303 British - should I buy it?

[retread]

Found a 303 British. Nice condition, good bore, crisp action. Overall in really nice condition. The stock has been refinished and no longer has a top wood guard on the barrel. Butt plate is original. The forward end of the stock may have been reshaped to give in more of a sporter look but I do not know enough about the different model of the 303's to say for sure. Guy is asking $150 which includes of new box of ammo.

[richhodg66]

I think it would be worth at least $150 as a shooter. I kind of like them to be stock, but sporterized will still be fun and the .303 Brit is a good cartridge.

[texaswoodworker]

Found a 303 British. Nice condition, good bore, crisp action. Overall in really nice condition. The stock has been refinished and no longer has a top wood guard on the barrel. Butt plate is original. The forward end of the stock may have been reshaped to give in more of a sporter look but I do not know enough about the different model of the 303's to say for sure. Guy is asking $150 which includes of new box of ammo.
Sporterized or not, I'd buy it at that price. They are absolutely wonderful guns. Id actually like to find a cheap sporterized one and customize it some day. I have a US made in in full military dress and its staying that way. I paid $300 for mine.

[Remiel]

Sporterized or not, I'd buy it at that price. They are absolutely wonderful guns. Id actually like to find a cheap sporterized one and customize it some day. I have a US made in in full military dress and its staying that way. I paid $300 for mine.
+1 I agree, if the wife did not tell me no more guns I would grab it, but alas, no more toys for a while

[pworley1]

The price seems to be fair enough. As long as the metal has not been changed, replacing the wood is not a big problem.

[303Guy]

Buy it!

Is it a P-14, No4 or an SMLE?

http://www.home-guard.org.uk/hg/pics/p14-25.gif
http://www.thespecialistsltd.com/files/SM-Lee-Enfield-Rifle-No4.jpg
http://tspwiki.com/images/3/38/Smle.jpg

[retread]

Buy it!

Is it a P-14, No4 or an SMLE?


http://www.home-guard.org.uk/hg/pics/p14-25.gif
http://www.thespecialistsltd.com/files/SM-Lee-Enfield-Rifle-No4.jpg
http://tspwiki.com/images/3/38/Smle.jpg

Don't know. I'm going back tomorrow to check it out some more. Will I be able to tell by the serial number and the country of manufacture. In other words what do I look for to tell. Do they state model number on them. It is obvious I know nothing about 303's by my questions that why I need help.

Thanks

[John Allen]

I would grab it up they are great guns

[troyboy]

At 150$ your buying an action. What can you you buy for that today. You should be posting pictures not asking questions.

[funnyjim014]

Buy it. Anything that is in good working condition is min 150 bucks. If the barrel is stock and not cut down finding the missing/modified wood might be worth looking in to. If the metal has been messed with prob only going to be shooter but the good news is it prob cant go down it value

[seaboltm]

Buy it for $150, sell it to me for $175. You will make a profit. :shock:

[W.R.Buchanan]

I say buy it too. if the stocks have been altered it is likely a Parker Hale Sporter. one of these. see pic.

If the barrel is 22" it is the "Deluxe Sporter" and if the barrel is 25" it is probably the Standard Sporter.

I have one of both types and I paid $200 for each one.

Randy

[pietro]

Don't know. I'm going back tomorrow to check it out some more.

Will I be able to tell by the serial number and the country of manufacture.

what do I look for to tell.

Do they state model number on them.



IIRC, if's a S.M.L.E., most of the info you need will be stamped into the side(s) of the receiver and/or butt socket - but, at that price, you should buy it in a NY Minute, regardless of which model it is.

AFAIK, if the rear sight is barrel mounted, it's a WWI gun; if mounted on the rear of the receiver, it's WWII vintage - similar to the way US Springfield rifles were sighted.

http://thearmouryonline.co.uk/ident01.jpghttp://www.allaboutenfields.co.nz/wp-content/gallery/ishapore/wrist-marking-gri.jpg

If it has a cone-shaped flash hider @ the muzzle, RUN (do not walk) back & snatch it up, since if might be a Jungle Carbine !

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/British-Lee-Enfield-No.png

http://www.firearmsales.com.au/images/articles/junglecarbine/Action%20markings.JPG


.

[retread]

Sight is receiver mounted. Looks like the No.5 from what I recall. Butt plate is brass.

