303 Spoirter Mark 3 ? what up HERE ???

[reddoggm]

Got this here 303 not sure ---mark 3 ????? Have a scope rail for it But would like like to put Irons on it BUT Have a Look are the sight mounts machined off Now What ???

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Not he best Pics Just wondering if The 303 Peeps know if I should live with the Scope or Is there a reasonable set of Irons available for this Sporter chop
The DOGG!!!

[Scharfschuetze]

I won't hazard a guess on the sights, but if you look under the bolt handle, you should see the manufacturer's name or facility as well as the model number. I'd guess that it's a No 1 MkIII* as made in England given the striker knob's design. I don't see a magazine cutoff plate (could be missing-so just a guess) so it's probably a mid to late WWI production date.

At one time, you could buy AJ Parker or Parker Hale aperture rear sights that mounted on the left of the receiver in a "no gunsmith" affair fairly easily. They might be kind of hard to find anymore, but well worth the effort to do so. A front sight base for a Redfield or Lyman 17A front sight would probably best serve your purposes.

Parker Hale 5A rear sight. This one has an adjustable iris eye piece.

[reddoggm]

I will go Look under the Bolt straight away and check
Looks to me as if the mounts where removed the 3 dimples in the barrel where the rear sight used to be looks like what was left after Machining the slot on the end of the barrel looks usable for a clamp style front sight
DOGG!!!

[Scharfschuetze]

Out of curiosity I checked Ebay for a No 5a sight and yikes! It will probably cost more than your rifle did. Oh well, it was a good idea until it hit reality.

Here's a link:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Parker-Hale-PH5A-sight-for-the-Lee-Enfield-No-1-SMLE-rifle-/151034939310

[JeffinNZ]

Someone has gone to a lot of effort to get the factory sights off.

[reddoggm]

Yea thats the problem Payed a 100 got a 100 dollar rifle / 150 dollar scope Scope got bought up and had the 303 parked in the back of the closet and forgot about it until Mama reminded me I had STUFF IN HER CLOSET Bummer I hate that when I forget about MY STUFF Oh well back in the spare Room telling me I have to fix it I really hate guns that talk
DOGG!!!

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Yep, looks like a #1 with the sights removed from the barrel. The original sights for that rifle were not peep sights and you may be able to pick them up at a reasonable price. Not sure how they'll look reinstalled without the rest of the parts.

[reddoggm]

Not to familiar with the 303 I,m gonna have to find a good Parts breakdown/exploded view and check out whats missing and see if it,s worth doing or not and might put another scope back on the rail and just be done with it
DOGG!!!

BTW it does have 1915 Mark III marked on it

[reddoggm]

I see that Buymilsurp.com has a few parts like said above might end up spending more than the rifle is worth
DOGG!!!

[zuke]

Yep, that there is a No1 Mk3 Lee Enfield.

[reddoggm]

I,m wondering about that rear sight setup anyone know if those 3 dimples in the pics are still usable ? or are those machined down ?

[curator]

Williams makes a pretty serviceable receiver peep sight (5D SMLE) that fits the SMLE for around $35 from Midway or Brownells. Front sight could be a simple dove-tail post or a solder-on ramp. No need to spend more than $50 on this if you can drill and tap the receiver for the mounting screws (6X48)

[Scharfschuetze]

+1 on Curator's post.

As long as the bore is in reasonable shape, it should be a good shooting with an aperture rear sight and blade front. There are lots of threads here about making an Enfield shoot well.

As alluded to earlier, it doesn't make much sense to try and make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Try ssporters.com and e-gunparts.com Much more reasonable prices than buymilsurp.com, they're kind of a ripoff, though occasionally they have some good stuff.

[reddoggm]

Great info guys A member here just might have some milspec parts for me But if not that will be my second line of pursuing something Inexpensive to get this old Limey back to shooting with the Irons----Thanks Guys
DOGG!!!

