I'm interested in a Lee Enfield

ShotgunNut

ShotgunNut

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So these were British and Canadian service rifles in WW1 and WW2? I did a quick wiki search on them but still more to read yet. If I were to acquire on of these, I intend to keep it original other than maybe a scope mount. I find the 5th generation Enfields the most appealing. How much do these guys cost? How common and readily available are they?
 
The 5th gen or AIA enfields were not used in WW1 or WW2. They were manufactured in Australia by a private company for the civilian market.

From what I remember AIA closed down shop. A few made it here across the ocean but you will be hard pressed to find one. If I remember correctly they go for over a grand.

May as well get the real deal and snag a sporter thats already drill and tapped. Its more cost effective and you get an actual piece of history. You can restore it with a nice Ishy stock and restain it to your hearts desire to make it look as original as you like ;)
 
Yeah, if you are going to drill and tap for a scope mount, you might as well buy one that has been sporterized. Otherwise, the value of whatever you pay for an original non sporterized rifle will be greatly lowered the minute you drill and tap it, not to mention you will be buggering up another rifle as far as its history. There are tons of sporters out there for around $150.00.
 
OP, listen to gunsaholic. He is giving you some very good advice. There are lots of Lee Enfields that are already drilled and tapped as well as many professionally converted sporters at reasonable prices.
 
Just like to mention that AIA did not close down shop. Not long ago I was looking for some mags and had some questions so I called the AIA in Australia and as I was talking to the guy and mentioned that I'm from Canada it went south from there. He told me that Canadian dealer (not mentioning any names) orderd from him big pile of guns and then he never heard from him and can't get hold of him. They told me that he tried to contact them for long time and no reply in any way so I don't think they will send any guns to Canada any time soon. It really sucked to hear how they got screwed .
 
Don't buy a lee enfield, they breed, you will have more then one they are a bad addiction. It's like opening a bag of chips..... You can't have just one! In all seriousness take your time there are already a lot of lee enfields set up for optics. Some were rebarreled and have very nice aftermarket stocks. Do some research and you will find a true beauty of a rifle that is almost like new for a reasonable price. These rifles are part of the lee enfield story. If someone hadn't tried to do something to market some of these rifles I would guess that more would have been recycled in other less desirable ways. So my advice is do a little research look at lots online, see what people are asking for them and go to a couple of gun shows to see what's around. And if you can sucker someone into letting you try one at the range go for it they are nice rifles. Good luck in your search
 
My gun partner and I had tables at the Dauphin show this past weekend. I laid a nice old No. 5 beside a sportered No. 4 and when people would ask why there was such a difference in the price, I would demonstrate with a wave of the hand how to make a $150 sporter out of a $550 milsurp. Most people already knew how to do that...
 
big zed said:
Just like to mention that AIA did not close down shop. Not long ago I was looking for some mags and had some questions so I called the AIA in Australia and as I was talking to the guy and mentioned that I'm from Canada it went south from there. He told me that Canadian dealer (not mentioning any names) orderd from him big pile of guns and then he never heard from him and can't get hold of him. They told me that he tried to contact them for long time and no reply in any way so I don't think they will send any guns to Canada any time soon. It really sucked to hear how they got screwed .
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The fellow you talked to may have his countries crossed. The issue you mention happened in the US. The left overs from that debacle ended up at Marstar. I can't imagine John or any other Canadian importer I am familiar with reneging on such a deal.
 
I just got into Enfield's myself. I gravitate towards the MKIII and picked a sweet 1945 Ishapore for $450 shipped. Love it.
 
ShotgunNut said:
So these were British and Canadian service rifles in WW1 and WW2? I did a quick wiki search on them but still more to read yet. If I were to acquire on of these, I intend to keep it original other than maybe a scope mount. I find the 5th generation Enfields the most appealing. How much do these guys cost? How common and readily available are they?
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This is like saying "I am thinking about trying heroin ..."
 
The first rifle I ever bought was a No.4MK1 and now I have 5 Lee Enfields from the No.1MKIII to the No.5MK1. You won't be disappointed with a lee enfield that's for sure and if you are planning on buying a full military version and putting a scope on it get a bolt on scope mount. I have on one my No.4 and its perfectly fine and the only modification needed is to remove the rear sight which is just 2 pins. As for price assuming by 5th generation you mean the No.5MK1 aka the jungle carbine I would expect to pay anywhere from 500-600 for one seeing as their not nearly as readily available as either the No.4 or the No.1MKIII.
 
By 5th gen are you talking about the No5 "Jungle Carbines"?

Tough place to start, because there's a lot of faked #5's around - No4's that have been chopped and rebuilt as No5's.

Also... They kick. More than your average full calibre bolt action rifle.

So don't buy one. And I'm not saying that just to keep someone else from getting a nice one before I do. Nosiree... I wouldn't do that to a fellow nutter.
 
When I was 11 or 12 years old I saw that they were for sale in the Simpson Sears catalogue for $12.95.

My dad had a nicely sporterized one with what I seem to recall was rosewood and commercial sights, but that was a long time ago. I wanted to buy the milsurp and he said "No, don't do that, it's probably shot out."
 
bearhunter said:
The fellow you talked to may have his countries crossed. The issue you mention happened in the US. The left overs from that debacle ended up at Marstar. I can't imagine John or any other Canadian importer I am familiar with reneging on such a deal.
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I wish that is the case but is not. All I could say to him that I was very sorry to hear that!
 
ShotgunNut said:
Your telling me these guns are $500+? I still haven't found any...
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If they haven't been modified and are in good serviceable condition, yes, they are worth that. If you find one like that and you want to use a scope, do not have it drilled and tapped to screw a scope mount on it because then it will have been modified and the value drops. There are several mounts that attach without needing that, and some of them work very well.
 
I bought a sporterized Mk.4 a couple of years ago, I had a scope on it for a while, although I used a scope mount that replaced the rear sight (had two screws that fit into the hole for the pin that holds the sight on) and clamped down onto the receiver bridge.

SK1165.jpg


It worked for me, fit up nice and solid.
 
OP5747 said:
I bought a sporterized Mk.4 a couple of years ago, I had a scope on it for a while, although I used a scope mount that replaced the rear sight (had two screws that fit into the hole for the pin that holds the sight on) and clamped down onto the receiver bridge.

SK1165.jpg


It worked for me, fit up nice and solid.
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That S&K is the right sort of thing. ATI and Armalon work the same way, the rifle isn't permanently altered so it retains the collectable value. I prefer the more elaborate Cad-Technik because the rear sight remains in place (and usable because the mount is quick-detach) and to me its drawbacks (every solution brings its own problems) are worth it for that.
 
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