My Enfield story, or how I got an nice Enfield.

[shop tom]

My LGS called to tell me he got in an Enfield. He knows I am into old military guns, I returned the favor by getting my buns to his shop ASAP.

The gun he has is a very nice No.4 MKL*. The stock has been refinished, but it hasn't been altered. The metal is very good, with most of the bluing intact. The barrel is in the best shape I have seen in a milsurp. The sights are intact, even the buttplate is in good shape. Overall, the gun is in the best shape I have seen in milsurps. He's asking 300 bucks for it, I don't think that's our of line for the shape it's in.

But, being so close after Christmas and such, that amount is er, ah, a little steep for me. Enter my 1972 Ruger Super Bearcat. That little pistol is in very good shape, I think it's worth a good chunk of what he wants for the Enfield. Since the Ruger is not something I really like (I'm sure I'll get far more use from the Brit, the only downside to that is I'll be investing in dies and such.

So, Saturday I'll take my Ruger to the gun shop and we'll see what transpires.......

(Several days later)\

A deal was struck between my LGS owner and myself that was good for both of us and I took Winston home with me.

SO, I succumbed to instinct and watched my new (to me) 1942 Savage Enfield disassemble itself. Here's what I found:

The woodwork is all intact, all the metal caps and bands are there. The stock has been refinished, there are no stamps or marks visible. The bands and caps are not blued, they seem to be natural finished with some light rust. There is no cross bolt.

The receiver and bolt have the same serial #, the bolt head is a #5 . The barrel does not have the same serial # as the receiver. The receiver has little if any bluing on it, the barrel has quite a bit left on it. There is a strap (sling)on it, I will research to see if it is proper or original.

I cleaned the surface rust with a rag dipped in oil and lightly oiled all metal surfaces and reassembled it without doing anything else with it. I ordered a Lee die set (the one with the neck sizing die), case trimmer, and a box of Priv Partizan 150gr SPs. I got the supplies through Grafs.com because MidwayUSA was 10 bucks more expensive for an identical order.

I stripped the varnish from the stock and finished it with BLO.

I have successfully resisted the urge to blast and blue the metal.

I will post pics a soon as I am allowed to use the computer……….


tom

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[muffett.2008]

I will post pics a soon as I am allowed to use the computer……….

So you're a family man Tom?
I remember the days of fighting for computer time, now they have gone and I have nine computers.

[shop tom]

So you're a family man Tom?
I remember the days of fighting for computer time, now they have gone and I have nine computers.

Yep, it seems that kids are good at usurping technology.

Here are some pics:

[Patrick Chadwick]

I have successfully resisted the urge to blast and blue the metal.

So I should hope! IMOH you make the right choice and now have an early Savage (note the old-style cocking piece) No 4 MK1* in original configuration. But for target shooting I would fit the far superior screw-adjustable backsight, keeping the original flip-sight preserved, in case you should wish to sell the rifle in its original configuration at a later date (you won't!).

[Surpmil]

You made a good find to get such an early and apparently original Savage. The fluted trigger, 'button' cocking piece and relief for the magazine cutoff in the forend are all features that disappeared quite early from production. I'm surprised to see those features on a rifle with an 18C(?) serial number, or is that 8C?

[shop tom]

You made a good find to get such an early and apparently original Savage. The fluted trigger, 'button' cocking piece and relief for the magazine cutoff in the forend are all features that disappeared quite early from production. I'm surprised to see those features on a rifle with an 18C(?) serial number, or is that 8C?

Thank you for the interest. I didn't realize it was an early production piece until you pointed it out. The serial # is 16CXXXX. What I thought was a serial # on the barrel (near the muzzle) turns out to be .303 with 18.5 tons stamped underneath it. It looks to me like the barrel is original to the gun. I was also obviously wrong about the bolt head. What I thought was 5 is actually an S. I found the bolt head number (1) staring at me after I put the bolt back in the rifle.

Patrick, I am looking as we speak to find the sight you recommend, thank you for the advice.

[Amatikulu]

A very nice rifle, congratulations! All that "Winston" needs is feeding with linseed oil and a gentle application of a good quality oil to the metal - and I'm glad to see that you have indicated you are doing both. Resist any urge or suggestions to improve either the metal or wood finishes as they can't be made any better.

Patrick's suggestion of a Mark 1 rear sight is very sound as the "micrometer" adjustment will aid you in general shooting - if you decide to shoot it with the flip sight, I have found that its just a matter of repetition at your common target range before you find the point of aim necessary for target acquisition.

[Surpmil]

One thing you might want to check is the alignment of the cocking piece on the firing pin. Yours appears to be loose and consequently angled so that the forward end of the cocking piece is too close the firing pin. You may have to change firing pins or stake (center-punch) the end of the pin to tighten up the threads. I suppose you could do some sort of "unauthorized" repair such as tinning the threads on the pin with solder or "Locktiting" them in place if you prefer.

[shop tom]

One thing you might want to check is the alignment of the cocking piece on the firing pin. Yours appears to be loose and consequently angled so that the forward end of the cocking piece is too close the firing pin. You may have to change firing pins or stake (center-punch) the end of the pin to tighten up the threads. I suppose you could do some sort of "unauthorized" repair such as tinning the threads on the pin with solder or "Locktiting" them in place if you prefer.

Thank you for your observations. I will look into it.

tom

[Peter Laidler]

On that subject, the striker MUST be straight. We used to test them by rolling the main shaft along the breeching-up plate although any flat, like a surface plate would do. The 'authorised' repair for a loose cocking piece thread on the striker was to stamp a letter S into the thread. To be honest, I never did it as that actually sounds like a bodge to me. I preferred to tin the thread and screw it into the cocking piece . It always remained tight. Mmmmmmmm, I'm not actually sure that I'd go down the loktite road either.