The story continues. . . . . .
Those of you that remember this thread about the mystery rifle found in an estate. Those of you that don't please read.
Well our main character, WayneD scooped up the rifle that was destined for the dumpster. He saved it and took it off thier hands, yay! But Enfields not being his area of expertise he didn't know what it was so he stashed it away safe until he had the time and inclination to do something with it. Guess Wayne is a busy guy cos he admitted to me that he wouldn't likely get time to play with it anytime soon. This is where I come into the story.
So since I had been bugging him on a regular basis since 2006, 'what did you find? huh? huh?' he has graciously passed it on to me to have a crack at it.
This is what he salvaged.
The receiver is marked as an Enfield made LEC Mk.I dated 1898. It has sold out of service opposing arrow head markings on the nocks form and receiver ring, but no Brit civvy proof house marks. So may have been suplused elswhere, perhaps Canada?
The bolt is mismatched but headspace checks out fine. The bore has been greased up and it cleaned out bright with sharp rifling. The barrel is uncut and is original length. The rest of the metal was in good shape, no pitting, no signs of abuse. The blue cleaned up with fine steel wool and oil. Is about 90% so I'm not sure if it is an old reblue, hard to say as there is no reblued pitting or other tell tale signs. Surface texture looks to be factory style though so I don't know.
The cavalry carbine had a leather cover over the rear sight to facilitate sliding the carbine in and out of a scabbard. Although the forearm has been shortened and sanded, the holes for the screws that retained the cover are still evident. The retaining nut for the clearing rod is still installed in the barrel channel so the wood jives with the year and model of the receiver so it might be the original but Bubba'd.
The trigger guard is the correct type for the carbine. Note how it has a cutout in the end of the well for the chain loop on the magazine. The forearm has this clearance cut in the wood to clear too. SMLE owners look at the area behind the front trigger guard screw where the screw goes through the bushing. Ever noticed the clearance slot machined between the bushing and the magwell for no apparant reason? Tis a legacy from the carbine, Sht LE barrel profile was taken from the carbine. But I digress, this is just of interest to minutia freaks like me.
The rear sight is an aftermarket Southerland Rifle Sight Co Ltd Mk.I unit adapted from one meant for a MLE or Ross. The sight base has been shaved to lower the sighting. There are some problems with the mechanics of the adjustement so I replaced and assembled the carbine with a standard carbine sight assembly.
The carbine leafcap is much lower than the one on this aftermarket unit so I don't know if this would shoot correctly or not. Probably shoot way too high.
I fitted a sear spring and assembled the rest with bits and piece out of my parts bin to get it into working order. Will test it tomorrow on my private rifle range (a berm behind my garage actualy). Will give a range report.
Still a sporter but it is once again barking at the moon. As a restoration in progress it should hopefully prove to be very shootable. A piece in great condition, I don't think that it has been shot a lot. So an excellent basis for a restoration, hard to find better. It should be a challenge to find the rest of the bits to put it back. But keep watching this thread
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