1000 yds 1917 SMLE open sights
- Thread starter davemccarthy707
- Start date
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Whoopee! The Americans have discovered what we knew over 50 years ago. The "sweet spot" for a good Short Magazine Lee Enfield Number 1 Mark III ( or Mark III* ) rifle is 1000 yards.
The thousand yard target was 36 inches with the center or "V" ring at 18 inches diameter. When we shot the .303 rifles, we found out that the Number 4 rifle was just a bit more accurate out to 600 yards. At 800 yards, the SMLE rifles started coming out of the rifle cases, and at 1000 yards, the only person on the firing line with a Number 4 rifle was someone who just had not got the word yet. The simple fact was that the Number 1 Mark III rifle "compensated" better than the Number 4 rifle at the longer range.
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Whoopee! The Americans have discovered what we knew over 50 years ago. The "sweet spot" for a good Short Magazine Lee Enfield Number 1 Mark III ( or Mark III* ) rifle is 1000 yards.
The thousand yard target was 36 inches with the center or "V" ring at 18 inches diameter. When we shot the .303 rifles, we found out that the Number 4 rifle was just a bit more accurate out to 600 yards. At 800 yards, the SMLE rifles started coming out of the rifle cases, and at 1000 yards, the only person on the firing line with a Number 4 rifle was someone who just had not got the word yet. The simple fact was that the Number 1 Mark III rifle "compensated" better than the Number 4 rifle at the longer range.
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The guy can shoot no question, but I can hear RSM screaming from here! "Work that bolt trooper!? What the FU<K are you afraid of!? Its not your FU<KING girlfriend!? Cycle that gawd damn action! Clear that fu,king spent case, if you jam the Kings property I'll jam your arse with my boot!!" 
Few yrs back I took a run of the mill 1917 No 1 Mk III Enfield to the 600 yds line at Winona and shot a 47/50 with issue v sights, at a 15 inch Bull off the elbows. All ORA guys, and me, were surprised at the accuracy of these old warhorses. Yes it was windy.
Larry Fish, Dean of service rifle shooting, now 91, told me that there was a technical reason once explained to him, on how/why the Number 1's were so accurate at 600 yds-1,200 yds. But the reason he could not quite figure out, however he and other Canadians used No 4's to 600, No 1's beyond and won most of the world's silverware,and that was what mattered.
Larry Fish, Dean of service rifle shooting, now 91, told me that there was a technical reason once explained to him, on how/why the Number 1's were so accurate at 600 yds-1,200 yds. But the reason he could not quite figure out, however he and other Canadians used No 4's to 600, No 1's beyond and won most of the world's silverware,and that was what mattered.
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The reason is called "Compensation." While there is a long technical explanation of this, the short version is that a rifle barrel vibrates when fired and bullets have a certain stability at different velocities. All the "good" factors come together with the SMLE at over 600 yards out to 1200 yards.
I am not surprised that a good shot could do 47/50 at 600 yards with a decent SMLE. If we had a rifle that would shoot two inch groups with Service ammunition, we kept it because it had the capability of winning Matches. That 2 inch rifle was capable of 12 inches at 600 yards, and if the bulls-eye was 15 inches, as long as you did your part, they would stay in the black. Ammunition was issued from the same Lot, and everyone used the same ammunition, so you wanted a rifle that was consistent in it's grouping with all ammunition.
The reason is called "Compensation." While there is a long technical explanation of this, the short version is that a rifle barrel vibrates when fired and bullets have a certain stability at different velocities. All the "good" factors come together with the SMLE at over 600 yards out to 1200 yards.
I am not surprised that a good shot could do 47/50 at 600 yards with a decent SMLE. If we had a rifle that would shoot two inch groups with Service ammunition, we kept it because it had the capability of winning Matches. That 2 inch rifle was capable of 12 inches at 600 yards, and if the bulls-eye was 15 inches, as long as you did your part, they would stay in the black. Ammunition was issued from the same Lot, and everyone used the same ammunition, so you wanted a rifle that was consistent in it's grouping with all ammunition.
