Enfield No4 MkI*

[rjathon]

A friend inherited an Enfield No 4 Mk I* that is just a barreled action. The barrel, receiver, and action all have the same serial #. The sights are missing but there is a Lyman front sight sweated on. The bolt and action are in great shape but the barrel has some surface rust and the bore appears to have some rust also.

It is marked "US Property" on the receiver.

He has no interest in the gun and wants to get rid of it.

Does it have any value and how should he sell it?

Thanks,

Russ

[Bloodman14]

Offer him $100.00 for it and hit GunPartsCorp. (e-gunparts). Get the furniture, reassemble it and start shooting!

[Hardcast416taylor]

That is the model that Savage made for the Brits at the early stages of WW 2. I agree offer up to $100 ( due to add ons and condition) then do a bit of searching (not hard really to find most of the missing parts) and you`ll have a nice shooter.Robert

[Multigunner]

With surface rust, bore rust and missing sights the barreled action isn't woth 100 bucks as it is.

If the barrel has been shortened its not restorable to milspec, and if still full length cost of restoration in that state would be prohibitive.

If the bore cleaned up nicely I might go 60-75 bucks, for use as basis for a sporter, but in this condition there may be hidden issues so I'd be taking a chance on it at that price.
A rifle fired even a few times using corrosive ammo, then left to rust might or might not be salvageable.
At best once finished you'd have a sporter with a rusty bore with some level of pitting.

A project gun, but not the best place to start as a project.
Complete Sporters with no rust can often be found for 150 bucks or less, some in condition that would allow restoration at minimal outlay.

[rjathon]

The bore actually cleaned up fairly easily and is bright and shiny with strong rifling. It measures around 22" so it must have been shortened. There is also a nice aftermarket buttstock. The rust on the outside of the barrel, while bad, could most likely be polished away. I think all that it needs is a magazine and the front top and bottom piece of wood and it will be a very nice sporter.

I looked at Numrich Arms and then www.ssporters.com and the latter had the best prices on parts. A new rear sight was about $6 I think and I don't know what the missing wood pieces are called to know how to order them. The Lyman sight that is sweated on the front is very nice and well done and it does have a steel Redfield sight on the rear which is rusty but might clean up nice.

I'm a bit surprised that the bore is so nice as the outside of the barrel has some nasty rusty spots but all in all this dirty rusted thing has the makings of a very nice sporter without too much work involved. If I can replace the missing stock pieces cheaply it would be a nice rifle in the end. It would be nice to surprise him with a nice shooter.

It is better to be a good friend than to get a good deal on something that a friend undervalued.

Russ

[leadman]

The aftermarket synthetic sporter stocks are not very expensive, think around $80. J&G Sales should have this on their website.

[BruceB]

Good grief, guys.

I take a backseat to NOBODY when it comes to affection for the #4 Mk1 Rifle, but there are plenty of excellent examples available for very reasonable prices.

Just this week, I bought a PRISTINE Long Branch (Canadian) #4 for well under $300, and the same shop had a couple more in somewhat lesser condition for a lower price. My rifle looks UNTOUCHED, and is perhaps the best Long Branch I've ever seen....and I have seen a LOT of them.

When nice ones can be had for not a whole lot more, why start out with a badly-flawed specimen (rust, pits, missing parts)?

[rjathon]

I'm with Bruce. I found the needed parts at Numrich for $42.

I'll take off that sweet Redfield receiver sight and hopefully restore it and put it to better use and return the rifle spiffed up and ready to go to my friend. He will get a nice shooter and I'll have a nice sight.

Russ

[Multigunner]

Remember that due to action body flex the front sight base of the Lee Enfields including the No. 4 are offset to the left to compensate.
I suspect that less offset or no off set would be needed with a shortened barrel, but the only way to find out is to see where it prints compared to a bore sighted alignment.

The L sights are a lot cheaper than the ladder style, and a lot of savage rifles used the L sight.

Since the bore cleaned up fine its likely worth more than I would have put in it based on the previous description.
As described I had not expected a butt stock and was wondering if the stock bolt was present.

Sounds like this will make an excellent sporter afterall.

[wallenba]

Numrich also buys parts. Just another option.

[CALGOUGERS.NET]

I can never find a cheap enfield anything. Even sporterized ones people ask 250 in my area. Pass. It will come one day just have to be patient