Enfield sporter

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Molecular

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Hey Everyone,

Recently an Enfield sporter came into my possession, but I know little about it. Rifles haven't been my wheelhouse. I have taken some pics in hopes of getting some insights as to what kind of animal this is. Please feel free to be as descriptive/in depth as you like.







Cheers!
 
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Nice work! I don't know who did the stock work, but it looks beautiful. It's a BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) No.1 Mk.III with the standard proof marks. You should have it checked by a competent gunsmith for head spacing and to ensure that it was properly bedded and has some manner of recoil lug. From the work done, I can only guess that whoever took the time to make such a nice sporter would have ensured that the proper steps were taken to make sure it was a safe shooter, but always best to check with a second-hand rifle. You may be able to find the date by the serial number. How's the bore?
 
Well for one thing, it's a serious conversion from the original barreled action. The one-piece stock conversion of the No1Mk3 action isn't for the faint of heart! I'm working right now on one, which was probably done about 100 years ago - it's definitely not as nice as yours :)

Compare your action with this one, you'll see there are modifications which were done to yours:

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That was a nice rifle and could still be. The conversion wasn't cheap. It is too bad it was allowed to lanquish in the damp and rust. If the bore and all is still good, it would be worth refinishing. It's probably about 100 years old (a guess) and could last for your great grand kids.
 
Thanks for the info guys. The bore looks good to me and a handful of buddies who have seen it, not exactly the tightest of science.

LawrenceN said:
You should have it checked by a competent gunsmith for head spacing and to ensure that it was properly bedded and has some manner of recoil lug. From the work done, I can only guess that whoever took the time to make such a nice sporter would have ensured that the proper steps were taken to make sure it was a safe shooter, but always best to check with a second-hand rifle. How's the bore?
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I do plan on having it checked out. That said, my excitement over stepped my better judgement, and I put a clip worth through it after rough bore sight. Shot like a dream, with super tight grouping at 100 yds.
 
gunsaholic said:
I don't know if it's a factory conversion but I had one that was pretty much identical.
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It is not a Factory Conversion but one done by a very good Gunsmith.

This one has several indications of who and when it was made. I have seen a few of these, personally, in this Gunsmith's original shop.

I would suggest that this one was made by Elwood Epps probably back in the 1960s. If anyone has some old Elwood Epps catalogs, you can find similar examples of this type of rifle. You might even try sending an e-mail with photographs to the present Elwood Epps store and see what they say.

The original SMLE NO. 1 Mark III was either made or re-barreled in 1940.
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My father-in-law agrees that it is from Ellwood Epps. It was the first thing out of his mouth as soon as he seen it. He spent a lot of time in their shop with his step-father and grandfather over the years. He told me it's where his No 4 Longbranch came from. He was also curious about something he called the 'Ellwood Approved 303'.


Thanks for the insights!
 
There was another gun smith in southwestern Ontario doing work like this - Buck Schauber. I have one of his rifles and a photo of him and a friend in his shop. The Ellwood Epps Improved (not approved) was a blown out .303 cartridge that Ellwood came up with. I know a few fellows that had them and were quite happy with them. Here is my No 4 Mk I one-piece stock conversion. While I hate to see original rifles mucked with, at least this was some nice work. If anyone is thinking about a project like this I have a spare action floating around that has had the hard work already done to it.

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myenfield said:
There was another gun smith in southwestern Ontario doing work like this - Buck Schauber. I have one of his rifles and a photo of him and a friend in his shop. The Ellwood Epps Improved (not approved) was a blown out .303 cartridge that Ellwood came up with. I know a few fellows that had them and were quite happy with them. Here is my No 4 Mk I one-piece stock conversion. While I hate to see original rifles mucked with, at least this was some nice work. If anyone is thinking about a project like this I have a spare action floating around that has had the hard work already done to it......
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Very nice rifle myenfield! I have a couple of N01 MkIII* in transition right now (neither were original military furniture). However, they will never look as good as yours does...
 
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