Mr. Freemarket

Always a pleasure to read and I do say your ettequite is outstanding. Take care

Sweet... I always enjoyed the look of the full wooden stock.

The picture an your description leads me to think that you have a No4 rather than an SMLE.In 1926 British army rifles were renamed. the SMLE became Rifle No1. Rifle No2 was a .22 training version of the No1. No3 was the Mauser actioned P14 in .303.This was based on a totally new rifle in the rimless .276 cal. called P13, but never put into large scale production because of the First World War.
The Americans used many P17's in the First World War. This was the same rifle but in .30-'06 They used far more than the 1903 Springfield.
The No4 was developed before the Second World War as a cheaper and more efficient version of the basic Lee action.It was not put into production until 1941/42. It used standard thread sizes etc.( Muzzle loading Enfields, Sniders and Martinies use the same odd thread size for the tang screw, lock screws and ram rod/cleaning rod. This was .206" x 26&1/3 !!! This size is still used as the thread size for Parker-Hale cleaning jags and brushes.
Canadian (Long Branch)and US produced No4's bolt removal is different from British made ones.
The "ammunition box" is called the magazine and the worn away finish on the exposed muzzle section may be from the socket bayonet.

GJ

Hi, if it is the rifle pictured, then I am not sure it is USA made (not a problem, all versions of this are mark are good). I think you have a Canadian version.

Some clues to origin are: The sprung-loaded catch to hold the bolt in. This was simplified (IE removed) to spead up US production.

Ditto for the micrometer rear sight. This was simplified by making a two position (300 and 600 yard) flip-up sight.

As for checks. Yup, get it headspaced by a 'smith. An easy fix if there is an issue, the bolt heads are changeable and the bolt rear locking.

Remember that mil-surp .303 is corrosive so have a good gander at the bore.

Lucky bugger. Have fun.

Here: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/7255/longbranch.html

Rusty

As noted above, no SMLE's would have been made in Britain in 1942, though they were still being made in India and Australia, where the No4 rifle was never adopted.

Yeah, that's a No.4 Mk1, not a SMLE (Mk III No.1) -- confusing, innit?

Purists like myself prefer the Mk III's looks -- the full-sleeved barrel is most especially attractive -- but even I have to admit that the No.4 is actually a better rifle in terms of its utility and accuracy.

I also prefer the 18" blade bayonet of the SMLE over the 4-inch "spike" bayonet of the No.4, but once again, that's all about appearance and not about efficacy.

Both are wonderful rifles, and if yours has been looked after with any degree of care, you'll have a rifle which is more accurate than you can shoot it, and which will outlive you, your children and your grandchildren.

I have a MKI III* made in the teens in India.

The headspace was so bad that changing bolts and heads weren't doin' it - the rifle had to go to a gunsmith. Welding was involved.

I was never willing to put enough force into it to get the stock off, altho the rest of it came apart nicely.

I purely luvs the way it shoots. There is authority in the bang, and the holes in the target are large and look like they were cut with wadcutters.

I've been hooked on Enfields recently. I currently have a No1 Mk3 made by BSA, a No1 Mk3 made by Enfield, a No4 Mk1 made by Savage for Lend/Lease, a No4 Mk2 made by Fazakerley, a No5 Mk1 carbine by BSA, and a P14 Eddystone.

The No 4 was first issued in 1939 but wasn't officially adopted until 1941.

Lee Enfields were made in England, Canada, USA, India, and Australia.

US Number 4's made for Lend-Lease are marked as "US" property as the US government paid for them and "loaned" them to Britain.

The "P17" was actually the M1917 "American Enfield" (my uncle had a surplus example) which was made by Remington at two plants. Post-Great War, the action was used by Remington as the basis for the commercial M70, which the US Marines adopted in 7.62mm during Vietnam as the M40 sniper rifle. Further commercial development led to the M700, the military version of which is the M40A1 sniper rifle. So in a way, the current US sniper rifles were born at Enfield Lock a century ago.

Col Beausaber

PS: The surplus M1917 came with its bayonet, which my uncle gave me when I entered ROTC. I had no idea of what to do with the thing...until I was a junior officer and discovered my unit's trench guns took the M1917 bayonet - some examples in our arms room having dates of 1967 & 68!

US Number 4's made for Lend-Lease are marked as "US" property as the US government paid for them and "loaned" them to Britain.

The "P17" was actually the M1917 "American Enfield" (my uncle had a surplus example) which was made by Remington at two plants. Post-Great War, the action was used by Remington as the basis for the commercial M70, which the US Marines adopted in 7.62mm during Vietnam as the M40 sniper rifle. Further commercial development led to the M700, the military version of which is the M40A1 sniper rifle. So in a way, the current US sniper rifles were born at Enfield Lock a century ago.

Col Beausaber

PS: The surplus M1917 came with its bayonet, which my uncle gave me when I entered ROTC. I had no idea of what to do with the thing...until I was a junior officer and discovered my unit's trench guns took the M1917 bayonet - some examples in our arms room having dates of 1967 & 68!