A great man once said "nothing is written". Unless it's the case of @ivan-fyodorovich-k, then there is much to be written, and even less time to write it.

And you were right, it compliments the SMLE very well

Un soldat indien de l'armée britannique à l'entraînement avec un SMLE (Short Magazine Lee-Enfield) Mk III – Egypte – 16 mai 1940

Photographe : No. 1 Army Film and Photo Section - Army Film and Photographic Unit

©Imperial War Museums - E 53

©Colorisation par ?

Rounding out my curio and relic Enfield collection, pictured above is a Lee Enfield .410 shotgun. It started as an SMLE No3 Mk1* manufactured in 1918 and then later converted to a single shot .410 riot shotgun by the Royal Factory at Ishapore (RFI) in 1949. This gun might have seen action in both world wars before it was converted. A cool piece of history.

Zinky Boys in Afghanistan with a captured British Lee-Enfield SMLE. 1980s

Short, Magazine Lee-Enfield sniper rifle with Periscopic Prism Company telescope (PPCo) sight London Small Arms (LSA)

By 1915 the British had selected its standard military SMLE rifle for sniper conversion.

Three patterns of scope where chosen for service; the British Aldis, the American commercial Winchester A5 and the British PPCo.

Used by both British and Commonwealth snipers the PPCo, although robust enough for life on the Western Front, had only 2x magnification. The German Goertz scope, which was attached to the Mauser Gewher 98 rifle, provided its user with 3x magnification.

One thing about the US market in milsurp rifles that I’ve found consistently remarkable is that while prices of Kar98ks and Mosin 91/30s and M1903A3s etc. continue to soar with no apparent ceiling in sight, the humble Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk I, despite being one of the better bolt action service rifles in history, and probably the best all around bolt action rifle of WWII (yes better than the K98), as well as the platform of the best sniper rifle of WWII (yes better than the K98), has had relatively steady prices for the last 10-15 years.

When I first started buying guns a Lee Enfield No. 4 was in the $300-$500 range, and now I think you can still get them in the $500-$600 range. Compare to Mosin Nagants that have gone from $75-125 to $900 and Kar98ks that have gone from $250 to $1500 and M1903A3s that have gone from $400 to $1000 and so on.

This is I suspect driven by three factors

1. .303 is a little tough to find. Most gun stores have it but it’s not everywhere

2. The No. 4 is not especially beautiful, especially compared to its predecessor the SMLE

3. Most Americans do know that Britain fought in WWII, they just don’t care

T.E. Lawrence’s rifle, a British short magazine Lee Enfield SMLE 3.

via redarmyscreaming

A Guide to Buying a Surplus Rifle

Buying a surplus rifle can be an exercise in frustration if you go about it the wrong way. You could get a perfectly preserved firearm that hasn’t seen the light of day for half of a century, or you might receive a gun that was thrown in a box after being thrown in the dirt. Maybe it’s slathered in cosmoline, and now you need a deep clean with a pistol cleaning kit. Whatever the case, buying a surplus gun offers an entirely different experience compared to buying other used guns. Here’s everything you need to know.

What Is a Surplus Gun? In general, a surplus gun is an old military or law enforcement gun. It may have been used, or it may never have left storage after being manufactured or shipped. The military might not have ended up using them, or they could have seen use across multiple conflicts and been repaired as needed. Surplus firearms have often been rendered obsolete as newer models or new technology appears. Examples include the Short Magazine Lee Enfield from the British army during WWI or an older model Glock from a police department that upgraded their equipment. How to Buy a Surplus Gun Some surplus guns are easy to find, while others are in short supply. Depends on the gun and how many units might be left in storage. Local pawn shops might have a few in stock, but your best bet will usually be importers since many surplus rifles come from overseas. You can, however, often find models like the M1 Garand fairly easily. Most are older, so keep your trusty AR-15 cleaning kit on hand. You can even find modern firearms traded in from police departments. Many surplus guns are sold second-hand, as well, so asking the seller questions is essential. Restoring a Surplus Gun The good news is that because surplus guns were often manufactured in the millions, there are plenty of parts available. Since they are usually fairly new, law enforcement surplus guns usually make sourcing parts easy. Older guns are often dismantled for parts when they stop working, giving your gun a chance for a longer life. You will want to bring the gun to a gunsmith to see if it will still fire. If not, the gunsmith can tell you which parts need to be replaced to get it back to working condition. Cleaning a Surplus Gun Be sure you have the right cleaning tools when you clean a surplus gun. You might need an option that covers a range of calibers, especially for something like the .303 of an SMLE that isn’t widely used anymore. Be careful when using your rifle or shotgun cleaner—there might be dirt that has settled in areas that are hard to get. You should always do a thorough cleaning, especially if the gun was stored in cosmoline. It might have been decades since the gun was last cleaned and lubricated. About Breakthrough Clean Technologies® If you’re looking for an effective way to clean and maintain your firearms, Breakthrough Clean Technologies® has everything you need. From supplies to compile your own pistol cleaning kit to a ready-to-use rifle cleaning kit, the brand’s cleaning products are sure to become your go-to choice. Breakthrough Clean Technologies® offers non-toxic, eco-friendly, non-hazardous, non-staining, and odorless gun cleaning products that eliminate more contaminants than other leading brands. Maintain your firearm collection with their selection of lubricants, solvents, All-In-One gun cleaner CLP, and so much more. There’s no reason to settle for ineffective products that smell terrible. With Breakthrough Clean Technologies®, The Difference Is Clear™. Find everything you need to clean your latest surplus gun at https://www.breakthroughclean.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3wIiRp9