[rondog]

I just found out about these scope mounts. Looks to be good quality. I don't know about your scope mount, I have one like that on a No.5 and the scope slides around. If you want a solid mount on your SMLE this might work well. http://addleyprecision.com/index.php?pg=1&id=1

[303Guy]

I,m wondering about that rear sight setup anyone know if those 3 dimples in the pics are still usable ? or are those machined down ?The top dimple is where the retaining screw goes and the two side dimples are there a retaining pin goes through. I have a few barrels that show the through pin hight to be different so you may have a problem fitting a replacement sight. However, it's an overkill. Just slip the sight on with some low temperature LocTite or epoxy and be done. Just align the top dimple with the screw hole. The front side has a key and a cross pin. Again, just glue the thing on. The reasoning for using low temperature glue is that it can be removed with heat. It'll also come off in battle. LocTite needs to be pretty hot to get off. Epoxy is more reasonable to get off.

The fore-end does not look original (i.e. a sporterized original). It will not accept a rear sight. I would suggest getting an original fore-end for iron sights. I'd think that fore-end to be worth more than to modify to take the sight.

[303Guy]

Something else - there is I think a peep sight available that fits on the clip charger bridge. That would make a lot more sense that the original rear sight. A suitable front sight is easy enough to get. If you can't find a clip charger bridge peep sight you could ask goodsteel to build you one. Ask him what it would cost you. Failing that you could modify an original sight so it fits on top of the barrel and solder that on (or if you can clean out the threads then screw and glue it on. Or screw and solder - that's how the MLE's were done).

[MBTcustom]

You don't want one of my sights adorning that rifle. It would be much cheaper to buy one like in the link. LOL!
If it were mine, I would buy one of these:
http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/sights/rear-sights/wgrs-receiver-sights-prod16154.aspx
Buy the one for the modern Knight muzzle loader (it has a flat bottom).
Draw file both the bridge and the bottom of the sight perfectly flat.
Clean them very very well (as in do a water break test. Don't know how? PM me.)
Wind .005 fishing line around the action so that it lays over the rear bridge with a line spacing about the width of a toothpick. This will set a perfect bondline.
Mix up some JB Weld and apply a thin coat to the bottom of the sight and the top of the bridge.
Set the sight on there so that the epoxy mixes and wets together.
Put that single screw in there an scronk it down snugly.
Take a few moments to make for darn sure that sight is running straight (it's only being held by one screw remember.)
Once the epoxy is starting to harden, use an x-acto knife to trim the epoxy and the fishing line on either side of the sight base, and peel the epoxy off.
If you do it like I said, it will look sharp, you will see no epoxy, it will hold on like used car salesman, and work like a charm.

Once all this is done, nothing will be coming apart unless you use a torch to weaken the epoxy, so please dry build this before gluing it.

That's the cheap way to cut to the chase, and it won't look too bad either.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Reddoggm,

Lots of options there but these old girls are a heap of fun with original sights or at least target range sights. I can probably find you a front sight, key and cross pin to hold it all on. I also have a spare range plate and long trigger guard screw to mount an aperature sight. PM your requirements!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/LE1900RearSight_zps58e9de61.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/LE1900RearSight_zps58e9de61.jpg.html)

[303Guy]

There is an epoxy putty which is real strong but can't take too much heat that doesn't need close fitting parts but is a little tricky to to get 'invisible' but being a putty it can be worked with wetted fingers to a fairly nice finish.

I must say though that seeing as the gun came with a scope base, why not fit a scope and enjoy? I would glue the base down so it won't move. The trick is to lightly tighten the screws then once the epoxy has set, to tighten them fully. My mini-14 got a scope mount that required epoxy to mate the two surfaces and that was the instructions. It worked! The base only had one front and one rear screw. It never moved in the twenty years I had that rifle. Mind you, I did use a high strength epoxy. It wasn't JB Weld but I have used that and it is good stuff.