Have you got papers to that effect?This was made at Lonbranch plant ON for a High ranking military person any idea value on one like this
expensive lee enfields
- Thread starter winchester12
- Start date
Getting back to the OPs question. I enjoy the fact that enfields are actually a cheaper rifle to acquire than some of the other main combat rifles of the Second World War. You can almost certainly pickup two nice enfields for the price of one nice mauser/garand. I think that the average enfield price, given their desirability up here, is fair IMO.
Sarco Inc used to sell a complete m14 rifle parts kit for $99.00 less receiver. All the parts were new. Then supply and
demand happened, everyone started building rifles, no parts kits. Now costs for
parts for m14 type rifles are reflected in the cost
of making them.
demand happened, everyone started building rifles, no parts kits. Now costs for
parts for m14 type rifles are reflected in the cost
of making them.
Eaglelord17
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Sault Ste. Marie
Simply supply and demand. Look at what is happening to the Civil War collectors at the moment. All the demand has dropped and the prices are falling quickly. Not saying that will happen with milsurps but it potentially could, just as the demand for sporters has dropped and the demand for original milsurps has increased.
Supply and demand comes into play but one has to consider that even if millions were made, how many are actually available on the open market? Rifles owned by people unwilling to sell them cannot be considered into the supply side of things since they are not being supplied to the market. If there were stacks of crates of one type of rifle sitting on warehouses and stores, available to be sold, prices would reflect that. A current example is the Mosin Nagant. When there were millions ready to be sold, they where going for $50-100. Now they're getting sold and ending up locked up as private citizens property and no longer available for the supply side of the market so prices are going up.
The Lee Enfield rifles had exactly the same thing happen to them. Their numbers have been depleted somewhat through accidents, lawful destruction when they're used in a crime, unlawful destruction by some governments, or just getting worn out and tossed as scrap metal. Even with, at minimum, a couple hundred thousand in Canada, the overwhelming majority of those cannot be looked at as part of the supply side of the equation as they are not available to be purchased.
Garands cost $1000-1400 on average but what if tens of thousands of them entered the market as items for sale? Say everyone who owns one decided to sell it, all at the same time, or the Korean Garands got imported into Canada (since we're talking hypothetically and not in reality). The price would plummet as the demand is now dwarfed by the supply.
The price of SVT-40's went up $100 when the Ukraine-Russia conflict started. Turned out a lot of the surplus SVT-40's that ended up in Canada were coming from Ukraine and couldn't as easily be exported anymore. The local supply (to Canada) was diminished even though the actual number of goods in existence didn't change. Thus the price went up.
The same SVT-40 that sells in Canada for $350-450 is $1000-1500 in the US. Why? Practically no supply, but a decent amount of demand.
It's all just basic economics.
The Lee Enfield rifles had exactly the same thing happen to them. Their numbers have been depleted somewhat through accidents, lawful destruction when they're used in a crime, unlawful destruction by some governments, or just getting worn out and tossed as scrap metal. Even with, at minimum, a couple hundred thousand in Canada, the overwhelming majority of those cannot be looked at as part of the supply side of the equation as they are not available to be purchased.
Garands cost $1000-1400 on average but what if tens of thousands of them entered the market as items for sale? Say everyone who owns one decided to sell it, all at the same time, or the Korean Garands got imported into Canada (since we're talking hypothetically and not in reality). The price would plummet as the demand is now dwarfed by the supply.
The price of SVT-40's went up $100 when the Ukraine-Russia conflict started. Turned out a lot of the surplus SVT-40's that ended up in Canada were coming from Ukraine and couldn't as easily be exported anymore. The local supply (to Canada) was diminished even though the actual number of goods in existence didn't change. Thus the price went up.
The same SVT-40 that sells in Canada for $350-450 is $1000-1500 in the US. Why? Practically no supply, but a decent amount of demand.
It's all just basic economics.
GunsNotPuns
CGN frequent flyer
I paid $600 last week for an WWII LE No. 4 Mk I and I was "happy" to do it. For the past year I've had to wade through a sea of sportered LEs (and I own a No. 1 Mk III SMLE that is sportered) before I finally found a beautiful intact example.
There may be a lot of intact LEs out there, relatively speaking, but people aren't selling them. No surprise the price for those on the market are rising and will probably continue to do so.
And anyone that turns them into a police gun grab should be shot with their own rifle.
There may be a lot of intact LEs out there, relatively speaking, but people aren't selling them. No surprise the price for those on the market are rising and will probably continue to do so.
And anyone that turns them into a police gun grab should be shot with their own rifle.
