Irish contract #4 Info ???
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From what I know, they are just standard No.4 Mk2 rifles that were produced for the Irish Army. Nothing really special about them, 5 groove barrel, beech stocks, all the standard Mk2 features. Only reason they are so wanted is because they are sort of rare compared to a run of the mill Mk2.
No. 5 groove.
Look, the only connection to Ireland is that the Irish Gov't. ordered the rifles. The sale never went through, the rifles went right into the British war reserve, along with the other Fazakerley Mk. 2 rifles made before and after.
Look, the only connection to Ireland is that the Irish Gov't. ordered the rifles. The sale never went through, the rifles went right into the British war reserve, along with the other Fazakerley Mk. 2 rifles made before and after.
The only thing that distinguishes them from other No.4Mk2s made by Royal Ordnance Factory Fazackerley is the serial numbers that put them in the batches of production that were expected to be shipped to fill an order from the Irish Army. The specifications were the same for all No.4Mk2s being produced at that time. The order was cancelled and as Tiriaq said, they went into storage as war reserves without ever being issued for service. If it weren't for that order, there would have been not quite so many unused rifles in the war stores when the war reserve rifles were eventually sold off as obsolete and surplus. Like the rest of the new production that went into war stores, they were sought after for the reason that they were still in the wrap, unused, unlike most of the surplus rifles on the market. Many people didn't know about or understand all this and are just aware of this sort of aura of desireability about "the Irish contract rifles."
Interesting, So I would assume 1 That they would all be 5 groove barrels. 2 They may be a more desirable rifle as a "Shooter" because of the trigger mod and general better condition. And 3 they would not be of any real historical significance. Jack
They have zero historical significance. There value was as unissued Enfields they are typically in great condition, and (with the odd exception) are pretty much the only ones still in the wrap for collectors. The MK2 trigger is nice but here in temperate North American conditions I doubt it makes any difference whatsoever. Personally given the choice I'll take a nice 1950 Long Branch or a post war CA rebuild any day. The two I have are mechanically immaculate and the also have history.
Even the batch ordered for the Sudan were not delivered. The historical significance is they are part of the Lee Enfield story, post WWII war stocks. See below for the FAZ order list. I don’t know if they were all delivered. Info is from Gunboards.com
Royal Ordnance Factory Fazakerley
No 4 Mk II Production Serial Numbers
PF 118000 PF 217999 N/K 100,000 Start of Mk II Production.
PF 218000 PF 219799 N/K 1800
PF 219799 PF 275947 N/K 56,148
PF 225948 PF 250947 N/K 25,000
Circa 1951/52
PF 250948 PF 301547 British Army 50,600
PF 301548 PF 304047 Sudanese Order
PF 304048 PF 309347 N/K 5300
PF 309348 PF 359347 Irish Republic
PF 359348 PF 359747 N/K 400
PF 359748 PF 359817 Zambia
PF 359818 PF 359852 Singapore
PF 359953 PF 360052 Kingston
PF 360053 PF 360202 Trinidad
PF 360203 PF 360238 St Vincent
PF 360239 PF 360258 St Kitts
PF 360259 PF 360459 War Office ?
PF 360480 PF 361159 Uganda
PF 361160 PF 361259 Parker Hale
PF 361280 PF 401086 Burma
PF 401087 PF 401495 409 Made into No 4 (T)
PF 401496 PF 404156 N/K 2661
PF 401157 PF 404206 Parker Hale
PF 404207 PF 405392 N/K 1186
PF 405393 PF 405412 St Vincent
Circa 1954
PF 405413 PF 405512 N/K 100
PF 405513 PF 405712 Admiralty 100
PF 405713 PF 405812 N/K 100
PF 405813 PF 405848 G E Fulton (Bisley)
PF 405849 PF 407448 N/K 1600
PF 407449 PF 407648 Trinidad
PF 407649 PF 407728 Zanzibar
PF 407729 PF 411228 N/K 3500
PF 411229 PF 411264 G E Fulton (Bisley)
PF 411265 PF 411481 Kenya
PF 411482 PF 411471 ? Hong Kong
PF 411472 PF 412789 N/K 1318
1951 Special Order
PP1 PP43 Parker Hale
PP44 PP47 To an unknown UK source
Royal Ordnance Factory Fazakerley
No 4 Mk II Production Serial Numbers
PF 118000 PF 217999 N/K 100,000 Start of Mk II Production.
