Finally Found An Enfield No 9 .22

albayo

albayo

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Born on PEI, Live in NB
I picked up a nice all matching Enfield No 9 .22 rifle one of 3000 contracted for the British Navy by Parker Hale.

It was converted in 1960, it has a No 4 Mk II action, blond wood, the sight has 25 yds in the side, and I added a No 7 mag.

The barrel was drilled out and a Parker .22 sleeve inserted.

I regretted selling my original No 9 years ago and thought I would never get another one at todays prices.

Now I need a No 8 to add to my trainer collection.

The No 9 serial number is only 8 away from from the one I owner 30 years ago.
 
Well you haven't because you have probably found an N9. The No 9 Mk 1 is the EM2 that was briefly adopted before the FN L1A1.
 
albayo said:
I picked up a nice all matching Enfield No 9 .22 rifle one of 3000 contracted for the British Navy by Parker Hale.

It was converted in 1960, it has a No 4 Mk II action, blond wood, the sight has 25 yds in the side, and I added a No 7 mag.

The barrel was drilled out and a Parker .22 sleeve inserted.

I regretted selling my original No 9 years ago and thought I would never get another one at todays prices.

Now I need a No 8 to add to my trainer collection.

The No 9 serial number is only 8 away from from the one I owner 30 years ago.
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Wasn't the Rifle .22 No.8 Mk.1 the last made Enfield version .22Lr trainer made for the military?

How hard to find is a Rifle .22 No.8 Mk.1 and are there even any in Canada?

How many did they make and did they sell any of them to civilians?

I also heard they had competition grade target barrels on them and are super accurate for a .22Lr military trainer.
 
Excellent find!
No.8 rifles seem to turn up fairly often. All seem to be from the batch sold surplus by New Zealand.
 
tiriaq said:
Excellent find!
No.8 rifles seem to turn up fairly often. All seem to be from the batch sold surplus by New Zealand.
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How often? New Zealand sold only 285 No.8 training rifles, how many made it to Canada?



On 7 March 2009 the New Zealand Army disposed of 285 No 8 and 116 No 9 Lee Enfield .22 training Rifles at auction. [FONT=&quot]To obviate the purchase of large quantities by dealers, collectors were allowed to buy a maximum of one of each type. [/FONT]These rifles had previously been issued to the New Zealand Cadet Force and saved from destruction by a campaign led by New Zealand firearms collectors.
​https://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_No.8.html
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mkrnel said:
How often? New Zealand sold only 285 No.8 training rifles, how many made it to Canada?
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They are around more than you'd think. I know of 3 with various .22 Enfield collectors in this area. There's a nice, correctly marked, example coming up in the next Switzers auction (lot 2653)
Certainly top of my list for accuracy, quality and looks.
 
Hi albayo. The correct as issued magazine for the No.9 was the standard No.4. It is very scarce that you have found one with the
Mk 2 action. My minty blued example has a Mk 2 action also and dated PH60 serial A2735. When they first were imported the rifles that showed up were heavily black suncorite painted with serials and markings electropencilled. All the wood wa re-surfaced by machine. I remember dates from 56 to 60 so Parker Hale certainly took their time doing the work. The top of the colector chain was and is always the C No.7 rifle and any 'tubed' barrel can't come close to the accuracy and quality of that production. I also remember the well used NZ No.8s rolling in and the same criticism can be applied - not attractive but at least reasonably accurate. Trigger adjustment was tricky. JOHN
 
mkrnel said:
How often? New Zealand sold only 285 No.8 training rifles, how many made it to Canada?
Click to expand...

No idea how many made it to Canada, but including the one in Switzers current auction, I've seen 4 listed in the last few years. Uncommon but not unobtainable.
 
Once again please do not call it a No 9 which is something entirely different. It is a N.9

https://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_No.9.html

The EM-2, also known as Rifle, No. 9, Mk. 1 or Janson rifle, was a British assault rifle. It was briefly adopted by British forces in 1951, but the decision was overturned very shortly thereafter by Winston Churchill's incoming government in an effort to secure NATO standardisation of small arms and ammunition.
 
In my humble experience the most difficult to find Lee Enfield training rifle is the British No. 7. Few were made, maybe 2500, and even fewer survived. The British No. 7 had a long service life and it appears many were cannibalized for parts so finding one that is all matching and intact today is a challenge.
 
Yes it is not an Enfield No. 9 Rifle, the real Model number is Lee-Enfield No.9 Royal Navy .22 cal. Trainer Rifle.
 
Actually I had a British No 7 back 30 years ago I bought it off The Gun Runner from a gentleman out west.
It was in great shape and I sold it years later when I got into black powder and black rifles two extremes.
Its the only one I have ever heard of or saw in my 40+ years of collecting.
Some guy tried to tell me they were common when I was selling it.
I told him he should buy one of them and I hung up on him.
The next time he called he wasn't as cocky and the price went up.
 
Not trying to steal the flavor of this thread but since all the focus in one spot for the No9 MK 1 rifle, should anybody know the whereabouts of the proper "25YD" marked rear sight for this rifle, I'm looking for one.
 
Last time I saw British No. 7 rifles for sale in any quantity was about 20 years ago, but these rifles came in with incomplete bolt assemblies. I remember that BDL ltd in South Carolina had some kits made up to complete these rifles and make them into shooting rifles.
 
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