Great Uncle gave me a .303!

Well, it really depends on where you are and the condition of the rifle.
I bought one for 25.00 $.... But the high end ones in V.G. shape usually go for about 325.00 $ / 375.00 $ at gun shows, maube 425.00 $ for a very nice exemple of No. 4 Supreme. When they're not bubba'd, of course. Some of the side mounts used on them sometimes worth about the price of the rifle....

These rifles were sold here, in Canada for about 20.00 $ for the low-end Standard No. 1 to about 75.00 $ for the top-of-the line model.

But I've seen some P-H custom factory engraved and carved ones, too, and these should have gone for mucho pesos (for the time, of course). They were like a Presentation grade of rifle.
 
Thanks.
Mine hasn't been further 'bubba'd' and is in mint shape. I paid my buddy 150$ with scope, case and sling a few years ago.
Did P-H tap them for the Weaver base or was that after P-H got through with them? (maybe it has been bubba'd!:))

Sorry to hijack the thread from that sweet #1
 
Parker-Hale manufactured a side mount and their own rings, so they wouldn't have drilled them for the Weaver TO-1. The P-H mount has been out of production for some years now so if you want one you need to search secondhand sources diligently and patiently. The Weaver TO-1 was specific for Enfields and is still available. It's weakness is that it is for tip-off rings, a less than ideal equipment for a centrefire rifle, but if fitted properly they will work and it was a very popular solution.
 
Churchill bought a big bunch (but less than P-H) of the BSA No. 1 almost. They are the high-end of the bunch, just like the high-end P-H.
 
Total thread resurrection.....I have decided I am going to scope this gun. See page 1 for pics and a historic scope suggestion.

Right now I shoot it with the open sights And I am very impressed with the accuracy.

Where would I find the proper weaver rail for the screw holes shown?

I would like a brand new scope that would look like, or at least have the general profile of, one from the 60s that would look at home on it. Also, any recommendation of scope magnification parameters would be appreciated.

It would be for hunting deer in interior BC forests/clear cuts.
 
I have two great examples of BSA Conversions. I am sorry about the quality of the pics but it is the best I have at the moment.

I got this Enfield No.4 Mk1 from my Father. The conversion is BSA and it is stamped Parker-Hale on the Front sight. Chambered in .303 British. Has rifling that is such a tight twist that it is amazing. I have seen most Enfields with average to slight twist rates. This rifle shoots better then I do and I am pretty good if I do say so myself. I can't miss with this baby.
Parker%20Hale%20BSA%20Enfield%20No4%20Mk1.JPG

Parker%20Hale%20BSA%20Enfield%20No4%20Mk1_2.JPG


I also have a BSA Converted P17 (or M17 depending on your school of thought on this). Has a great crisp made in England stamp on the receiver and chambered in .30-06 I have taken four deer with this rifle. The only downside of this rifle for hunting is the weight, however on the flip side the weight helps with the recoil quite a bit. I use my .303 for hunting now.
BSA%20P17.JPG

BSA%20P17_2.JPG
 
heliwrench said:
Total thread resurrection.....I have decided I am going to scope this gun. See page 1 for pics and a historic scope suggestion.

Right now I shoot it with the open sights And I am very impressed with the accuracy.

Where would I find the proper weaver rail for the screw holes shown?

I would like a brand new scope that would look like, or at least have the general profile of, one from the 60s that would look at home on it. Also, any recommendation of scope magnification parameters would be appreciated.

It would be for hunting deer in interior BC forests/clear cuts.
Click to expand...

The T0-1 mount should be available from any shop that stocks Weaver mounts and rings. Try the usual mail order sources. You should get it for $20 or less. Then you'll need tip-off rings which will be one inch.
 
Hang around gun shows for the right scope. You re looking for a Weaver K-4 wth a STEEL tube: magnet sticks to it. Much tougher than the later aluminum tubes. Should be able to find one for 50 bucks or less. That's if you want to go completely "period".

TO-1 base is still in production. Last one I looked at was $11.95. Comes with screws.

Churchill Gunmakers was definitely at the high end of the scale. They did good work and did not sell junk. Your rifle was effectively NEW when it got to this side of The Big Puddle.

Mauser 1895 was developed into the P-'13 was developed into the P'14 was developed into the P-'17 which the Americans insist was the M-1917.After the war, Remington brought out the Model 30, selling it for about a month's pay ($65). Early Model 30s were called the Model 30S and there was also the Model 30 Express. Available in several calibres. Winchester was another contractor on the 1914/1917 projects and they did a slight redesign and brought out the Model 54 which developed into the Model 70. Several years ago, a friend and myself had two 1917s, a Model 30 Express, a 54 Winchester and a Winchester 70 out to the range, all on the same day. I have a semi-custom grade BSA 1917 sporter here..... with a steel-tube K-4 on it. Thing shoots better than I can.

The rifle in the original post cannot be classed as a Bubba project at all. It is MUCH too good for that. It is a proper commercial conversion based on an ex-military rifle and, as such, has been removed from the class of pure-military rifles.

This one is a keeper for sure.

Some guys have just GREAT Uncles!
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There are tip up rings that enable one to still see the open sights. Will this make the scope sit too high? The receiver on the Enfield already would make a scope sit pretty high.

They have new re-pro of the K series for sale.

What power to get?

