Help ID this mummy wrapped Enfield

HKfan

HKfan

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Hi all

Im in Australia and have been offered a mummy wrapped Enfield for $1,000 (CA$1,050ish).

I know very little about them, but this one is in it's original paper wrap and in the grease. Only part showing is the serial number etc, which is:

No4 MK2(F)
2/50 PF 854xx

Any idea which factory this cones from? I'm guessing that (F) means Fazakerley and that 2/50 means Feb 1950.

Any idea what this would be worth? Australian and Canadian prices room to be on par.

I'll post a pic when I'm home. Thanks :)
 
No 4 Mk II made at Fazakerley, February 1950.

Ones in the original factory wrap are worth a lot more than ones taken out. I can't tell you what its worth exactly though as this isn't my area of expertise.

I don't know how your going to bring it back and whether Australia has similar export permits like the U.S. so just be ready for customs paperwork.
 
I see them on a couple of sites currently for asking prices of $1095US and $1195CDN. And I recall one on Gunbroker a few months ago that sold for $800US. That's double what I bought mine for 6 years ago. The asking price for the one you're looking at is certainly in the current ballpark, but what's it's worth is for you to decide.

You're correct about Fazackerley and Feb/50.

If you buy it, don't unwrap it. You'll be cutting the value to 5 or 6 hundred bucks the instant you do that. There are plenty of near new mates of this rifle out there if you want a shooter.
 
Please think about this comparison and buying a 60+ year old pig in a poke.

My name is Abdul and I will sell you one of my beautiful daughters, BUT I want the money first and then you can unwrap her after you take her home.

bintsintheback.jpg


egypt.jpg
 
wrapped No4

Look at it this way, they aren't making any more of them. It's an investment, not a shooter. One of the fellows here mentioned he got his for half your price listed 6 years ago. I got mine for under $100. I bought two, one as a shooter and one as a collection piece.

Mind you, that was when the first batches came in to Canada.

P51 is I hope pulling your chain. Most of those rifles, had a little slit in the paper, over the receiver, where the serial number is. This was so customs could check them all out and verify the packing tag. Talk about being anal.

They shoot like dreams but there are a lot of good shooting Lee Enfields out there if the bedding is good and the stocks aren't warped.

If you want a shooter, don't buy it, unless you feel like tossing $500 down the toilet.
 
I was joking "BUT" I worked 38 years at an American military overhaul and repair base with the last 25 years as a quality control inspector. I can't tell you how many times military long term storage items came in for re-preservation and had corrosion so bad the items were unserviceable.

I'm a shooter and I would never buy something I couldn't see, the type preservation "PLUS" where and how the items were stored governs what you get when opened. Overall it was a very small percentage of preservation failures, but it does and can happen anytime. So always inspect the outside preservation packaging for any signs of humidity, moisture or stains.

NOTE: The Enfield rifle in question could have been purchased 20-30 years ago and been stored in someones damp basement.

The No.5 below was sold by a large American arms surplus dealer in "Good" condition. :rolleyes: Caveat emptor

No5rust-1.jpg


No5rust-2.jpg
 
Here in NZ the wrapped No.4 Mk IIs start at NZD$1200 (when they first came into the country they were NZD$750), and go up from there depending on the buyer, so AUD$1000 probably isn't a bad price...
 
Will agree on they are great shooters. I wouldn't have believed the groups if I didn't see it.:eek:
Couldn't see me owning only one that was wrapped for ever. Maybe if I was lucky to get two early at a bargin and keep one wrapped for a conversation/investment piece. I will always value Long Branch No4s having higher value cash wise and collector wise then these. Mines a 1/54 "Irish Contract" # 316### by the way.:canadaFlag:

Check the Fazakerly rifles contracts lists, to determine what government, yours was bulit for. I can't remember the site right off.........
 
accurate?

The No4 gets a very bad reputation from a lot of people for its lack of accuracy. If the rifle is in as new condition throughout, cleaned of grease in the bedding etc, it should be a very decent shooter with the right ammunition.

More often than not, it was poor lots of ammunition that caused a No4 to shoot erratically.

If it was really bad, bedding was another issue.

I've had as new No4 MkI* rifles that will shoot factory grey box WW ammo into an inch. I still own a 1950 Long Branch that I purchased in the grease for $90 that shoots like that.

Sadly, my eyes aren't what they used to be.

P51, from your other posts, I figured you weren't serious and I to have seen many rifles that were packaged for long term storage that were useless when unwrapped. In one case while working for Lever Arms, there was an order of 1500 K98s still in the crates. All were consecutively numbered and of cours with bayonets and other accessories.

The crates looked like they had been stored outside for 20 years and just pushed around the lot to get them out of the way. Out of 1500 rifles, Allan managed to get about 200 that were still pristine. The rest were anywhere from scrap to 75%. At least 600 of the rifles were broken down for their receivers/bolts/trigger guards. The barrels were rusty at the muzzles. They all went to some guy in Florida. He was making sporters out of the actions. The rest of the parts, were tossed into the scrap metal bin and the stocks were used for firewood. It sounds like a waste but the water damage was bad and at the time there wasn't any room or profit in storing them.
 
Having owned a similar rifle, I wouldn't worry too much about the condition of these factory wrapped Enfields - they are positively caked in preservative, inside and out. The amount of gunk they pasted on each those rifles was enough for 2 or 3 rifles. It's actually hard to tell what the contours of the rifle are from the wrapping, in some places the grease is a full inch thicker than the rifle. There are however better choices if you're looking for a shooter - there are lots of excellent to perfect No4's available without paying the extra $500 just to loose it when you clean it up.
 
Actually my local gun shop had a couple of new, wrapped French bolt actions not too long ago - I wasn't really interested (they were French after all - I didn't want to have to referee arguments in my gun safe).
 
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