1918 Enfield Markings/Identification

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luv2roll

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I've had this Lee Enfield for a while - it was the first centre fire rifle that I owned at the time that I got it. I've had it for a while and I have shot it a few times, the last time was in late August 2015 when I ran 20 rounds through it. It still shoots great for a rifle that is nearly 100 years old.

Even though I have owned this rifle for decades I never really looked into its history and as a result I knew very little about it until sharing a pic of it in the Enfield sticky where a fellow CGN member said it was sold out of service in the UK. It is also drilled and tapped for a rail. I thought I would try and post it here too to see if anyone can share their knowledge.

I was wondering if anyone recognises the markings on it or if anyone can identify it?

Here are some pics for anyone interested in taking a look:

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It has a set of military proof markings on the barrel reinforce from when it was manufactured and tested at Enfield (GR, 1P, 2P). Barrel is Enfield made and dated 1918, quite likely to be the original.

Later in its life, it was sold off as surplus, was Nitro Proofed and overstamped at the Birmingham Proof House in 1959 to allow it to be sold to the public through the British Gun Trade onto the civilian market (18.5 tons per sq ", 2.222, BNP)

I see no 'sold out of service' marking, millions were sold off, not all surplus rifles were so marked.
 
Wow! Awesome info. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of enfields with me. I believe that you are indeed correct that the barrel is the original, because the numbers match. Would you happen to know what the three drilled and tapped holes in this picture are for?

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englishman_ca said:
It has a set of military proof markings on the barrel reinforce from when it was manufactured and tested at Enfield (GR, 1P, 2P). Barrel is Enfield made and dated 1918, quite likely to be the original.

Later in its life, it was sold off as surplus, was Nitro Proofed and overstamped at the Birmingham Proof House in 1959 to allow it to be sold to the public through the British Gun Trade onto the civilian market (18.5 tons per sq ", 2.222, BNP)

I see no 'sold out of service' marking, millions were sold off, not all surplus rifles were so marked.
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Wasn't sniping at you - just pointing out the hole pattern a TO-1 uses. TO-1 is a very common base used on Lee Enfields. I've put a couple on sported rifles recently, so they are fresh in my mind. I cannot explain why Weaver uses a basic extrusion that requires the use of 3/8" tip-off rings, rather than the larger centerfire ones.
I seem to recall a Parker Hale base that used two holes in the charger bridge. A lot of these rifles were sported in the UK, sometimes they use PH bases and rings.
It might be worth luv2roll's time to try a TO-1 base, see if any of the holes work. If so, a third hole could be easily added.
 
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