1900 BSA MLE Mk1* sporter pic heavy!!

[Tinman204]

Well I've been waiting very patiently for a very special package to arrive at the post office. Today the wait was over!! It's a 1900 M.L.E No.1 Mk.1* that was sporterized many moons ago.

I purchased it as a potential resto project as restoration seems to be what I'm most interested in. It has been chopped but retains it's full length barrel, sights, magazine w/ chain, mag cut off and volley sights! The bore is dirty but has tons of rifling and the only 2 things I see wrong are the bolt doesn't match and the screw that retains the trigger gaurd has 1/2 the head missing.

Other then that is a sweet rifle and I'm very excited to be it's keeper. Here detailed pics of the rifle and all of the proof and unit markings. Any info would most appreciated from any of you more knowledgable collectors!

 

[Nabs]

That girl needs to be restored...she cries for it .

 

[buffdog]

.
"U-Broad Arrow" is Union of South Africa. "EY" means that it is good enough to shoot in an Emergency only. BSA an Stacked Rifles are Birmingham Small Arms. The "RA" ( ? ) on the butt plate is probably Royal Artillery with a Rack number. The 1/4 inch "N" on the left side of the butt socket indicates Naval Service.

Originally a 1900 Mark I but looks like it was upgraded and rebarreled using a BSA barrel.

Magazine is correct one for the rifle. It should have a "C" shaped spring rather than the "Z" shaped one. The little tab is to be turned so that you can take the spring and follower out of the magazine. The follower should be sort of flat or cupped, rather than higher on one side than the other.

The Volley sights, and Chain Link (a most missing part) are there and that is a big plus. The trigger and sear mechanism is a bit different from the Number 1 Mark III in that this one is a sort of knuckle or ball-and-socket joint so the take up is not so much of a two stage one like the Number 1 Mark III and Number 4 rifles.

Commercial proof marks on it.

 

[Tinman204]

.
"U-Broad Arrow" is Union of South Africa. "EY" means that it is good enough to shoot in an Emergency only. BSA an Stacked Rifles are Birmingham Small Arms. The "RA" on the butt plate is probably Royal Artillery with a Rack number.

The "RA" is actually RM which if I'm correct would be Royal Marines?

 

[Ballsofice154]

tinman have fun with the restoration.

RM would be royal marines so I think the N for Navy as well as the RM is a good indicator its Royal Marines but I could be wrong

 

[buffdog]

The "RA" is actually RM which if I'm correct would be Royal Marines?

I would agree to that. GEEZZ Steve, please quit interrupting until I finish what I want to say. It takes an old fart like me time to switch back and forth on the pictures and look at the markings.

 

[5THBATT]

It's not a No1 Mk1* there is no such rifle, it's a MLE Mk1*
The magazine is incorrect for this rifle, that is a magazine for the Mk1 SMLE the MLE magazine does not have the rotating front lip.

 

[smellie]

A Navy Mark I which saw Service in South Africa shortly after the Boer War and has been rebarrelled with a BSA commercial barrel.

My Sparky, which you shot here, just the other day, is a Sparkbrook rifle which saw Service in South Africa shortly after the Boer War. It has been buffed and refinished at some time, but you still can make out the "Piled Rifles" trademark of the BSA Company on the Knox-form and it also is a Navy rifle. Sparky's butt strap is marked only "C" with "174" below it.

Our rifles are TWINS in almost every way! They MUST go the the Range together!

Your Rear Triggerguard Screw is .144" diameter by 37 threads per inch. The thread angle could be about 40 degrees. It is just about an impossible job to make one..... but it interchanges completely with the corresponding SMLE screw, so you are in luck.

A very real find. This one is worth restoring slowly, just to get it RIGHT.

 

[5THBATT]

BTW If your rifle has the original cutoff the Mk1 SMLE mag will interfere with the function of the cutoff & is probably the reason your mags front lip is rotated back pasted the stop nib, the SMLE mag has a different shape front lip & a new pattern of cutoff with a section removed to clear the front lip was introduced.

 

[Tinman204]

BTW If your rifle has the original cutoff the Mk1 SMLE mag will interfere with the function of the cutoff & is probably the reason your mags front lip is rotated back pasted the stop nib, the SMLE mag has a different shape front lip & a new pattern of cutoff with a section removed to clear the front lip was introduced.

Thankyou for the information and pictures!!

Excuse my ignorance as my oldest lee enfield is a 1916 lithgow so this rifle is a whole new ball of wax for me!!

It makes more sense once I compared the pictures of the 2 mags. Oh well, this one seems to feed alright so at least it has one. maybe I'll come across an MLE mag in my travels one day!

 

[5THBATT]

The trigger guard & forend are also relieved to allow clearance for the rotating front lip, yours may have been done though.

SMLE

MLE

 

[Tinman204]

You are correct again!! Just looked there is a small recess in the trigger gaurd just like the smle pic above.

The recess looks old and it's quite smooth like a pro did it.

 

[5THBATT]

You are correct again!! Just looked there is a small recess in the trigger gaurd just like the smle pic above.

The recess looks old and it's quite smooth like a pro did it.

What type of cutoff is fitted to your rifle? if it's the one on the left of my other pic, just get the other type, a Mk1 or MkIII cutoff will fit the MLE, could be easier & cheaper than finding a mag.

 

[Tinman204]

The mag cutoff is correct for an MLE, the mag seems to feed and the cutoff still functions fine so I think I'm safe on this one.

Thankyou for all of the help, I've learned a lot about this rifle!!

Steve

 

[5THBATT]

Well if its feeding fine & no apparent damage being caused, go hard & enjoy