[CHeatermk3]

Grab it!

[gpidaho]

I bought a Golden States Santa Fe 303 sporter about six months ago for $125. The rifle is a great old gun, I really like it. I say buy that 303, You'll be glad you did. GP

[Outpost75]

No sound, shootable. 303 at $150 is a mistake. Grab it!

[leebuilder]

No brainer, worth 150.00$ even as a wall hanger or parts.

[Mgderf]

I would buy it at that price, even though I have one now I don't shoot much.
I traded labor for my 1945 Lithgow SMLE about 4 years ago.
My labor costs were less than $200.

It's a fun gun to shoot, and someday I'd like to try the British "Mad-Minute" drill, but as of now I have a limited supply of .303 British ammo. Most of it is new, factory offerings, but I found some surplus at an auction some time back that is loaded with Cordite!
I had no idea small arms were loaded with what I had always thought was considered "High-Explosives".

I haven't loaded any yet, but I did buy a set of dies at auction, so someday...

[Multigunner]

Most of it is new, factory offerings, but I found some surplus at an auction some time back that is loaded with Cordite!
I had no idea small arms were loaded with what I had always thought was considered "High-Explosives".

The term cordite is still occasionally used for some types of blasting sticks.
Nobel created several nitroglycein based explosives besides Dynamite. Gelignite had the same nitro content percentage as Cordite mkI at 58%, the major difference being the material used to gel and stabilize the nitroglycerine. Abel and Dewar used nitro-cellulous as a combined stabilizer and energetic component.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The sight on the receiver sounds like the No4 (chiefly Second World War) Lee-Enfield, or its shortened Jungle Carbine No5 version. They tend, more than the earlier Lee-Enfields, to have oversize bores and chambers. But the bores particularly, the handloader can make work well with larger diameter bullets.

Cordite was an excellent propellant, not at all likely to behave like gelignite, but it was very erosive indeed. So you should take a pencil flashlight, mirrors etc. to get a good look at the rifling just ahead of the chamber. (a bit of broken CD makes a fine mirror.) Yes, $150 is a great bargain for almost any Lee-Enfield nowadays, even if you have to rebarrel. But if you lose money, you can get back some other money later, which is just as good. But if you lose time it is gone forever. Only you can decide whether amateur gunsmithing is a pitfall or a labour of love.

The only other of these rifles with an aperture sight on the receiver (other than some VERY rare experimental versions of the First World War SMLE or No1, would be the P14. This isn't a Lee-Enfield at all, being an adaption of the Mauser with locking lugs at the front of the bolt. I used one to build my favourite sporting rifle once, a heavy .300 H&H, but it is a long way from my favourite as-issued rifle.

[Remiel]

Have you bought it yet? if yes pictures please, if no... why not?

[richhodg66]

For what it's worth, I stopped by a shop today where I have a pretty good relationship with the owner and he is generally pretty fair on prices. Had a sporterized Lee Enfield, not a particularly nice one, but one I'm sure would be the basis for a decent hunting rifle with a little work priced at $299.

I could get it for less, but I think your price of $150 is pretty good. I think you should get it if you can.

[HABCAN]

Regardless of which exact model it is, BUY IT at that price!! If it's a run-of-the-mill edition, you just got a real bargain.....and if it's one of the 'others' in good shape, you got the deal of a lifetime. Then post us some pictures, K??

[Dan Cash]

Can you afford it? If so, buy it. The box of ammo brings the price down to $125 or there abouts. I don't get to shoot my SMLEs that much but love them all. They are superior battle rifles, surpassed in their day only by the Garand (sp?).

[retread]

I called the guy today and told him I would take it. Funds are a bit short so I told him I would be by tomorrow with $60 and give him the rest within a week or two. He was fine with that so I guess I will be the new owner shortly. As soon as I get it I will send good pics. Might take a couple tomorrow but the camera I will have to take isn't the best so they probably won't be the best quality pics. Now I will have to keep an eye out for dies and a mold!

[Silfield]

Congratulations retread,
I hope you enjoy your new rifle. I had a 1944 Longbranch No.4 that I sold a couple of years ago to fund another rifle-regret it to this day! Must start saving my pennies for another Enfield but it will probably be an SMLE next time.
If you need to get any 'new' furniture or parts for it and are having trouble sourcing them please give me a shout as they may be a bit easier to get hold of over here.