Most Lee Enfields were just used up and then destroyed by the governments that wouldn't sell them off. Other than a very few Canada/Australia/UK either sold off or destroyed what they had left. Canada had to go to Pakistan to find complete rifles and parts for the Ranger rifles. In some parts of the world many are still being used by their respective governments but because of UN manipulation they will likely be destroyed before they end up on the surplus market.
People here talk about cheap milsurps, especially Lee Enfields. Well, they were priced according to wages at the time and what the markets would bear. The major distributors paid 5 cents a pound for those rifles but of course had to pick them up and distribute them. The mark ups were phenomenal and fortunes were made. I was talking to a procurer for The Hudson's Bay Company. Back in the early fifties they bought up thousands of surplus rifles and made them available through catalogues or in their stores. Eaton's and several others did similar things. To my knowledge, the Bay was the only company in Canada to deal directly with the nations through their disposal sales. They also had crates of K98s and other Mausers and representative samples in quantity of just about every surplus rifle available at the time. All of those rifles are considered cheap by today's standards. Same with the ammo, firesale prices. The thing is, when it started to dry up prices went up on everything. The combloc offerings we have now will be the last of the cheap surplus. There is no way in hell any of those rifles could be manufactured for what they sell for at this point. Same goes for a Lee Enfield. IMHO they just couldn't produce new rifles as cheaply as even the higher priced rifles sell for today.
People here talk about cheap milsurps, especially Lee Enfields. Well, they were priced according to wages at the time and what the markets would bear. The major distributors paid 5 cents a pound for those rifles but of course had to pick them up and distribute them. The mark ups were phenomenal and fortunes were made. I was talking to a procurer for The Hudson's Bay Company. Back in the early fifties they bought up thousands of surplus rifles and made them available through catalogues or in their stores. Eaton's and several others did similar things. To my knowledge, the Bay was the only company in Canada to deal directly with the nations through their disposal sales. They also had crates of K98s and other Mausers and representative samples in quantity of just about every surplus rifle available at the time. All of those rifles are considered cheap by today's standards. Same with the ammo, firesale prices. The thing is, when it started to dry up prices went up on everything. The combloc offerings we have now will be the last of the cheap surplus. There is no way in hell any of those rifles could be manufactured for what they sell for at this point. Same goes for a Lee Enfield. IMHO they just couldn't produce new rifles as cheaply as even the higher priced rifles sell for today.
What? Have you ever handled an AIA rifle?
Inferior is not a word that came to mind when I did.
I always look at Long Branch rifles as well, and most of the $650. ones are mis-matched bolts, admitted refurbs (albeit nice ones), desporterized, or obvious parts rifles. An all matching, unmolested Long Branch will easily fetch $950. which is what I sold my factory original 1950 for a few months back. The only reason I sold it was because it had the short buttstock, and I got a wonderful deal from a fellow CGNer on a 1950 with a "L" marked buttstock AND even the magazine was numbered to the rifle. Take heart fellow Long Branch fans! They are scare, granted, but they are still out there and if the gods smile on you, it's possible that you can get one. Right place, right time.
pickledmoped
New member
- Location
- New-Brunswick
I just got a 1916 lee enfield with matching bolt on a trade that has been sporterized, I really know nothing about these rifles but I'm thinking about unsporterizing to sell...is it worth it or should I sell it as is?
Sporterised in the wood cut down, or sporterised in wood and barrel cut down?
pickledmoped
New member
- Location
- New-Brunswick
Looks like just the wood was replaced. Everything else looks in great condition. ..but I'm just not sure what to do with it.
^Careful that you're not desporterizing a Parker Hale. Most sporters had the original wood forestocks cut back and reshaped. Kinda like a bubba job.
If the stocks you have are in fact replaced furniture, you might have a different animal from the lowly sportered No1MkIII, which are a dime a dozen. (well not quite, more like $100-$150, but you get my drift?)
If the stocks you have are in fact replaced furniture, you might have a different animal from the lowly sportered No1MkIII, which are a dime a dozen. (well not quite, more like $100-$150, but you get my drift?)
It's your call, really. If you look around you can find the parts to put it all back together again. The cost runs you around... $200. I tried doing that, and, did not quite get my money's worth out of it.
If you just want to sell it, might as well sell it as-is. In decent condition you can probably get between $150-250.
Restoring it would be more a labour of love in my opinion... but I've done it 3 times myself, and consider it worth it, when I look at the whole, restored piece.
Edit: Also, what Plinker said. A lot of Enfields were professionally refurbished as sporting rifles after the war, and one in that sort of condition would be considered as historically accurate.
GunsNotPuns
CGN frequent flyer
Picked up a 1941 Lithgow No. 1 Mk III SMLE yesterday for $500...all matching. A price I can live with.