PF 218000 PF 219799 N/K 1800
PF 219799 PF 275947 N/K 56,148
PF 225948 PF 250947 N/K 25,000
Circa 1951/52
PF 250948 PF 301547 British Army 50,600
PF 301548 PF 304047 Sudanese Order
PF 304048 PF 309347 N/K 5300
PF 309348 PF 359347 Irish Republic
PF 359348 PF 359747 N/K 400
PF 359748 PF 359817 Zambia
PF 359818 PF 359852 Singapore
PF 359953 PF 360052 Kingston
PF 360053 PF 360202 Trinidad
PF 360203 PF 360238 St Vincent
PF 360239 PF 360258 St Kitts
PF 360259 PF 360459 War Office ?
PF 360480 PF 361159 Uganda
PF 361160 PF 361259 Parker Hale
PF 361280 PF 401086 Burma
PF 401087 PF 401495 409 Made into No 4 (T)
PF 401496 PF 404156 N/K 2661
PF 401157 PF 404206 Parker Hale
PF 404207 PF 405392 N/K 1186
PF 405393 PF 405412 St Vincent
Circa 1954
PF 405413 PF 405512 N/K 100
PF 405513 PF 405712 Admiralty 100
PF 405713 PF 405812 N/K 100
PF 405813 PF 405848 G E Fulton (Bisley)
PF 405849 PF 407448 N/K 1600
PF 407449 PF 407648 Trinidad
PF 407649 PF 407728 Zanzibar
PF 407729 PF 411228 N/K 3500
PF 411229 PF 411264 G E Fulton (Bisley)
PF 411265 PF 411481 Kenya
PF 411482 PF 411471 ? Hong Kong
PF 411472 PF 412789 N/K 1318
1951 Special Order
PP1 PP43 Parker Hale
PP44 PP47 To an unknown UK source
I saw an Irish contract Enfield at the range today. When I first saw her I thought for sure it was an AIA in .308. Turns out it was a mint in box Enfield with only 200 rounds through her by the current owner. Just an amazing rifle to look at and hold!!! I felt like I should have been wearing gloves when I held her.
Well, a couple mins. ago, the way I type 
I finialized a deal on a #4 MK2 PF 316### rifle with all matching bolt, mag. sling, bayonet, stripper clips. Now if any of you guy's have seen any of my other posts, You will know who is related to Bubba I plan to strip/sand, remove any dents/scratches and refinish the stock with Tru-Oil. Soak the barrel/reciever in solvent/Simple Green or whatever it takes to get it "Clean" And maybe reblue if needed. Add one of those after market Sniper Cheek Rests with a Compact 2x7 Leupold scope on a No drill Mount. And shoot the hell out of it 
Jack
I finialized a deal on a #4 MK2 PF 316### rifle with all matching bolt, mag. sling, bayonet, stripper clips. Now if any of you guy's have seen any of my other posts, You will know who is related to Bubba I plan to strip/sand, remove any dents/scratches and refinish the stock with Tru-Oil. Soak the barrel/reciever in solvent/Simple Green or whatever it takes to get it "Clean" And maybe reblue if needed. Add one of those after market Sniper Cheek Rests with a Compact 2x7 Leupold scope on a No drill Mount. And shoot the hell out of it Jack
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Well, a couple mins. ago, the way I type
Right on man, Right on. I am currently awaiting a 1943 Long Branch No.4 Mk1* I got off the EE. I thought I was gonna get it this morning so every ringing noise woke me up thinking it was a doorbell and a Canada Post man will hand me my long awaited rifle
. I would not mind getting my hands on a Mk2 myself, but I wanted the LB more as the first center fire rifle I shot was my dad's LB and I wanted one like his.Right on man, Right on. I am currently awaiting a 1943 Long Branch No.4 Mk1* I got off the EE. I thought I was gonna get it this morning so every ringing noise woke me up thinking it was a doorbell and a Canada Post man will hand me my long awaited rifle
It was a toss up. I like the Longbranch for it's history, but this one just happened to be there at the right time. They are all Cool Jack
- Location
- Mission,B.C.
