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Post here if you enjoy firing your Lee-Enfield

6K views 39 replies 24 participants last post by  warriflefan 
#1 ·
I picked one up at a gun show back in the fall. No 4, I think, 1942 Birmingham SN. Finally took it out to the range a couple weeks ago. Surprisingly nice shooter. Front sight is a little off, had to look up on line how to adjust(hammer&punch).
 
#2 ·
I used to have a Lee Enfield years ago and I did love that rifle. Had to sell it when I moved to Ma. when my Mom was dying of cancer. I'm trying to get another one now. Those .303 cartridges pack a lot of punch.
 
#3 ·
I've got a 1944 #4 MK1* LongBranch that I bought back in the late 60s for $29.95. Over the years I've used it for and taken of few deer with it. Now it just sits in the safe. Heck, I've still got some ammo for it that I bought back in the 60s and this past fall, when I could see what was coming, I bought a couple hundred more rounds "just in case".
 
#4 ·
I've got a 1944 #4 MK1* LongBranch that I bought back in the late 60s for $29.95. Over the years I've used it for and taken of few deer with it. Now it just sits in the safe. Heck, I've still got some ammo for it that I bought back in the 60s and this past fall, when I could see what was coming, I bought a couple hundred more rounds "just in case".
I think it's a pretty good "just in case" gun. 10 rd mag, and a quick bolt action. Might be in demand if semiautos become restricted.
 
#5 ·
I love mine. I have a 1943 ROF that I have taken to CMP vintage rifle comps for several years. It has seen some action and slugs at .3145, I generally use lyman 314299 for a 200 gr round nose. Even with the large bore I have found that 25 grains of 4198 under 150 grain hornady SST from grafs shoot great through my no4 and no3 at 100 yards.
 
#6 ·
My husband introduced me to shooting modern long rifles with his Mk III SMLE back when we first married over 40 years ago. Love the quick action, it's "feel" and accuracy. I've fired other rifles since but the Enfield is my first "love".

But finding surplus military .303 ammo, or even commercial, is becoming harder. And the prices! Awk!
 
#8 · (Edited)
I just love shooting my enfields! I have three different ones, a 1945 no5 mk1 from POF (F), a 1943 long branch no4 mk1*, and a 1953 RFI Ishapore no1 mk3* in .303. They are just very great guns to have and there is a lot of info on them for me to research. Too bad ammo's getting pricier but I guess I'm getting lucky with where I buy it. At gunshows I pick up privi partisan .303 for about $19-$20 a box depending on who's willing to get rid of it faster and it never lets me down at the range.
 
#9 ·
I can't post yet! It hasn't yet arrived :(
I DID love to fire the one I had back in the mid 80's though!
 
#10 ·
We (my better half and I) have three Enfields; one each No.1 Mk.III, No.4 Mk.I*, and a No.5. There's a lot of history in all of them, from the 1915 dated No.1 to the ex-Malay Federation Police No.5, and I really enjoy taking them out for range tryouts. The No.5, what with its short barrel and all, is a real blast - literally. :)
 
#12 ·
The purists will want to throw rocks at me for this, but back when there were some really nice Long Branch No.4s coming out of Canada I bought one as the basis of a match rifle project. Had a 26" medium heavy weight barrel (either Douglas or McMillan - can't remember which now) installed in .303 caliber - though the barrel maker had recommended 30/40 - mainly for the wide variety of bullets available. Buttstock was a Bishop match style - profiled along the lines of an Anschutz 54 - had to make an interesting cut in the comb in order to clear the bolt, with wide free-floating forend, handstop rail and so forth. Sights were a Redfield rear and Lyman globe front. Had all the metal parkerized, and finished the buttstock and forend with tung oil. It was a great looking rifle in an ugly as sin sort of way, and would shoot 1/2" 10 shot groups at 100yds. without even trying. In a moment of weakness I traded it off for I don't even remember what back in the early '90s. Whatever it was I'm sure it seemed like a great idea at the time.
 
#14 ·
Our little No.5 "Jungle Carbine" is a shoulder thumping (recoil pad's hardened with age) ear blaster, and can also be a real dazzler on gloomy Sitka afternoons, but I love the little beastie. When we're at the range the lady of the house generally retreats to the car to read a book when I haul it out of its case. She regularly shoots Browning .308 and Marlin .35 lever actions, which aren't the quietest things in the world, so I suppose it's the No.5's rather impressive muzzle flash that gets to her more than anything else.
 
#16 ·
They hold their own out past 500 yards. ;)

Any rifle that will group for me with tiny front sight at 100y with a 150g SP flat base is a keeper.



I also like the #4 and it will do some very good cold shots.. These are air rifle targets. It's all the rifle and the heavy 174g bullet.

 
#17 ·
I've got an old 1916 No1MkIII that gets out about once every other year. Great fun to shoot with the 174 FMJ bullets and BlC(2) powder at about 2450 FPS.

Two comments I've made a number of times on this Forum on the .303. First, a neck sizer die is the way to go with the .303s because they are tough on brass. The rifle chambers are almost always 'oversized' and you will shorten brass life a bunch if you full-length size them.

The second is directed to Kostenrave: My old rifle's bore was very dark when I bought it. I tried several jars of JB paste and hundreds of patches but I could not get it cleaned up. I finally bought a 'bore lapping' kit from Brownells in .303. After going thru the process, the bore looks MUCH better, but still a little 'frosty'. This improved the accuracy and made the barrel much easier to clean. Pretty simple process and easy to follow directions if you reload. I think the kit was something around $20 - $25 and included (as I recall) 3 grades of impregnated bullets.
 
#18 ·
I got mine a few weeks back. I love it. It will be my deer rifle this year instead of my Marlin 30/30. I posted a pic of it in another thread. :)
 
#20 ·
have several of them and love to take them out,, mine only get fed reloads,, because of the bore variations, and with chamber variations the brass is dedicated to each gun so it lasts longer..my #5 has an oversize bore so i cast 32 caliber bullets and size them down to .318 with gas checks,it is a tack driver. have taken several hogs on the monteray coast and several deer.
 
#22 ·
I'm a big fan of taking old , really old, full woody rifles to the range and clanging the steel out there at 1000 yards, you can see the heads pivoting down the range, most satisfying, not bad accurate at that range too, coudl do a 24 inch target pretty consistently, depending on wind drift and predictability.
 
#24 ·
i'm a big fan of rifles with alotta wood...
Only own four synthetic stocked long guns; 12 ga 870 Express w/18" barrel, AR-7 bathtub toy, HBAR and 582 series Mini-14. Our M1A came with a synthetic stock - that's all that was available at the time, but it's since been retrofitted with a medium heavy walnut from Springfield. Everything else is wood and blue or parkerized steel.
 
#25 ·
Somewhere, several years ago, I read a comment about the SMLE, the Mauser and our Springfield 03. It was, and I will have to paraphrase, "that during WWI, the Americans had the best target rifle, the Germans the best hunting rifle and the British the best battle rifle". I can't remember who to credit.

Also, back in 1963 my Dad bought a SMLE from Aldens mail order catalog and I distinctly remember him paying $13.00 for the rifle. His is marked U.S. Property and somewhere either he or I learned it was made by Savage, I believe. Did Savage make some for lend/lease or does anyone know the story and if Savage did in fact make some? I do know his is quite accurate and doesn't display what I've always been told is the built in excess head space of the Long Branch rifles.

Vic
 
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