LOVE your cat LOVE her name gonna get a dog and name it lee Enfield

LOL that’s a great name too, call em SMLE for short

little while back my Partner in Mayhem and I finally shot the 1918 Lee Enfield SMLE MK III* after having it for 10 months.

It was, meh. It was cool to shoot a piece of history, but it left me wanting more. It's my own fault because I wanted more than the old gun could give.

It's future here remains, undetermined.

put your heart in the bag and no one gets hurt

A piece of my British rifle collection. From top to bottom, Enfield No1 Mk3*, Enfield P14, Enfield No4 Mk1, and an Enfield No5 Mk1. Also includes a genuine Brodie helmet, a pattern 37 ammo pouch, and a .303 bandolier.

Realism in training at Randwick, Sydney, Australia - December 1941.

Australia's Experimental 7.62x51mm Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle No.6

The rifle pictured above is chambered in 7.62x51mm and has been adapted to feed from L1A1 rifle magazines. The rifle was one of a number of trials rifles built during the Second World War as a prototype ‘No.6′ Lee-Enfield which was then subsequently repurposed in the mid-1950s as a basis for efforts to convert .303 Lee-Enfields to chamber the new NATO round.

This particular rifle was built at Lithgow in 1942 and adapted for the Australian No.6  ‘Jungle Carbine’ testing in 1944. The war, however, ended before the Australian Jungle Carbine could enter service and the adapted rifles were placed in store.

A pair of 7.62x51mm prototypes (from Ian Skennerton’s The Lee Enfield Story)

In 1954 it was decided by the Australian government that along with Britain and Canada they would adopt the FN FAL in 7.62x51mm. In 1955 the Australian Army began troop trials with what would become the L1A1. Efforts to convert some Lee-Enfield rifles also began. 

In 1958 a number of the earlier No.6 trials rifles were rechambered and adapted to load from X8E1 FN rifle magazines and a L1A1 flash hider was added along with upgraded sights. Around a dozen of these 7.62x51mm No.6 rifles were assembled. Despite interest in the rechambered rifles from the Royal Australian Air Force the Lee-Enfield actions, however, were found to struggle with the pressures of the new cartridge this eventually forced the project to be abandoned as too costly to mitigate.

L1A1 production in Australia subsequently began in 1959. Britain also made efforts to rechamber .303 rifles, developing a conversion of the Rifle No.4. The L8 series of 7.62x51mm chambered rifles proved to be better at standing up to the higher chamber pressures.

Sources:

Experimental Short Magazine Lee-Enfield No.6 Rifle, AWM, (source)

The Lee Enfield Story, I. Skennerton, (1993)

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A discord bait-and-switch a developed.

I must say, the Lee Enfield no.1 mk.3 is a magnificent rifle. Is it not?

In the 1917 (2019) film Lance Corporals Schofield & Blake used the most iconic standard issue Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk.III also known as SMLE Mk.3

along with the pattern 1907 bayonet

Fun facts about the Mk.3 SMLE:

• In the Film Scho fired exactly 10 rounds wo/ reloading which was the max capacity of the 10-round magazine that used Mk VII .303 ammunition

• It was the lightest Lee–Enfield model weighing just about 3.96 kg (8.73 lb)

• It was the second longest Lee–Enfield model coming just after the MLE, with full length of 44.57in and a barrel length of 25.2in (wo/ the bayonet)

• It was a bolt-action (as Scho demonstrated when firing upon the German sniper after the bridge scene)

• It had an effective firing range of 503m so about 550 yd and a maximum range of 2,743m (around 3,000 yd)

Enjoy my useless knowledge :))

If anyone wants historical accurate info on military equipment or vehicles used in ww1/2 films here I am XD