4 (Scout) with an eye relief of 9.45 and a field of view of 8.5 ft at 100 yds

4 with an eye relief of 3.43 and a field of view of 26.8 ft at 100 yds

6 with an eye relief of 3.15 and a field of view of 19.3 ft at 100 yds

I was leaning toward the 6.
 
See through rings do put the scope awfully high. They are not desirable in my opinion and a scope on a Lee Enfield sits high enough in conventional mounts. If you chose the proper magnification for your hunting conditions you won't use the iron sights anyway.
 
Just a note on the mag cutoff. A relic of the Boer War. Originaly rounds had to be loaded in the magazine one at a time, The cut-off enabled you to load one round at a time and keep the magazine in reserve in case of the enemy closing or a sudden cavalry attack where a full magazine would be needed. Once charger loading became the norm, the cutoff was redundant. However "we have always done it that way" prevailed until late1915. Even after the war some rifles were retrofitted with this useless appendage.
Excuses were made for it's retention, saying that it was an additional safety measure, however by using your thumb, you can depress rhe rounds in a full magazine far enough to slide the bolt over them and of course you also had the safety lever.
 
My favorite rifle is my #4 mk1 Parker Hale. It was manufactured from unmarked stock. No military marking at all. Not a refurb.Stamped as mfg by Parker Hale is all. It is a beautiful rifle and groups as good as 4" @ 200 yards with iron sights.
The military after ww2 let a lot of surplus parts as well as whole rifles.
 
About $89 is just about right. That's for the rifle; scope cost about $60 extra.

At the same time, a 25-pack of smokes was 41 cents, coffee had just gone up to a dime, burger with coleslaw and huge pile of fries was 60 cents, gas was 39 cents a gallon.... and the legal minimum wage for working in a restaurant (which is where I was) had just gone up to 55 cents an hour. That 89-dollar rifle was worth 161 hours and 50 minutes of work, slingin' hash. If you were rig-pigging it for Commonwealth, the rifle got down to about 60 hours of work, which meant 5 days of 12 hours each, standing around in any and all weather down to 30 below (F), soaked to the skin in crude oil and sal####er, on a drilling floor, pullin' pipe, running the slips by hand, spinning casing and snugging the stuff up off the cathead: watch out for flying chains that moved faster than you could see.

The "good old days" were one helluvva lot of hard work.

The good part is that when you bought a rifle, you were buying something that was built to LAST. It's fine to diss the old rifles because they are old but think on it this way: an Enfield barrel, slow fire, mild loads, NCNM primers, takes roughly 20,000 rounds to wear right out. If that "ratty old 89-dollar rifle" fired 5 rounds a year during the 6 to 10 years that it was in use before something snazzier came out, and then was stood in a corner for a new generation to sneer at......
how many rounds should that old barrel still be good for, once you clean the spiders out of it?

Just thinking......

Buy one of those today for $150 and you're getting a higher-qualty rifle than anything made today under $4,000, WITH a better barrel. Closest thing today to Enfield rifling is the mysterious and wonderful 5R rifling which can't wear out. It is a direct COPY of Enfield rifling, just right-hand instead of left-hand. Costs money, too.

Don't diss the old ones. They still have a few good points to them.
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heliwrench said:
There are tip up rings that enable one to still see the open sights. Will this make the scope sit too high? The receiver on the Enfield already would make a scope sit pretty high.

They have new re-pro of the K series for sale.

What power to get?

4 (Scout) with an eye relief of 9.45 and a field of view of 8.5 ft at 100 yds

4 with an eye relief of 3.43 and a field of view of 26.8 ft at 100 yds

6 with an eye relief of 3.15 and a field of view of 19.3 ft at 100 yds

I was leaning toward the 6.
Click to expand...

I use see through rings on something else but on my Enfields I would think them too high. I also use old (steel, made in the U.S.A.) Weaver scopes including several K2.5s and K4s which I have aquired second hand for $50-60. With a little patience you still find them in good serviceable condition for under $100, though of course you will also see people asking for more for them. For me that makes the price new of the limited edition reproductions too high. I'll look through my gear and see if I can free up a K4 for you.

If you can't wait and are willing to pay the new prices, I do think the current production Weavers are good scopes - I have one of their 3-9x38mm Classic and like it very much for the price (slightly used, $120 from a Gunnut), enough that if I go ahead with the scout project I'm considering, I've already chosen the Weaver K4 Scout scope. Some will say 6x is too much if you get a close shot, and I find 4x is plenty of magnification for out to 200yards, and I don't like to take longer shots on game with my Enfields. But it's your gun and you know your hunting better than anyone else can, so of course it's up to you.
 
UPDATE!

So I bought a good condition Weaver KV 60 steel tube "Variable scope" off of CGNr Woohoo. I thought $70 shipped was a fair price.

From what I gather they were produced in the late 50s, early 60s in El Paso, Texas. and are nitrogen filled. I put the quotes around variable because really it just switches from 3X to 5X. Pretty excited to put a "scope of the period" on. With two setings to boot.

Got the Weaver T1 base and regular tip-off rings on the way from WS....also an impulse buy of some Bushnell legend HD binocs that were on sale.... :) :)

Getting very excited about this project!

How much is it to walk into say, Reliable Guns in Vancouver and get it mounted and bore sighted?
 
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