Last Friday I bought an Enfield .303 Brit complete with Bayonet. No rear iron sight, but it has a Scope mounted on it. No dings or dents on the stock. One 10rd magazine and a full box of Federal Classic .303 Brit ammo 180gr Sierra Pro Hunter bullets.
Total Cost $200.0.
That's a beauty, you did great. I have grown very tired of black plastic guns.
Cargo
Good buy! That would bring $500 in some locations.
DG
Very nice example there. A shame you don't live next door I could give you a rear sight. Regards Stephen
Liberty Tree Collectors should have the milled rear sight plus the axis pin and the tiny pin that goes through a hole in the axis pin in place after the sight is installed. Frank
A spring and detent will also be required.Originally Posted by samari46
Service members, veterans and those concerned about their mental health can call the Veterans Crisis Line to speak to trained professionals. To talk to someone, call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, send a text message to 838255 or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there is help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, text a crisis counselor at 741741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Looks like an Irish #4 that was imported new, in cosmoline, around 25 yrs ago. Beautiful rifle.
When you order the sight, ask for a sight marked with an "F" for the Fazakerly (sp?) armory where those late No.4s were made. Shouldn't be hard to get since Fazakerly made most of the parts for repair, storage, etc. for the last several years such parts and rifles were made.
I think that scope might be a tad undersized for the round......
Please tell us that's an SK no-gunsmithing mount on that rifle (or something similar) and Bubba didn't drill and tap the receiver for scope mounts. Just about every other part on that rifle can be sourced for restoration. But there's no changing a drilled receiver.
Who was the manufacturer, serial number prefixes, etc.?
As somebody said, it looks like it might be one of the Irish Contract No. 4's that started hitting the shores about 30 years ago. If you got really lucky in other ways, it's a pristine Long Branch from the last of the best, 1950 and a few others over the next few years as parts were used up prior to switching to manufacturing the FN FAL. Leisurely rifle manufacturing, rather than the rush during the exigencies of war.
There's a huge collection of Lee Enfield collectors, along with their knowledgebase library, over on the Milsurps forum. They can tell you what the proper rear sight would be for the rifle once they know manufacturer and year from the serial number prefix. As well as whether or not it's the right bayonet if it's collector grade (i.e. not drilled and tapped).
Just as a shooter, that there is a pretty good deal at $200 all in. Last time I saw an original, as new, No. 4 Mk.1 magazine, I think it had a $70 price tag on it.
I'm not really a collector, but I do have a very deep interest in No. 4 Mk1* rifles in particular. Especially when they're able to be set up for some serious long range shooting.
You know the drill on case preparation, resizing, etc?
Privi Partisan currently makes the best .303 British cases available since the Greek HXP surplus dried up. Life is much easier for Lee Enfield owners when they start with good brass, properly prepare it, and then properly resize after firing.
Last edited by MOC031; 12-20-2020 at 01:41 PM.
Tell us about your rifle's rear sight, MOC031.
DG
I want to know about that rear sight also!
Death to every foe and traitor and hurrah, my boys, for freedom !
+3 I've never seen anything like that.
As to price, I've been swindled! I paid more than 5 times that for an unissued #4 mk II and it doesn't look any better than the picture posted by MOCO31. Now people are going to say I've got more money than sense. They may be right and I don't have any money.
John
W.TN
I got one of those several years back. Quite the dilemma, take it out of the armory paper and clean out the cosmiline or not. (I decided they are tools made to be used.)
I got lucky years ago and picked up an Un Fired #4Mk 2 for under $200.00.
Been offered $1000.00 for it still in the same condition.
Five years before that I found an almost mint #4 mk1* for less than $100.00.
I think you did good on the price.
Now , I am talking about over 30 years ago when I lived in California.
In fact , I had to wait two weeks after the Rodney King Riots were over for them to release the mk1 to me since I purchased it the day before the riots started.
Good deal that should give you many years of enjoyment.
I have a soft spot for the old LE's from the turn of last century, these BSA 1900, Sparkbrook 1901, LSA 1902 manufacture.
Hold Still Varmint; while I plugs Yer!
That is a Parker Hale PH4 target sight that was popular in the shootier Commonwealth nations (i.e. England, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia) after the No. 4 Mk1 replaced the earlier Lee Enfield variants during WWII. The issue sight on my 1950 Long Branch is the final variant, a sliding rear aperture with stops at corresponding yardages, versus the earlier thumbscrew vernier models that could be finely adjusted for elevation. The sliding variant is a fine sight, and works just fine when using the Commonwealth issue ball ammo from 1910 to current day (in a few remaining places), the Mark VII, a 174 gr spitzer at 2,440 fps. But for handloads (or cast bullets), the fixed range graduations don't always work so great, especially if you're shooting at distance. And properly set up Lee Enfields will REALLY shoot at distance.