I'm glad you liked it mate! I certainly enjoy owning it. It was good talking to you. Good shooting
I'm glad you liked it mate! I certainly enjoy owning it. It was good talking to you. Good shooting
Cool! It's great meeting a fellow CGnutter at the range once in awhile!!!
Call me a rifle snob, but I really don't like to take my really clean rifles to the range. It's not that I don't like to show them off or if they aren't virgins, fire them, it's all of the people that want to fondle them.
Many have little or no respect for the condition of the rifles. They have dirty hands, which can ruin the look of a blond mauser or enfield stock very quickly and diminish its value just as quickly. Many people have very acidic sweat that will cause rusting almost immediately. If the person or persons requesting to handle the firearm cleans or dries their hands before handling, usually at my reqest, fine, go for it. I've actually had people POed because of this. To bad so sad, find another rifle to devalue.
If you aren't concerned about handling issues, fine, more power to you. You're still young. In a few years these great buys on K31, Mosins, Garands, SKSs, Lee Enfields, Mausers etc, will dry up. They only made a finite amount of them and most of them were used to death or are being destroyed by the governments that now own them. A very few are being trickled out to the general public, but that's it. I suspect that we're also seeing the best of them and the ones we see have already been picked over by purchasers like the Canadian and I hear the UK government. The government buyers will never release those rifles to the public again.
Other than the MkII rifles and a very odd lot of mausers, pristine, unissued rifles in original condition are very rare. I can remember when they were spread out on tables at Hudsons Bay, Eatons, Marshal Wells and even the local hardware stores and gas stations for the princely sum of $10 for original and $15-$25 if they were sporterised. Take it from there.
Many have little or no respect for the condition of the rifles. They have dirty hands, which can ruin the look of a blond mauser or enfield stock very quickly and diminish its value just as quickly. Many people have very acidic sweat that will cause rusting almost immediately. If the person or persons requesting to handle the firearm cleans or dries their hands before handling, usually at my reqest, fine, go for it. I've actually had people POed because of this. To bad so sad, find another rifle to devalue.
If you aren't concerned about handling issues, fine, more power to you. You're still young. In a few years these great buys on K31, Mosins, Garands, SKSs, Lee Enfields, Mausers etc, will dry up. They only made a finite amount of them and most of them were used to death or are being destroyed by the governments that now own them. A very few are being trickled out to the general public, but that's it. I suspect that we're also seeing the best of them and the ones we see have already been picked over by purchasers like the Canadian and I hear the UK government. The government buyers will never release those rifles to the public again.
Other than the MkII rifles and a very odd lot of mausers, pristine, unissued rifles in original condition are very rare. I can remember when they were spread out on tables at Hudsons Bay, Eatons, Marshal Wells and even the local hardware stores and gas stations for the princely sum of $10 for original and $15-$25 if they were sporterised. Take it from there.
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- Location
- Mission,B.C.
The only one i ever saw in Canada is in my safe now(in the last 2-3 years).Also a couple in the states but they went pretty fast.
They come up on the EE from time to time, milsurp-savy places like P&S Militaria or Ellwood Epps might get a couple a year. You might have good luck at estate sales and auctions.
