An interesting Target Lee Enfield .22

louthepou

louthepou

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Hi folks,

Well I found something which I find interesting today.

It's a .22 conversion of a Lee Enfield No4Mk1* for target shooting. Apparently this may have been used in official Canadian shooting competitions by a successful shooter. No name though, so... well even if only for its fine characteristics, I kind of like that rifle!

If you are familiar with this portion of our Canadian Lee Enfield story, feel free to share your stories with me...

I can't wait to see how she shoots!

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Set of front sights in this little cup installed on the buttstock...
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Nyles said:
That is quite neat! What am I seeing in the last picture?
Click to expand...

That rifle spent its competitive life in Canada. Al Freeland was an American who supplied a wide range of very useful accessories for target shooters post-WW2 until the Europeans got back into the game. The foreend rail has been inletted into the stock and a Freeland-brand handstop would be screwed into the appropriate hole depending on the length of the shooter's arm in a Freeland-brand sling.

The most clever Freeland product I've used is a spotting scope tripod made from cast aluminum. The head has a saddle for the scope body. The head attaches to a chrome post, which has several threaded sections for 3-p shooters. The bottom of the post is held by a small hand wheel on a 45-deg cast leg. Two more legs fold out from the bottom of the heavy leg. The result is a sturdy, jiggle-proof spotting scope stand that disassembles to go into a Freeland-brand shooting box.
 
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Is that not a C No 7 Mk 1 rifle, Lou?

A magazine article I read said that Long Branch made close to 20,000 of them for our Armed Forces and cadet organizations. It's dimensionally identical to the No 4 Mk 1*, and it doesn't have the fittings for the socket bayonet. Those sights appear to be aftermarket mods, as the article I read implies that it used the standard front sight but the rear aperture could be set for 20 or 100 yds. It also says that a special bolt head was fitted and the magazine has a shelf to ease loading of single rounds and the empty cases fall into the magazine body.
 
Thanks for the comments, guys.

A few more bits of info after looking a bit deeper:

Shredder: I thought it was a Cno7 when the previous owner sent me pics, but when I got there I realized it was a conversion of some sort. The receiver is a 1943-dated LB No4Mk1*.

Maple_Leaf_Eh: The barrel isn't sleeved, it's a .22 bore from the start. The front of the barrel is intriguing. As if the bayo lug would have been milled away and the typical No4 front sight base installed but with an extra retaining pin drilled on the bottom side:
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Here's what's stamped on the knox: LB stamp, and C broad arrow (although very small, it's a C broad arrow, I checked closely :) )
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A 1943 LB with a CNo.7 .22 barrel tells me it was changed after it left the factory, although the quality of the workmanship suggests it might have been done by a service armourer.

The front sight base isn't completely exotic. I dimly recall seeing bases like that on DCRA target rifles from a bygone era. (Pull up a rocking chair, while I adjust my lap quilt and clink the ice in my glass.) The DCRA had a class for as-issued No.4 .303 service rifles to compete for military rifle trophies. The shooter could then put on a personally owned AJ Parker or Parker Hale back sight and shoot in an open class. One was called SR A, and the other SR B. Then the army changed to 7.62, and civilian shooters could send their rifles to Long Branch to be converted to the new cartridge. Since the military matches were conducted with the FN, the restrictions on sights and modifications came off. The experiments abounded!

Offset from the DCRA fullbore seasons, there were leagues shooting .22s indoors. Smart shooters take every opportunity to pull a trigger under match conditions. Proper practice for perfection. If a fellow wanted to stay good with his No.4, why not shoot a .22 that was identical in every other respect? So Lou, I think you have a training rifle made for a DCRA shooter.
 
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Hmmmmm

According to my info Lou, LB didn't start making the C No7 until sometime in 1944, so your rifle likely IS a conversion as you say. With that C broad arrow, I suppose it's possible that it is a prototype that LB put together on a 1943 receiver, and then someone else got hold of it and added those sights.
 
I suspect that there are two pins securing the front sight base because there are no lugs on the barrel with corresponding grooves in the front sight base.

I agree that the rifle was probably set up to simulate the full bore rifle the competitor used, allowing off season and short range practice.
 
I won the Alberta provincial Air Cadets shooting competition one year back in the 80's using one of those Lee Enfield conversions. I shot 9's and 10's all day long and walked away with nearly every medal there was. The old grey-haired guys were rightly upset, having their Eley-fed Anschutz match rifles put sadly to shame. I even took the pairs match that day.

Thanks for the pics, they bring back memories.
 
The action does appear to be a greeny parked one, so this was probably through Canadian Arsenals in 1950 or later. Think 1950 Cno4MkI*. The early ones were blued, then they switched to this parkerizing.

I'm pretty sure that is a Cno7 barrel as the FSB is held on with 2 pins, top and bottom.
 
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