Enfield - More info required

points said:
The lesson here is, don't write off a sported milsurp at first glance. You never know what you might have. Long Branch made up a bunch of trials rifles in WW2 and for the lightened models, some looked just like bubbas cut down sporters. You just never know.
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Thanks...

going to do some more research, try and find someone knowledgeable in these sort of rifles, to give me the skinny on what this thing really is....

also trying to see if the original owner has any of the parts, if in fact he took any off and if so did he keep them....

sorry this is all through a 3rd party, so this will take time, don't want to give something up for next to nothing if it's worth more, not looking at making a killing but only what is fair and reasonable, since we really don't have a great interest in this rifle it will probably go for less than what it can really get.

Thanks for all the input and insight...
 
While it is rare, its not really worth all that much cause no matter what you do, its only original once. Even if you restored it, its wouldn't be worth more than $6-800 & it would cost you $300 in stuff min. Remilitarizing sporters is a labor of love, not profit. There is a lesson in there somewhere about leaving milsurps alone regardless of how common they are at the moment.
 
With me, anyway, it's not the money; it's the technology, the history that the things bring with them.

My first restoration project was accidental and, by pure accident and stupidity, I did it right (more or less). I still have that rifle, a Navy-marked SMLE Mark I*** (built at Enfield as a I* in 1907, reworked twice in the Service to bring it up to ***) which sports one of the incredibly-rare taper-bored barrels. I have $12 invested in it so far but it is not for sale, never will be for sale. It is my "pet" rifle.

But this is a very real problem with Lee-Enfields. "Small Arms of the World" at one time listed 12 variants of Lee-Enfield rifle. At that time, a friend in Ottawa who collected just the receivers, had 31, so I sent him 2 more that he didn't have. But he showed me a couple which I have NEVER since seen. INDONESIAN Lee-Enfilds, anyone?

In the years before the Great War, the Government kept the Army so poor that they had to make maximum use of every screw. There were a great variety of very-small-production rifles, mostly upgrades, some experimentals. A FEW, such as yours, were rebuilt completely from obsolete rifles, into "new" ones. When the Great War hit, money became available in torrents, Enfield, BSA and LSA ran at capacity for 4 years, new factories (SSA, later NRF 1 & 2) were set up and even built small numbers of rifles despite the desperate shortage of machine-tools...... and the very-tiny-production rifles - such as this one - just slipped into the cracks, were surplussed as soon as the date was looked at, sold off for a couple of bucks...... and have spent the ensuing 90 years just attempting to avoid Bubba.

Your rifle likely served in some of the minor colonial wars of the late 19th Century, then in the Boer War, was rebuilt to SMLE specs, served in the Great War, was sold off as surplus...... and got cut down into the sporter you now have. At the time this one was cut down, side-grinders had not yet been invented...... so THIS ONE can be SAVED.

You won't make much MONEY doing it, but there is an immense SATISFACTION to restoring and preserving a piece of our heritage.

And THAT is a feeling which money cannot buy.

It ain't all about money.

You have had an historical TREASURE dropped into your lap.

What you do next is up to you.
 
smellie said:
With me, anyway, it's not the money; it's the technology, the history that the things bring with them.

My first restoration project was accidental and, by pure accident and stupidity, I did it right (more or less). I still have that rifle, a Navy-marked SMLE Mark I*** (built at Enfield as a I* in 1907, reworked twice in the Service to bring it up to ***) which sports one of the incredibly-rare taper-bored barrels. I have $12 invested in it so far but it is not for sale, never will be for sale. It is my "pet" rifle.

But this is a very real problem with Lee-Enfields. "Small Arms of the World" at one time listed 12 variants of Lee-Enfield rifle. At that time, a friend in Ottawa who collected just the receivers, had 31, so I sent him 2 more that he didn't have. But he showed me a couple which I have NEVER since seen. INDONESIAN Lee-Enfilds, anyone?

In the years before the Great War, the Government kept the Army so poor that they had to make maximum use of every screw. There were a great variety of very-small-production rifles, mostly upgrades, some experimentals. A FEW, such as yours, were rebuilt completely from obsolete rifles, into "new" ones. When the Great War hit, money became available in torrents, Enfield, BSA and LSA ran at capacity for 4 years, new factories (SSA, later NRF 1 & 2) were set up and even built small numbers of rifles despite the desperate shortage of machine-tools...... and the very-tiny-production rifles - such as this one - just slipped into the cracks, were surplussed as soon as the date was looked at, sold off for a couple of bucks...... and have spent the ensuing 90 years just attempting to avoid Bubba.

Your rifle likely served in some of the minor colonial wars of the late 19th Century, then in the Boer War, was rebuilt to SMLE specs, served in the Great War, was sold off as surplus...... and got cut down into the sporter you now have. At the time this one was cut down, side-grinders had not yet been invented...... so THIS ONE can be SAVED.

You won't make much MONEY doing it, but there is an immense SATISFACTION to restoring and preserving a piece of our heritage.

And THAT is a feeling which money cannot buy.

It ain't all about money.

You have had an historical TREASURE dropped into your lap.

What you do next is up to you.
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Thank you very much for the detailed post, the history lesson, and possibly a motive to keep the rifle and see how I could go about and restore it....

I have put a call to the guy who gave it to me to see if he can contact the original owner and see if there are any parts lying around, I doubt it, seems the son did not want any firearms in the home and was getting rid of anything firearm related, so parts might have been there, but unfortunately thy might be lost now forever....

I was not in it to make money, I really have no use for the rife but if it's worth restoring I might give it a shot, now I would have to figure out what to give the guy who gave it to me, to find out what I can about the value and history of this rifle, he is not big into restoration....

I guess now not only do I see about getting parts and such, but the proper way of restoring this diamond in the rough....I don't want to ruin it more by doing something I shouldn't, so I will have to proceed now with caution, and find some guidance, anyone in the GTA willing to give me a hand, guidance, etc....

This is all of sudden peaking my interest a bit more, each time I come back to the site and read what you guys have to say....

Appreciated greatly.....
 
this is a great thread ,... very interesting ,...I love the history involved in Milsurp rifles,...

I hope you can spend some time researching yours and scrounge up the parts needed to put this rifle back together ,... then shoot it !

I have a No5 Mk1 jungle carbine , it was in very good condition until I fell at deer hunting season a year ago and put a nasty gouge/scratch in the forearm lower wood,... every time I see it I say I am going to refinish the whole stock wood ,... but then do the should I shouldn't I touch it thing ,.... I love the rifle and would never sell it so even though it may not be as valuable as some ,.... original is only original until someone touches it ! right ?

anyway , good luck and keep us posted on what you learn about it ,.. I will be watching for more information about your rebuild
 
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