Lee Enfields State-side

[.303 British]

First of all, hello everyone!

Secondly, a bit of history on my part. I've been shooting and collecting milsurps (among others) for about 9 years now. One of my first purchases was a Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk1/2 (ROF F) which I'm very fond of and I have been hoping to expand this line, primarily with a WW1 SMLE and a WW2 No. 5, but I'm waiting a while because I'll likely be moving to the US in about a year or so.

Right then, my Father-in-Law, who's American, has always held an interest in milsurps but more so he's become very keen in getting a Lee Enfield (or two). I've been trying to find a good US stockist but I've been having difficulty. So, to get to the point, could anyone point me in the direction of a reputable dealer who would stock good examples of British First World War SMLEs?

I've seen plenty available on auction websites, but as I'm not familiar with the US-side of things, I've been quite wary. For example, does the US proof every rifle like they do in the UK?

Apologies for all the questions!

Information

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[scoobsean]

Look at bdlltd.com
The owner Brian Dick is a regular contributor on these boards and has a vast amount of experience working on, and selling, Lee Enfields.

[Baal]

Brian's your man.

[Frederick303]

In the US there is no requirement to proof ex military arms to sell commercially. Further there is no restriction on any pressure bearing components and you can do your own action/barrel work, many of us do. The only part regulated is the action body.

On the negative side, you cannot have deactivated automatics here, the collections of nifty WWI and WWII de-act automatics you see in the UK simply do not exist here. You can have deactivated cannons for some reason, but they are a wee bit too big for most folks to have much of a collection.

There is a requirement for importers to mark the rifles as to importer, country of origin and caliber of arm. In the case of antiques this is not enforced, I imported a bunch of pre 1898 Range rifles back 14 years ago and none of them were required to be marked. Not sure how you handle privately owned arms import if it is not for resale.

Welcome to the site and I think once you come here (US) you will find most folks in arms really enjoy our former allies presence in the gun clubs and collecting organizations.

Oh what state are you moving too, that will affect a lot of details on ownership and purchase. Some such as Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York are quite restrictive, where as states right next to them (Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Hampshire) are pretty much free acquisition states, you do not require any permits at all to purchase, as long as you are a resident. In fact much of the trade in firearms is between individuals, based around various regional collecting organizations.

Enfields are common as sin here, they are not hard to find though in the last decade the cost for them has increased from its former low value to something a wee bit more dear these days. A nice SMLE can be had for between 350 and 400 dollars, a nice No 5 for around 500 to 550 and a like new No 4 MK II for around 550 if you know folks in the collecting fraternity.

[newcastle]

Easy to get and feed.

[SpikeDD]

Welcome to the site!

I believe if you move to even the most firearm restrictive state in the US, you will find it even far less restrictive than the UK, sort of like your balls being released from the vice.

Many of the folks here, including myself, would be happy to help you along regarding Enfields.

[.303 British]

Thanks for all of the responses, bdlltd has some fantastic examples on it I must say, does the stock rotate quite frequently?

I'll be moving to MN when I head over to the US and you are right, the licensing process is a lot more complicated here. You can get collectors licenses which make it easier to collect, but not easier to shoot; I like to sort of do both to be honest, so I just find nice shooting examples but fewer overall.

[Seaspriter]

Welcome to Milsurps.

You need not worry much about the lack of proofing in the US as nearly all Lee Enfields in the US were shipped via the UK and proofed in Great Britain before arriving on our shores.

Many collectors on Milsurps have very good quality guns and are generally good bets for getting a quality small arm.