1903 Long Lee??? Helb photo expose of hideousness added pg Deux

It makes me so upset seeing this happen. People are starting to do it with goddamn mosins now too. There is nothing like an enfield but all milsurps deserve better :(

If I had the money I would devote my gunsmith tinkerin to retrofitting all milsurps to original specs.

Mclean
 
Noel said:
Thank goodness no one welded crap onto the Metford I inherited. It has since been refurbed back to original all but the wood and muzzle furniture. If only it would group.
Click to expand...

Mine had what they refer to as "that damn crack". It is a split in the wood of the forward stock at the trigger. Would send bullets all over the place. I fixed the crack, and it groups well now.
 
I am thinking that your mystery letters might be "IP": Indian Pattern.

India was a partly-self-governing part of the Empire at that time and had several "Indian Patterns" of small arms which were different from British patterns. This could be one of them.

Whatever, it certainly has a low enough s/n, especiall considering that the SMLE I already was in production at this point.

Unusual, to say the least.

Can you post photos?

Nice Toy, no matter what!
.
 
I read an article once which could be pure BS cause I’ve only seen mention of it from that one source, but any way the article claimed that about the time the SMLE came out there was some sort of formal shooting competition in which the barrel length could not be longer the SMLEs. As a result there was some sort of "official" conversion to some of the Long Lees to meet this requirement. IF the article was true, then some of the Long Lees that we assume was done by bubba, may not have been and could I suppose be considered “original” or at least “authentic” in a way.
 
The safety not engaging is due to wear on the sear. Try pulling the cocking piece back a tad while trying to engage the safety. I suppose this is why they finally went to a safety lever on the side
 
I would suggest that there is nothing left to restore. There are hardly any salvagable parts.
That welding was done very close to the locking abutments of the receiver. Whether there is now a safety issue, I can't say. The heat treatment will certainly have been affected. Accelerated wear might be the only issue.
 
Tiriaq knows what he's talking about.

Nothing really left to save...so just enjoy it as it sits I guess. It's not a bad looking rifle.

Wonder how the headspace is? I'm sure it's been fired plenty of times, probably taken a few deer or a few hundred.

At least you know the scope mount won't come loose. Laugh2
 
A skilled machinist could mill off that abomination in a milling machine. If it's safe to shoot now, it will be safe to shoot afterwards.

Make sure he has an identical receiver in hand to compare/measure as the work is done.

I don't get all worked up about old sporterizations; that's just the way things were once, but that is so FUGLY, I would get rid of it.
 
I like the chained mag anyways... is the front volley sight still on the left side?

Bolt and dusct cover looks good, receiver can be pieced back with the bits...
 
RRCo. said:
A skilled machinist could mill off that abomination in a milling machine. If it's safe to shoot now, it will be safe to shoot afterwards.

Make sure he has an identical receiver in hand to compare/measure as the work is done.

I don't get all worked up about old sporterizations; that's just the way things were once, but that is so FUGLY, I would get rid of it.
Click to expand...

The heat treatment is important, and since the welding has to have affected it, particularly right at the locking lug recess...the receiver has to be viewed as compromised.

What's the point of going further with the rifle?

No:
receiver
stock
barrel

Nothing much else there except a deer rifle as it sits.
 
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