bobby somewhere...

Information

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[Clash77]

Very nice rifle you have there! Nice find. I wonder if she shoots as good as she looks.

[heyheyuw]

It might be a while before I get a chance to try it out. Most of my collection is in exile with my folks along with my small (and getting smaller) stash of HXP while I'm in school.

I might give it a try with a box of commercial if I can find a box locally. I'll see.

It has an amazing bore, but that's never a perfect indicator of accuracy.

My no4mk2 is unissued and the worst shooter of my collection. My beat up No5 with a very dark bore from Indonesia and my REALLY beat No4Mk1 are my two best shooters.

I'm pretty excited about this rifle, as I've been looking for a nice Shirley for years.

Cheers,
Chris

[TonyE]

An extremely nice rifle and a very good find.

Can I just point out though that those are not British "export marks", they are simply British proof marks. Any weapon passing through the gun trade in the UK (including military surplus sales) must be proofed by law at one of the Proof Houses, London or Birmingham.

Regards
TonyE

[drweiler]

An extremely nice rifle and a very good find.

Can I just point out though that those are not British "export marks", they are simply British proof marks. Any weapon passing through the gun trade in the UK (including military surplus sales) must be proofed by law at one of the Proof Houses, London or Birmingham.

Regards
TonyE

Maybe Chris is referring to the 'ENGLAND' stamp on the left wrist. While not a 'typical British export marks', it is the 'country of origin mark' required by the a U.S. Tariff Act on imports to the U.S. before 1968?

[heyheyuw]

Thanks for the semantic clarification. I knew the proof marks happened when the rifle left service, but assumed the England mark was done for general export. I didn't realize that it was a US requirement. I assumed there was no requirement before 1968. Thanks again for the clarification. This is actually my first Enfield without post-68 importer marks.

Cheers,
Chris

[drweiler]

Chris, if I've got this right yours was proofed at Birmingham 1954 or later, and imported to the States not later than 1968, kinda narrows down the window. I also have pre and post 1968 No.5 imports, the latter a CAI beater possibly from Indonesia/region as well. I treasure my earlier 'ENGLAND' import, a FAZ 45. If you're ever near Phoenix let me invite you for an Enfield shoot. Cheers, Don

[heyheyuw]

Thanks Don. Yeah, this rifle is definitely one of the jewels in my collection along with my M1 Garand, and my CMP M1 Carbine and 1903A3.

My other No5 is also a CAI import that I bought through AIM in the early 2000's (maybe 2005 or '06... I don't have my database around right now). It's actually quite nice compared to others I've seen from that same release form Century.

Cheers,
Chris

[Peter Laidler]

Would like to see the badge on the Police helmet!

[jrhead75]

About as clean as they come...nice find! since the commercial proving was done at the B'ham Proofhouse, you should have a date code somewhere. Look for a small stamp that looks like the pic below and see if you can read the letter in the left hand quadrant. That will be the year the proof was done.
Attachment 36724

I'd be interested to know what it is in this case...trying to see if it's possible to loosely fit dates with the "ENGLAND" import stamp.