BSA 1918 no1 mk3*

[leebuilder]

Had one good day this week i was not snowblowing. So i went for a walk with this hot brunette. When i bought it a few years back it was a sporter. Restored it with new and recycled parts
Had at the paper with some 6.5 gr Red Dot loads
First time is shot her with boolits, she would not group after the restoration, found the lower handguard was causing to much tension on the barrel. A zinging sharp chiesl and some sand paper fixed it real good.
129865
FTR marking
129866
snowy
129867
full lenght hottie shot

[leebuilder]

Barrel marking
129869

[Multigunner]

Best made SMLE I've ever fired is a 1918 BSA. The company was a class act and made many fine sporting rifles and target rifles based on the Lee Enfield actions, and near as I can tell that high level of quality carried over to their milspec Enfields as well.

[Scharfschuetze]

That's a nice restoration job!

My first Enfield was a mail order rifle before the GCA of 1968. It was a BSA No 1 Mk III* dated to the Great War and if memory serves, it was also made in 1918.

[atr]

good looking Brunette !:-P

[303Guy]

Beautiful Brunette! :mrgreen:

If a rifle could be sexy, the SMLE would be it! (Even with her strange nose).

[dualsport]

I ordered a cocking piece (?) from Numrich a while back for a fixer upper. It was the old style like yours. I'm not sure I'm remembering the terminology right. When and why did they change it? I like mine, makes for a nicer look.

[Multigunner]

When and why did they change it?
Around 1915 they began looking for production short cuts and a flat sided cocking piece was cheaper and faster to manufacture.
They used up the available round button cocking pieces and sometimes replaced the flat cocking piece with whatever round pieces were still in stock as spare parts or stripped from damaged rifles, so you can find SMLE rifles of any time period with either of these cocking pieces.
The prototype and field trial versions of the No.4 rifles (No.1 MkVI rifles) also had round button cocking pieces, but once again the flat cocking piece became the norm to speed up production.

An even cheaper No.4 cocking piece without a half cock notch is occasionally found but most were replaced when a rifle was serviced.

The 1918 BSA I mentioned had the flat cocking piece.

[leebuilder]

It is normal to see the flat style cocking piece on refurbed No 1rifles. This one came with button style cocking piece, it does give it a cleaner/oldschool look and it is an original configuration. They are getting hard to find.

[mrrch]

Leebuilder you have any leads on a replacement fore stock and front hand guard for a #1 mkIII?
PITA ordering from US.

[leebuilder]

Got them from Numrich.
The fittings came from Libertytree collector