[WILCO]

Congrats! Would like to see pics.

[SSGOldfart]

I've not read it all but if it was me I'd buy them try to find out what I got,jmo

[retread]

135522135523135524135525135526

Well I bit the boolit and brought it home. Bore is pretty good but some ***** sawed off the very end of the barrel just forward of the front sight. Bad hacksaw job. Made a gage on my lathe so I can file it flat and true with the bore then will machine a brass lapping tool with pilot to complete the crown job. Once that is done I think she will be ready for a try out at the range. Came with a new box of Winchester loads marked $36.99 (ouch). Glad I cast. It is a No. 4 Mark 1 made in England in 1943.

[Mgderf]

If it shoots as good as it looks, you got one heck of a deal!

[cuzinbruce]

You did fine for the price. Should be fun to shoot it.

[leebuilder]

Fix up the muzzle then clean it up, and heat up that barrel!!!. Looks good, looks like a proper sling too.
2 groove?

[KLR]

but some ***** sawed off the very end of the barrel just forward of the front sight. Bad hacksaw job.

Yes, but if it wasn't for that ***** you wouldn't have a $150 rifle to play with. Now you can enjoy making it what you want without worrying about hurting a collectible rifle.

Nice find!

[docone31]

Looks like an L42 minus scope and top wood.
Looks like a good buy.

[retread]

Yes, but if it wasn't for that ***** you wouldn't have a $150 rifle to play with. Now you can enjoy making it what you want without worrying about hurting a collectible rifle.

Nice find!

Thanks for putting things in the proper perspective. You are absolutely right!

[303Guy]

Great buy! It looks really nice.

I filed a hacksaw job square using a set square as a guide. It came out quite good and shot well. With a lathe I simply cut the crown square with a recess using a steady. That way any minor error in concentricity won't affect it.

[texaswoodworker]

You done good. Put a few rounds through it and you'll be hooked for life. ;)

[Artful]

Good deal - I think you'll be pleased

[Ballistics in Scotland]

It's a pity about the muzzle, but if everything was perfect you wouldn't have got it for $150.

It would appear not to have one of the things I don't like about late wartime No4s. That is a drawn steel barrel which is shrink-fitted into a short threaded stub, and secured with a pin. Many of them work about as well as any other barrel, but they occasionally loosen up.

A major snag with the No4 is that some have oversize groove diameters. It may be no problem for the handloader, who can find larger bullets or size down those made for the S-bore (.318) Mauser 8x57, or even give a better march of neck to chamber diameters. But this reverses the usual order with manufacturing deficiencies, by being less common in late wartime rifles than earlier ones.

[armstrong]

nice deal....you'll have fun...

[W.R.Buchanan]

You done good,,, and your gun looks very much like mine did when I got it. Mine is also a BSA made in 1943.

That is a homemade Enfield Sporter probably of Canadian origin.

The sawed off barrel is also pretty common also so as to remove the bayonet lugs that the barrel normally has. I think the Canucks or someone else did this to get around a no bayonet law someone has.

I would bet your gun has a 5 groove barrel and I would also bet that it is right on size at .303 bore and .313 grooves.

You can make a .303 brass plug to try in the bore and if it is a nice tight slip fit measure with your calipers across from one land to one groove (5 grooves you kind of have to do it this way.) and if the measurement is .308 then that means the groove dia. is .313. .303+.005+.005=.313.

If you can chuck that barreled action up in your lathe and support the action end somehow I believe I would face that barrel that way. Slowly of course. I have actually had my brother hold onto a long piece and act as a steady rest while I faced the end. Oil his hands!

Here is a link to a video about sighting in your gun, Canadian Ranger style,,, and you'll notice the guy's gun looks just like yours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTYsL_1P0Gc

I would recommend a Limbsaver Slip On Recoil Pad,,, size Medium. Available from Walmart for $25 or Basspro for $40. Try Walmart first.

I went down this same road about 9 months ago and the gun has been very rewarding to play with and shoot. lots to learn.

here's a link to my thread here at Cast Boolits.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?251781-New-Project-Enfield-Mk4-1

Lots of good info there from lots of Enfield Lovers around the world.

Randy