Lee Enfield Mk III Question
I just came across an Australian Mk III. The band below the bolt handle says MA (which I understand as made in Australia) Lithgow (city) SMLE III* 1945. The serial number is 39XXX and has a F stamped above it. Behind the trigger guard is stamped Australia. There appear to be markings below the bolt handle mostly hidden by the stock.
This rifle has been sporterized. Whoever did it did a very good job with what I presume is the original stock complete with trapdoor in brass buttplate. The handguard ends about halfway below the iron sights. The mag that came with it is also numbered 186XX.
I have not taken it apart for a good cleaning and inspection. I know I will need to have a gunsmith look it over to ensure it is safe to shoot.
I am not very familiar with Lee Enfield rifles except they were British made and shoot the .303 (which I understand has a good punch!:) I was not aware any were made in Australia. I recall reading in the past that a lot of these battle rifles were sporterized for import reasons.
Can anyone shed any light on this type of rifle? Are these normally safe to shoot?
Fourdees
This rifle has been sporterized. Whoever did it did a very good job with what I presume is the original stock complete with trapdoor in brass buttplate. The handguard ends about halfway below the iron sights. The mag that came with it is also numbered 186XX.
I have not taken it apart for a good cleaning and inspection. I know I will need to have a gunsmith look it over to ensure it is safe to shoot.
I am not very familiar with Lee Enfield rifles except they were British made and shoot the .303 (which I understand has a good punch!:) I was not aware any were made in Australia. I recall reading in the past that a lot of these battle rifles were sporterized for import reasons.
Can anyone shed any light on this type of rifle? Are these normally safe to shoot?
Fourdees
0
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British Commonwealth firearms are not my specialty, but I can pass along a bit of information about the SMLE from Austrailia. The Lithgow factory was the first of its type to be established in Austrailia and began producing the Rifle No. 1 Mark III* SMLE in around 1912 and continued until 1955. About 640,000 Lithgow SMLE rifles were produced in total during WWII and Lithgow had two feeder plants-- Orange and Bathurst-- in operation. The nature of the markings for the feeder plants I do not know and cannot identify for you. I have never heard anything but praise for the products which were produced at the Lithgow facility so if your rifle has been checked for proper head space I can see no reason why it cannot continue to provide many more years of faithful service to King (that means you) and country.
Mark T. Christian0 -
Lee Enfield rifles were made in England, Australia, Canada(Long Branch), and even by Savage in the U.S. during war time. All are great rifles. 303Brit is a good accurate round, no more of a punch than 30-30. Have a gunsmith check for headspace, rarely a problem, and enjoy a great old battle gun.
Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.0 -
fourdees, take a look at http://www.303British.com lots of good info and links. I have two Lithgow NoI's(a 1922 and a 1942), both great shooters.
Steve.0 -
My thanks to Mark Christian, lead, and .41dude! A lot of good info.
I check the link provided by .41dude, and wow...a lot of info...it will take a while to digest. I will take it to a gunsmith and have the headspace checked.
Again, thanks for taking the time to provide the info...
Fourdes0 -
fourdees, went and checked my 1942 serial # 78XXX.
The 1922 99XXX ???
Will have to try and find a source of serial # info.
On both of mine the serial # on the back of the bolt matches the # on top of the receiver. If this is true on yours I would not worry too much about headspace. If it does not match I would have it checked.
Never heard of any damage done to rifle or shooter because of loose headspace, but it wouldn't hurt to be sure.
Steve.0 -
.41dude;
I saw some info on serial numbers on one of the web sites I visited. Seems the serial numbers jumped around a lot depending on model being produced. The alpha appears to be the key. Unfortunately, my bolt is not original (different serial) to the rifle.
Fourdees0 -
Don't fret about the bolt. You can purchase just the bolt head from places like Gun Parts Co. Just spin the old off and new on. I did it on my 1942. The old headspace (on the 1942) was close enough to not be a problem, but I wanted to see if I could make it a bit tighter.
Plus having spare parts for old guns is kind if cool anyway.[8D]
Steve.0 -
Steve;
Thankd for the info. I went to a GS today and they had lots of reading material. I did see that the bolt head was replaceable. I have an old gun parts cat and it does not show these rifles. I will need to get a copy of their latest parts cat.
Darrell0 -
Darrell, check in the index of your catalog under SMLE. I almost threw my catalog away in disgust. I thought "How can this be? They have every other gun but mine." While I was busy pouting and thumbing thru the pages I stumbled on to it.
Steve.0 -
Steve;
Yep, there it is! Thanks for the tip... I couldn't believe they were not in the cat, but now I know...I was looking in the wrong place!
Darrell0
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