No4 Questions from a Newbie (picture heavy)

[B.D. McGee]

New guy here looking to pick the brains of people far more knowledgeable than me! I picked up a No.4 Mk1 the other day that was stamped US Property. From what I have gathered so far that would make it a Lend/Lease rifle, however there is no date stamped on it, but quite a few other proof marks that make it look like it at least went to England at some point.

This rifle was modified to a sporter at some point. The stock has been cut down, hand-guards missing, and part of the barrel has been hacked off.



This leads me to an important question, if I get a new barrel to replace the current one, will any surplus No. 4 barrel work? Were the American produced No. 4's identical to those produced by Britain in terms of threading of barrels and other parts such as stock sets?




I know that restoring this rifle is going to cost more than it is actually worth, but it is just something that I want to do!

Thanks in advance!!
JB.

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.

[Alan de Enfield]

It was manufactured by Savage (in the US) and is a No4 Mk1* (note the * denotes it had the simplified bolt release mechanism to ease manufacture)
Most Savage were Mk1* - only the very early ones were Mk1 (without the *)

It was refurbished - FTR'd (Factory Through Repair) By Fazakerley (Liverpool England)

In theory any No4 barrel will fit, but in practice you may need to try a dozen or so to find one that indexes correctly.

In theory any woodwork should fit, but in practice some slight adjustments /trimming may be needed to get it to bed properly

Have a look at the various articles by Peter Laidler in the Milsurps Library section.

[Beerhunter]

When it was FTR'd it got a trigger job to Mk.2 standard, making it a Mk.1/3

[Mk VII]

Typically, the later marks are rather faintly engraved and when it was subsequently refinished again they became barely discernible. The original designation is bared out, though the barring is hardly noticeable. All this is typical of these post-WW2 overhauls.
It looks like somebody has attempted to fit a vaguely Springfield-ish front sight to it.

[lngstrt]

Personally ... I think every Enfield collection/accumulation should include a 'sporterized' one. That's part of their history, after all. Now, that's the opinion of one who has 24 varied Enfields. I do not yet have a sporty one. All the ones for sale seem to be more $$ than a military one because they've been improved/customized. If I see a $125 or so one, I'd likely bite. Especially if all the metal is intact.

IMHO

[jmoore]

Swapping barrels on these can be quite a trial. Sometimes just removing the old one is so difficult that it's not worth doing! Other times it can be no big deal.

It's best to have a well fitting action wrench, a BIG hammer, and barrel clamps that fit very snugly.

Any more I would generally say to leave it "as is" if it's shootable and buy a nice complete rifle in addition. If the bore is ruined, then have at it, but there's usually lots more involved than just spinning the old barrel off and the new one on.

[Surpmil]

Every one has a story we can learn something from.

The bolt is a replacement, no doubt during FTR.