The issue sight is graduated to 1300 yards; the PH4 vernier offers 1,000 yards of elevation if using Mk VII ball ammunition and +/- 30 minutes of windage. One thing that distinguishes it from the later PH5 and the much more famous A.J. Parker target sights is the PH4 is a direct drop in replacement for the service rear sight. You simply pull the retaining pin out of the sight cross bolt, pull out the service sight and drop in the PH4, then back goes the cross bolt and insert the retaining pin. Folds down exactly like the service sight does, keeping it out of the way.
The rear sight disc came with the PH4, but was also sold separately as a PH Model 53 (if I remember the designation correctly). It offers six different size apertures to choose from, depending on the light conditions of the day.
This is an excellent sight design - you would expect that a folding target sight would be of questionable rigidity and expect to see that show itself once you get out to around 600 yards or so. But Parker Hale knew what they were doing. I fired my rifle with this sight right after firing a DCRA conversion with an A.J. Parker Twin Zero, on the same day using Greek HXP ball, at 600 yards. My 20 round grouping for the two rifles were indistinguishable.
Parker Hale's advertising copy when they introduced the sight in 1946:
The PARKER-HALE MODEL 4 APERTURE BACKSIGHT
For the No. 4 Mk. 1 Rifle
Officially approved by the National Rifle Association
This compact and neatly designed aperture backsight was introduced at the 1946 Bisley Meeting, where it was welcomed because it was the one thing needed to make the new No. 4 Mark 1 into a target rifle, suitable for use in N.R.A. (S.R. class b) competitions. As illustrated and originally sold there was no windage zeroing adjustment, but now all sights have a neat adjustable windgauge scale plate. It has the usual vernier elevation and windgauge movements combined with distinct 2 minute clicks. The eyepiece gives a choice of six apertures from .03" to .08". Being designed to displace the Service aperture backsight it can be fixed by the removal and replacement of the sight axis pin.
It is a part of the design that this and its military counterpart are sights pivoted and retained in the up or down position by the action of a spring loaded plunger operating on the foot of the leaf. On recoil the sight is forced out of the vertical position but recovers due to the operation of the spring and plunger.
It is, therefore, essential that complete freedom of movement at the hinge should be assured by careful fitting in the first place and a simple test may be imposed by pushing the sight forward 10º and allowing it to recover its vertical position noting the complete absence of friction and the recovery of the sight to the correct upright position.
Since these sights must of necessity be fitted to rifles made under the stress of war conditions in various factories, it may be essential to ease the excess metal from the pivotal points on the rifle, with another feature to note carefully is the fit of the plunger in its guide hole. With proper attention paid to these details, this model PH.4. need never be blamed for its shortcomings as an aperture sight of excellent merit and serviceability.
I like the sight much better than my brother's A.J. Parker that is rigidly affixed with screws to the left hand side of the receiver, both because it essentially folds out of the way when not in use and isn't as likely to be knocked about... and because it looks much more elegant to my eyes. But I can see why many competitive shooters preferred the guaranteed rigidity of the other Parker Hale and A.J. Parker variants that were fixed in place with screws to the receiver.
The Greeks made some very fine ball ammunition. If you can find some, you should at least buy some to give you an idea of what your original condition Lee Enfield is capable of with ball ammunition.
Thanks for that write up on the sight, MOC031. Maybe the Forum Staff will make it a "sticky" as that is a lot of good information.
I wonder...in the information they refer the sight as being suitable for the National Rifle Assn. Are they talking about our NRA or the British version?
I have a sizeable accumulation of Lee Enfields myself, including two perhaps unfired Long Branch late production models. I think that they were still the No.4 Mk. I version. I've always preferred the No.1 Mk. III model myself, but would be hard put to offer a coherent reason for that preference. I have several British No.1s and several Indian No.1s--but the Aussie Lithgow always eluded my grasping fingers. This is some of my No. 1 accumulation, but I've never assembled the No.4s for a group photo.
I did take a photo of just this one No.4 Mk. 1/2 (arsenal converted from a Mk. 1 to a Mk. 2).
You're spot on about the high quality of the Greek .303 ammo. I bought several hundred rounds of it when it was available, and just last year acquired about 500 once-fired empties from another Forum member. So, I'm set for life with .303 ammo to reload. I've had pretty good luck with the Lee mold. I also use RCBS dies dating back to the 1970s.
Not wanting to ruin the day of pure collectors, but I also have several sporterized No.1s, but only one No.4. Here and there I encountered Lee Enfields that had already passed through the hands of Bubba and couldn't be put back to as-issued without installing new barrels (not always easy to find) so I finished the jobs, and they came out very nicely. A No. 1 sporter was my last project, completed a couple of months ago, and it may actually be my last L.E. project as there are no more waiting and no desire to acquire more.
Great rifles, one and all.
DG
thanks for your write up regarding the Parker Hale rear sight.
much appreciated.
I have about 500 rds left of the Greek manufactured .303 ball ammunition. It IS good ammunition.
atr
Death to every foe and traitor and hurrah, my boys, for freedom !
Posting Permissions
| BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
| BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
| BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
| HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
| LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
| GC | Gas Check |
Reply With Quote