Enfield Importer Question

[Banjo1928]

Is there any practical way for a member of the public here in the United States to find out when a particular fire arm was imported into this country? I have recently learned that the “CAI ST ALB VT” stamp on the barrel of my Enfield, which I originally took to be an armorer’s code specific to that barrel, is actually Century Arms International Saint Albans, Vermont (sad I know but I’m learning). Some opinions seem to be that while the BATF requires the importer’s information be stamped on the gun, they do not track it, or at least not in any way I would have access to. I thought about contacting Century Arms but as they have been importing weapons since the early 1960s and have changed physically, moved, and morphed into the corporation they are today I imagine they would be less than interested in looking something up for me just because I asked nicely. So is there a way? With the Moisn’s you can narrow it down a bit to before or after the ATF began requiring the importer included a serial number (Cyrillic alphabet and duplicate numbers was the cause I’m told) but I do not believe that to be the case with Enfields.
As a secondary question I know the Mosin Nagant history where the Russians tore everything down after the second world war, had a massive refurbishing champagne, then stored the weapons away for WWIII which never materialized as such so they pulled ‘em out and sold ‘em. How did it go with British military arms? Was there a similar rebuild campaign and subsequent storage? My Enfield does not have FTR (I think that’s the term) stamped on it but I’m sure if it was in any kind of prolonged use it was rebuilt/repaired perhaps several times before Century got it and imported it to the United States. How did that system work, military, to importer, to hungry public?

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[Seaspriter]

Banjo,
I don't have the full answer to your question -- maybe someone does. However, I think you are going to find that unless the U.S. Government has a record of all the transactions, this is going to be a MONSTEROUS question. The reason is that so many importers existed, and many are out of business, especially after the Gun Control Act was passed in 1968.

One of the really big importers was IAC. If you check out this link, Dropbox - IAC Arsenal from Gun Magazine pp 29-32 43-44.pdf you will see the magnitude of the what was imported in the 1950s (when you could buy an Enfield for $12-15)

Good luck, Robert

[Peter Laidler]

Banjo, you have asked so many questions and raised so many points that it'd be impossible to get the whole lot answered........... And when some ARE answered, there'll be more Q's forthcoming, believe me! Why don't jou just ask a couple of pertinent Q's at a time. Take for example, last para, last 3 lines. Must be about 6 Q's there that relate just to UK Military stuff that I could answer. But I ain't got all day to go through the post-war UK Ordnance system when most of the answers have already been answered here before.

Sorry to sound a but blunt but suggest you take a few days and read through the archives.

Reminds me of a letter I got while at the Small Arms School. It went something like '........will you please be so kind as to send me details of everything that you have on bullpup rifles.....'. Have you ever tried telling someone in a diplomatic sort of way that they need to get out a bit more?

[Gil Boyd]

Its because of you......I now live in a shoebox on a motorway, sun, rain, stars the works.

[Banjo1928]

First off, I find no one here blunt or rude. I appreciate the comments. Second, I'm learning about Lee-Enfields and the group and am very appreciative of the response and the welcome I have received. If I'm being unrealistic I'd rather be told that up front rather than placated or ignored. So all comments so far make perfect sense and I will attempt to focus and spare the group my "sixty questions". Thanks all

[Brian Dick]

Well, BATFE Imports Branch most certainly has the records but it'll be a cold day in Hades before they'd ever release them to the civvie world for research purposes. The import marks are required by law for tracking purposes should the firearm be stolen. Century Arms has imported many thousands of Enfields as well as everything else military surplus since 1968 from just about everywhere you can think of that may have had them. Interarms imported the cream of the crop of No.4's in my opinion in the late 1980's and early 90's. They had the reserve stores from the UK and South Africa. Navy Arms also had a gold mine of weapons imported straight from UK stores including the L42A1 and L39A1 7.62 rifles and thousands of the 2A/2A1 Indian 7.62 rifles. There are countless other small importers in the USA who brought in small lots of handpicked rifles and other weapons, myself being one of them. Someone should write a reference book on all the different markings but I don't know how one would ever compile it with so many that have come and gone.

[Banjo1928]

Thanks for the info Brian, obviously "I know not what I ask" it never really occurred to me the staggering size of the numbers. It's amazing.

[Brian Dick]

I think the last real big shipment of No.4 and SMLE rifles to the USA was via Century Arms from Turkey in the early to mid 2000's.