1942 Fazakerley No4 Mk1. Really nice rifle

[Bindi2]

Replacement parts not done by the military.

[martin08]

Replacement parts not done by the military.

Yet, here they appear on a pre-1968 import-marked gun? Perhaps Sam Cummings did the alteration (Interarmco)?

Of course, anyone could have done this while it was residing stateside in the past 50 years.

But this gun gives no 'bubba' vibes. It all looks like arsenal finish and fitting.

[Roger Payne]

Yes, or maybe a rather pale parkerising on the rearsight. If you look at the receiver where the UK 303 Brit is stamped & the paint has flaked off, the underlying surface looks slightly grey to me (mind you that might be my eyes!), which would also fit with parkerising, & which was the approved finish to go under suncorite. Rifles were bead blasted, parked & then suncorited. I just wonder if the sight got a quick dip in phosphoric acid but never got painted??

I've refinished quite a lot of No4's similarly over the years. If I can do it so can anybody else.

Forgot to mention earlier, but it's also got a Long Branch safety fitted. Plus, the refinish was obviously done before the UK 303 Brit was stamped into it, so perhaps not necessarily even done in the US??

[martin08]

Good eye. The rear sight frame and elevation riser are exactly as they appears in the photos, a very light and almost 'battleship gray' color. So, there must be a finish, and light parkerization is a possibility.

The top surface is perfectly polished, with no finish.

[mrclark303]

Just a general observation really, nice usable No4, I would suggest its been refurbished by an owner in the years since it landed on US shores.

Certainly repainted and a Singer back sight fitted, probably had the two position austerity sight fitted originally, possibly replacement wood, numbered by an old owner.

The bolt head certainly shows signs of military primer erosion, assuming its original to the rifle, it must have had good prior use.

The point being, as has been said before, 'vast' numbers of Enfield's were sold off in the late 50's and early 1960's, they have drifted around the world, from trade to owner and back for 60 plus years now, so its impossible to tell now what's original and what isn't...

Only the recent French sell off's (all seem to be original WW2 spec) and perhaps the ex Italian Navy examples are close to original 'ish' specs.

Treat it for what it is, a nice honest looking No4mk1, as long as the bore, throat and crown are good, happy days and enjoy....

[martin08]

Just a general observation really, nice usable No4, I would suggest its been refurbished by an owner in the years since it landed on US shores.

Certainly repainted and a Singer back sight fitted, probably had the two position austerity sight fitted originally, possibly replacement wood, numbered by an old owner.

The bolt head certainly shows signs of military primer erosion, assuming its original to the rifle, it must have had good prior use.

The point being, as has been said before, 'vast' numbers of Enfield's were sold off in the late 50's and early 1960's, they have drifted around the world, from trade to owner and back for 60 plus years now, so its impossible to tell now what's original and what isn't...

Only the recent French sell off's (all seem to be original WW2 spec) and perhaps the ex Italian Navy examples are close to original 'ish' specs.

Treat it for what it is, a nice honest looking No4mk1, as long as the bore, throat and crown are good, happy days and enjoy....

The pre-'68 import mark breaks through the paint. So, it was not refinished after it arrived.


Yes, it's been fired. The previous owner talked about range sessions, and the primer ring is evident. The bore is an 11-1/2 out of 10. An exaggeration, but it's really that nice.

I'll take some internal pics. No stateside refinisher has been inside, either.

Anyone have an ideas about the rear wood number in the position of sniper numbering, besides stateside? I had not seen this before.

[husk]

OP’s rifle looks to me like one of the early 1990s imports ( most certainly not a pre-1968 import) released by the British MoD. Many of these were mummy wrapped and had the serial number stamped at the wrist like this example. As mentioned, the black paint isn’t the original 1942 finish. A legit military No.4.

[martin08]

OP’s rifle looks to me like one of the early 1990s imports ( most certainly not a pre-1968 import) released by the British MoD. Many of these were mummy wrapped and had the serial number stamped at the wrist like this example. As mentioned, the black paint isn’t the original 1942 finish. A legit military No.4.

I'll take a closer look for the proper post-'68 import mark with the importer's name and address. Perhaps under the handguard? Can't take more pics until tomorrow.

[martin08]

Would there be other evidence of FTR?

Do the numbers on the bolt handle look original? It does show the A-suffix.

And just wondering if this has the original barrel. Would it be 2, 4 or 6 groove if original?

Thanks.

[Brian Dick]

I think it's honest. My guess is that it's a post 1986 rifle imported directly from the disposals unit at Donnington via Interarms in Manchester, England to Alexandria, VA. It's their import mark from that era on the bottom of the left butt socket. I bought a couple of loads of those rifles in 1990 when I first got licensed in Florida. Another established dealer and I drove to RSR Distributors in Orlando a couple of times buying 20 at a time which was all we could afford. Many were original WW2 issue rifles taken back through workshops, inspected, gauged and repaired or refinished when necessary. Some got full blown FTR treatment and are marked as such. Others just got a coat of Suncorite baked over existing finish. The woodwork was cleaned and treated with raw linseed oil. Later Interarms imports were marked with a dot matrix engraver on the front left side of the body. They came from South African reserve war stores. I bought a few hundred of them from the now defunct Ellett Brothers Distributors in Chapin, SC in 1994 after I moved to SC. There was a block of Savages, (33 to be exact), along with some early original Long Branch rifles and a sprinkling of British wartime manufactured rifles from BSA and Maltby as well. The majority were post war ROF Fazakerley Mk.1, Mk.1/2 and early Mk.2. There were some Mk.2 rifles from the first months of production. I've seen the serial number stamped on the top of the wrist before. I think the few I've seen were Maltby manufactured rifles, not that it makes a difference.