Skeletonised No5

[pedro243]

Hi guys,

I recently purchased a collection of lee Enfield Rifles and one of them was a skeletonised no5.

I have never seen one before so i was interested. I have looked in the Skennerton book and there is no reference to them.

Were these factory prepared or has it been done by an unknown gunsmith?

Information

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[Gil Boyd]

Hi Pedro,
Any chance of some photos, then we can perhaps help in identifying whether it was a REME workshop/Apprentices, a proper job or just Bubba in his workshop
Gil

[browningautorifle]

Would be nice to see...I've never seen one either.

[Peter Laidler]

I've seen about a zillion No4's, 5's as well as skeletonized No4's. But NEVER a skeletonised No5. There would be absolutely no point whatsoever. It's not beyond reason for one to be skeletonised as a trade test piece in the Far East Training Centre. But we had No4's - so why do a No5?

[Simon]

As a matter of idle curiosity where do skeletonised rifles sit with these somewhat ridiculous new Deac regs?

[Gil Boyd]

Simon,
As an ex Cop I can only give you my take on that question.
Many deactivated weapons have no numbers visible on the actions or barrels, all of them have no deactivation certificate allocated to them.
This is effectively the definition, so basically a piece of wall art, but I am sure it could be stretched to make anything a firearm:

A deactivated weapon is a real firearm which has been altered in such a way that it is no longer capable of discharging any bullet, missile or other projectile. UK deactivated weapons will have been submitted to one of two Proof Houses (Birmingham and London) in order to check that they have been correctly deactivated to EU/UK specifications.

[Simon]

Thanks Gil,

I was musing more about the changes whereby an "old spec" deac is now supposed to be resubmitted following further welding etc before it can sold on? Would this change now capture sectioned rifles I wonder?

I stay well away from deacs so I'm not clued up on the spec.

[mrclark303]

That's an interesting point Simon.... The answer very much depends on the Police Force you are under. Some sensibly have no issues with cutaway instructional firearms, others don't recognise them as legitimate .

With the new deac laws, they would probably all be thrown into the defectively deactivated category.

[Roger Payne]

I had occasion to have to 'bring up to current spec' (UK/EU) several deactivated SMLE's & No4's a few months ago. I enquired at Birmingham Proof House as to what additional work would be required to make these rifles compliant with the new regulations. (They were deactivated a couple of years ago, so were compliant until the latest changes). I was told that for bolt action rifles with an intergral (non-detachable) magazine, no additional work would be required, but that rifles with detachable magazines such as the vast majority of Lee Enfields, would require a hardened steel pin to be welded transversely in place across the magazine well so as to prevent a magazine being inserted. I duly did this & obtained the new certs. In fact, a mag can be inserted if you notch out the very top of the mag casing on either side so that it will then clear the pin.

Just my experience of the recent changes FWIW. Skeletonised actions might fall foul of the 'pin' issue.

[Gil Boyd]

Roger,
I agree in principal with that, and wholly appreciate, it is the law and what has to be achieved under the recent "adendum" to it, but all the skeletons I have ever seen, have half the action sliced in two (I know we haven't seen any photos yet of what Pedro243) so one has to assume they would be accepted by virtue of their total inability to ever be made back into a "whole" weapon IMHO anyway. In short a Skeleton is better than the requirements of the DEAC laws