got a "new" rifle....

[bell]

my friend timmy (on leave from iraq) is currently driving south from syracuse ny after a stop by my dads to pick up my new rifle......
it's a Lee-Enfield 303, not sure exactly which one it is but here's a wiki link....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee-Enfield

i remember shooting this when i was younger at the old mans cabin.....should be fun at the local range in the forest

pics to come, i'll be meeting up with timmy around x-mas

[steve185]

Those are great rifles, you can find one in almost every rural house hold in Canada. There should be a date on the side of it. Mine was made in 1917. The same rifle was made in several versions and used by the Canadians and British in both world wars. Our armed forces still use them in the arctic as they don't freeze up and are so reliable.

[BeerBurner]

Nice!

I'd love to get my hands on one of those someday.

BB.

[tabs]

Just sold mine, that was made at the Australian Lihgow factory in 42. It was in AS NEW condition...for $275.00.

Needless to say I think it went way cheap...one can never predict an auctions outcome. Around $450 would have been about right.

All in all I broke even on that gun...so it wasn't another diaster.

[Jeff Higgins]

In WWI, it was said:

The Germans went to war with a hunting rifle.
The Americans went to war with a target rifle.
The British went to war with a battle rifle.

It ain't the prettiest or most accurate bolt gun ever made, but by far one of the best for its intended purpose. Very cool rifles, really. Good score - looking forward to some pics.

[kmhemi]

They are good guns. I have a 1942 Model 4 MK1 that is stamped US PROPERTY on it. I've had it since I was a kid. My uncle gave it to me. I need to find a 10 RD magazine for it. mine has gotten misplaced over the years.

[imcarthur]

I learned to shoot with a Lee-Enfield .22 training rifle at the range at the Royal Military College in Kingston. Nice memories.

Ian

[varmint]

for years, every time someone owed me fifty or one hundred bucks they'd offer to give some old basket case barn gun in payment. i have a ton of crap, but two enfields. one is the standard mark 1, the other is a short barreled thing that i am told is a jungle model.

i actually prefer the sights on the enfield to those on the mauser k98. much easier to acquire a target. and the gun is tough enough to use as a club. surplus ammo used to be everywhere. now it's getting kind of expensive. hardly ever shoot them anymore.


p.s. spare magazines are a pain to come by. the british were so cheap that they only issued one mag per rife. the soldiers were expected to use stripper clips.

[bell]

finally got around to taking some pics.....
took it to the range last weekend, sent 40 rounds through it (at $30 per box of 20.....i have since found a cheaper source for ammo)......
at a 100 yards i was grouping at about 6 inches,

shoots very nice, never jammed, and has a hell of a kick to it
looks well used but still very solid

here are some pics....

[azasadny]

Nice rifle, my friend in CA has one and I just sent him 50 rounds of .303 British that I bought at a gun show from a reputable dealer. You may want to start reloading, so you can afford to shoot it more...

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm no expert on Lee Enfields, but here is what little I do know. The Number 4 Mark 2 rifle had some changes from the Number 4 Mark 1 that were meant to speed production and lower costs. The Number 4 rifle was the last major change; I think it was conceived in the late '30's and finally got into soldiers' hands in the early '40's, like around '42. I'm not sure if there were any changes after the Mark 2. The British kept track of significant changes with a rifle number roll to the next higher, and minor changes with the "Mark X" suffix. The Mark 4 was the best "Smelly" - SMLE, or Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield of them all. Cool rifle.

These things have never been known for their accuracy. It should do way better than 6" at 100 yards, though. Maybe that replacement Ramline stock is not bedded properly, the scope mounts may be loose, or there is damage at the crown from being cleaned from the muzzle. etc. It would be worth giving it the cursory once-over just to look for the obvious. A good Number 4 rifle should shoot into 3"-4" with service ammo.

[bell]

understand that i'm not a marksman.....the most range play i've had over the past 10 years is with my 22 rifle at a short range.
my bud timmy is back from iraq and he was getting a much closer group than i was, maybe 3" at 100 yards.......my point was it's easy to pick up and shoot the thing accurately

[2Tight]

I would love to add an good Enfield to my mil-surp collection. They are well made but much pricier to shoot than my Mosin-Nagant M44 or Russian SKS. Both the Mosin and SKS are more accurate than the Enfields I've fired unless I fired a bad one. I would also love to find a nice Yugo Mauser M48 or Finnish M39 version.

[jerryw]

You should also not store it cocked as shown in the pictures in the gun case.

[on2wheels52]

$100 gun now that it's been re-stocked and drilled for a scope.
Jim

[bell]

not worried about what it's worth........i was shooting this rifle when i was 10 years old and my dad handed it over......

it was cocked after a thorough cleaning when i took the pics.....so it wasn't like that for long.....

found a good source for cheap ammo, $14 per 20, not going to get into reloading myself, the last thing i need is for the wifey to ***** about having gunpowder around........still smoothing her over from my motorcycle purchase

[futuresoptions]

You'll shot your eye out.. You'll shoot your eye out...

[bell]

if do that with this i won't be around any longer

[futuresoptions]

Lol, nice rifle there Bell, Enjoy!