303 info please.

tatou said:
I seem to remember that once India declared independence they scrubbed some rifle off their cyphers... a way to stick it to the British crown ?
It might be so in this case... which would make it originally a British rifle ?
And again by assumptions the Y in the serial number might be associated with the BSA factory. They were the only one to use the letter Y in the serial, in 1915 ?

Just a wild guess from my part, thinking out loud... i'm probably wrong...
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Hey. I appreciate all thoughts. I tried google but couldn't match many markings. Thanks
 
CBOB: There's still much that hasn't made it onto the interweb concerning Lee Enfields. I'm pretty sure what you have is a "No. 1 Mk III* (Factory Repair- Type 2). This is as described on page 67 of "Indias Enfields" by Edwards. Starting in '41, with rifles in short supply, India began a program to salvage worn or damaged rifles and use their main parts to build new rifles. The original markings on the right cheek were scrubbed and the new designation stamped on the left side as with yours. New Ishapore barrels were fitted. So, it's essentially a new rifle built from a salvaged receiver. The actual date of manufacture should be stamped beside the "FR" and I do see a faint number there. A nice addition to a collection with an interesting history!

milsurpo
 
milsurpo said:
CBOB: There's still much that hasn't made it onto the interweb concerning Lee Enfields. I'm pretty sure what you have is a "No. 1 Mk III* (Factory Repair- Type 2). This is as described on page 67 of "Indias Enfields" by Edwards. Starting in '41, with rifles in short supply, India began a program to salvage worn or damaged rifles and use their main parts to build new rifles. The original markings on the right cheek were scrubbed and the new designation stamped on the left side as with yours. New Ishapore barrels were fitted. So, it's essentially a new rifle built from a salvaged receiver. The actual date of manufacture should be stamped beside the "FR" and I do see a faint number there. A nice addition to a collection with an interesting history!

milsurpo
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Hey thanks for more info. I do see what looks like a 45 beside the FR. I was never much of a surplus guy but appreciating it more and more. Think I might need another
 
Nice thread!

I inherited a bunch of lee enfields. Haven't really given them any attention or shot them. I decided to catalog and clean them the other day. I'm fairly new to firearms, but inherited a small arsenal. Besides ensuring that basic storage requirements were met, I just stacked them in milk crates in the back of a locked closet. After a quick inspection of one of the lee enfields, I became really intrigued to find all sorts of markings. I was initially impressed by the sturdiness and and ingenuity of the design. A far cry from the stamped/polymer designs I have been salivating over.

I had two of the older looking sporters sitting on my desk one night. They are both fairly dented up but mechanically sound. I took a moment to figure out the serial number and year of production, as I have been doing with all of my firearms as of late.

On both rifles I found 'SMLE 1916 MKIII*'

As soon as I figured out what that meant; the streamlined design for wartime production during WW1...

The dim lights of my modern downtown Toronto condo that were exposing the age of the rifles faded away to images of the trenches.

I got chills.

I then proceeded to take my time cleaning them thoroughly, giving them the respect they deserved. They have now been moved to the padded safe, taking the place of some more expensive recent purchases. I'll be bringing both of them to the range next week.

Sounds silly right?
.
 
aerobeast said:
Nice thread!

I inherited a bunch of lee enfields. Haven't really given them any attention or shot them. I decided to catalog and clean them the other day. I'm fairly new to firearms, but inherited a small arsenal. Besides ensuring that basic storage requirements were met, I just stacked them in milk crates in the back of a locked closet. After a quick inspection of one of the lee enfields, I became really intrigued to find all sorts of markings. I was initially impressed by the sturdiness and and ingenuity of the design. A far cry from the stamped/polymer designs I have been salivating over.

I had two of the older looking sporters sitting on my desk one night. They are both fairly dented up but mechanically sound. I took a moment to figure out the serial number and year of production, as I have been doing with all of my firearms as of late.

On both rifles I found 'SMLE 1916 MKIII*'

As soon as I figured out what that meant; the streamlined design for wartime production during WW1...

The dim lights of my modern downtown Toronto condo that were exposing the age of the rifles faded away to images of the trenches.

I got chills.

I then proceeded to take my time cleaning them thoroughly, giving them the respect they deserved. They have now been moved to the padded safe, taking the place of some more expensive recent purchases. I'll be bringing both of them to the range next week.

Sounds silly right?
.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Once you take some time to clean handle the history comes out. Pretty inteuiging
 
^^ I love the SKS slings, i have one on my 1918 BSA 22 trainer and i have one on my cooey model 75 and on a few other fire arms, for 7 dollars each you cant buy a better sling..........
 
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