Re: .303 Advice
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:57 pm
Adam
pukkabundhooks has a few Le Enfields for sale on his web site.
pukkabundhooks has a few Le Enfields for sale on his web site.
Be very wary of certain dealers, not named in this thread so far, who make a big song and dance about selling "as new" Enfields with "new" barrels and woodwork. These are effectively cut-and-shut jobs lashed together out of any old spare parts knocking about and no thought for ensuring parts are correctly fitted to each other other than as needed to pass proof. The "new" barrels, going by what I've observed from looking at these rifles, appear to be old barrels stripped of the original finish, Parkerised and then given a quick-and-dirty "recrowning" job, which looks like it's done with a hand drill and a brass screw. Parkerisation was not an original finish for the No.4 Enfield - it's probably wise to steer clear of these.
With that said on parkerised Enfields, Australian International Arms built a batch of modernised No.4 and No.5 Enfields. These seem fairly expensive and, going by reviews, vary in quality. The advantage is they come in .308", 7.62x39 and other such calibres and are designed to be loaded with magazines like modern rifles, rather than charger-loaded as the original was.
You may come across rebarrelled No.4 Enfields with (genuinely) new Lothar Walther barrels. Compared to an original, these have a slightly sharper chamfer (at about 45 degrees) at the muzzle end. I'm told these shoot very well. Speaking of barrels, there are 4-, 5- and 6-groove barrels for No.4s. 5 is the usual number. 2-groove barrels are relatively unusual, but most people find they seem to shoot just as well as the multi-groove versions. Enfield fullbore rifling is pretty deep, so all barrels tend to retain post-firing muck very well.
You can pick up a basic but serviceable No.4 for £300+. £350 should get you a ready-to-go rifle with no problems, although aesthetically it won't look so great. I'd say £575+ is too expensive for a No.4, but you gets what you pays for and I'm a skinflint!
There are four types of rearsight - the best is the Mk.1 micrometer sight, which gives you 1MOA clicks. The other three types are wartime economy production with a thumb-operated slider instead of a wheel for setting elevation and, IMHO, aren't much good for target shooting because you don't have the (relatively) fine adjustment. There is no windage adjustment on the rifle in issue configuration, but it's not unusual to find No.4s with target rearsights fitted. These add around £75-£100 to the going rate. You might also find target swivels on some rifles, particularly ones with target rearsights. They're an aftermarket addition (unless it's on a scoped 4(T)) but nice to have. Personally I'm not a fan because I find the swivel ends up underneath my forward hand, but each to his own. 4(T) style cheekpieces appear on non-4(T) rifles from time to time. It's not original but, unsurprisingly, gives a better cheek position.
Matched numbers etc. Nice to have, but not essential for a straight-shooting rifle. The ultimate test is whether the bolt and body locking lug surfaces have been properly mated, which you can only determine by using engineers' blue. Not something you can really do in the gunshop! Matching numbers usually attracts a price premium, where it's noted.
The key thing to look at, apart from crown condition (usual nicks/burrs/cord wear from pullthroughs) is where the barrel lies in the bedding. Anywhere other than at 6 o'clock (looking at muzzle, back down along the rifle) with a few lbs downwards pressure and you probably have a bedding problem. Another key indicator is the foresight blade position - if it's hard over to one side, again, that's probably a symptom of dubious bedding. There's plenty of dealers who can straighten it out.
Beware of 4(T)s!
Shooting-wise I prefer the No.4. The No.4 Mk II is supposedly the best of the bunch as the trigger's hung from the receiver rather than the trigger guard, though in practice you probably won't notice the difference. The Mk I (I have one which I built from parts) is a reliable piece of kit. FTR'd rifles (look at the LHS of the receiver) generally look nicer than non-refurbed versions. Mk II rifles, notable by their blonde woodwork, are usually in excellent condition, but apparently some which were in brand new condition were never properly set up, having been issued from the factory straight into storage and then sold as surplus without ever encountering an armourer.
SMLEs are great fun guns, but I don't get along so well with open sights. I prefer the aperture of the No.4 and No.5. The other advantage of the SMLE is that you can hang a 19" sword bayonet off the front...!
