Enfield 1900 LE 1

R

Rockrabbit

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I have an enfield that is missing the front and top wood. As I'm a newbie in this and not looking for a new project I'm looking for some help in putting a value on the rifle.
I doubt if I'll keep it but it might be better to part it out than sell it as is.
The bore is ok. The barrel has some light pitting and surface rust. wood is ok. Has the volley sights and cut off mag.
Any help is appreciated.
 
Whatever you do, do NOT part it out.

There are people on this forum every day who are looking for a project rifle.

Once the parts are dispersed, it is IMPOSSIBLE to reassemble them into a single firearm again.

There are a few of these rifles around with the wood chopped off; quite a number were done this way when they were sold off, right after the Great War.

Last one I bought, I paid $150 for. The Barrel still is the full 30.2 inches and it is a Sparkbrook 1897. That was about 5 years ago.
 
Te base value for a sporterized Enfield with a magazine and unaltered metal is usually between $100 and $150. However , I cannot say what, if any, premium the rarity of your rifle may bring.
 
after buying a few rifles that I thought were complete..(I'm a newb myself)...only to find out they are not even close to matching........PLEASE heed this advice....the matching parts will never find their way home again, and that's a shame.

smellie said:
Whatever you do, do NOT part it out.

There are people on this forum every day who are looking for a project rifle.

Once the parts are dispersed, it is IMPOSSIBLE to reassemble them into a single firearm again.

There are a few of these rifles around with the wood chopped off; quite a number were done this way when they were sold off, right after the Great War.

Last one I bought, I paid $150 for. The Barrel still is the full 30.2 inches and it is a Sparkbrook 1897. That was about 5 years ago.
Click to expand...
 
One point that most people never consider is that the Body and Bolt of the rifle were "mated" during the Proof process.

The entire Action was tried with a single Proof round to prove that the rifle would handle the overpressure and, thus, regular ammunition.

Following this, the rifle was fired AGAIN, this time with a standard Ball cartridge which had just been dipped into a container of Oil. With the Oil on the Cartridge, there was no way it was possible for the Cartridge Casing to GRIP the walls of the Chamber in normal fashion. This put the ENTIRE THRUST of firing the Cartridge onto the Shank of the Bolt, smashing the Locking Lugs against their opposing parts.

This process "mated" the Bolt to the Body (action) of the rifle, compressing both the Locking Lugs AND the surfaces against which they abutted.

Locking on the Rifle now was PERFECT. Swapping the Bolts around would put a Bolt into an Action to which it had not been "mated"..... and accuracy was the first casualty.

THIS is why it is so vary important that the Bolt Number and Body Number of a Lee-Enfield Rifle MATCH.

Rebuild a rifle with any old bolt and accuracy can be VERY hard to obtain.

And THAT is the main reason you do not part out a Lee-Enfield rifle.
 
Just to play devil's advocate....


Long Lee Enfield parts are getting harder to find. I am always looking for bits and pieces.

Which parts would you like to sell first, huh? Huh? Bolt dust cover? Volley sights? Full length barrel?

More than once I have cherry picked a sportered rifle, stripped it of all its desirable juicy bits for my restorations, had hours of enjoyment tinkering with the donor (trying out different repair and finishing techniques) to refresh and upgrade it into a nicer sporter, then sold it to a hunter for shooting deer, made my money back, plus the stash of take off parts in my bins.

Conversely, I have also more than once, taken a $100 sporter, spent $300 on it and finished up with a $200 gun.

There are no more spare parts being made, so parting out donors is the only way to keep our fleet of working guns going.

Providing that it isn't some rare variant, or date, rare markings, or known interesting history, strip it or pass it along to somebody who can make good use of it.

Or put it at the back of the gun cabinet until one day a buddy says, 'I wish I could find an old Enfield to restore'..........

Anything can be restored if you throw enough money and time at it.

Ok, I'll go put my helmet on now and keep low.
 
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