Is there a tactical stock for the lee enfield?
- Thread starter Nelson84
- Start date
There is a reason most people de - bubba these rifles lol. Then again do what ya want it's yours it's kinda like taking a classic car and making it not original there is then one less example of what it's suppose to be forever.
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
So very true! The best use of the word "Tactical" is in the use of said device by the user...NOT the tool that he or she employs in the mission. Tactical is a method.....not an item.
Guys really have to learn which is which if they are playing with Lee-Enfields especially.
Couple of examples:
No 1 Mark 5 (actually V) was a very rare experimental, built only in 2 small lots in 1922 and 1924, although there exist a very few with a 1923 date; Number 5 Mark 1 was the "Jungle Carbine".
Same way, the SMLE Mark I*** LOOKS like a Mark III* but actually the I*** rifles are 1901-to-end-of-January 1907 rifles which have been back to the factory 1, 2 or even 3 times for modifications to bring them up-to-date. There are several variants (I have 2) and they are quite rare. Actual Mark III*, on the other hand, was built in the millions, but only from 1916 onwards.
Also there is a Number 1 Mark IV and a Number 4 Mark 1. My Number 1 Mark IV was built 1897 as a Long rifle, rebuilt 1908 as a Short rifle, rebuilt again in 1942 with all 3 dates on it! The Number 4 Mark 1 and 1* are Second World War rifles, made new in England (3 factories: Shirley, Fazakerley and Maltby), the USA (Savage) and Canada (Long Branch) during and after the war, a few after the war by Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Wah Cantt.
We really have to be on top iof these things so we know what we are talking about.
A NUMBER designates a WHOLE NEW RIFLE. A MARK designates a variant of an EXISTING type and a STAR (*) gives a relatively-MINOR change which is not worth a whole MARK.
When the new nomenclature system was developed in 1926 and introduced in 1927, it went like this:
ALL Lee-Metford and (Long) Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifles retained their original names..... and became obsolete, as did their respective Carbines.
Number 1 was the SHORT rifle, the actual SMLE rifle in calibre .303". The many various Marks and Stars were retained.
Number 2 was the .22RF version of a Number 1
Number 3 was the Pattern of 1914
Number 4 was the new rifle originally developed as the Number 1 Mark VI, then changed to Number 4 Rifle at the same time as all screw threads were changed from Enfield to BA. Buttplate screws and front-sight blades SHOULD interchange between Number 1 and Number 4, but that's about all! (Actually, the 2 internal action springs, Extractors, Stock Bolts and Washers can be persuaded to work.)
Number 5 was the Jungle Carbine, although most Number 4 parts will fit it.
Number 6 was the Australian Jungle Rifle built on the Number 1 frame; our chances of owning a real one are pretty thin.
Number 7 was the .22 version of the Number 4. There are at least 3 variants of these: the British version, the Long Branch .22" and the C Number 7.
Number 8 is the British Cadet version of the Lee-Enfield
Number 9 was the sweetest assault rifle ever designed, the EM-2 selective-fire Janson rifle in .280/.30. Rifle, cartridge and number all disappeared under massive US pressure, although US "state of the art" ammunition developments are coming close to catching up with this British 1949 design.
The entire system was washed-away by the development of the newer L (Land) system of nomenclature in Britain and by the C system here and R system in South Africa.
Hope this diatribe helps somebody, at least......
Couple of examples:
No 1 Mark 5 (actually V) was a very rare experimental, built only in 2 small lots in 1922 and 1924, although there exist a very few with a 1923 date; Number 5 Mark 1 was the "Jungle Carbine".
Same way, the SMLE Mark I*** LOOKS like a Mark III* but actually the I*** rifles are 1901-to-end-of-January 1907 rifles which have been back to the factory 1, 2 or even 3 times for modifications to bring them up-to-date. There are several variants (I have 2) and they are quite rare. Actual Mark III*, on the other hand, was built in the millions, but only from 1916 onwards.
Also there is a Number 1 Mark IV and a Number 4 Mark 1. My Number 1 Mark IV was built 1897 as a Long rifle, rebuilt 1908 as a Short rifle, rebuilt again in 1942 with all 3 dates on it! The Number 4 Mark 1 and 1* are Second World War rifles, made new in England (3 factories: Shirley, Fazakerley and Maltby), the USA (Savage) and Canada (Long Branch) during and after the war, a few after the war by Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Wah Cantt.
We really have to be on top iof these things so we know what we are talking about.
A NUMBER designates a WHOLE NEW RIFLE. A MARK designates a variant of an EXISTING type and a STAR (*) gives a relatively-MINOR change which is not worth a whole MARK.
When the new nomenclature system was developed in 1926 and introduced in 1927, it went like this:
ALL Lee-Metford and (Long) Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifles retained their original names..... and became obsolete, as did their respective Carbines.
Number 1 was the SHORT rifle, the actual SMLE rifle in calibre .303". The many various Marks and Stars were retained.
Number 2 was the .22RF version of a Number 1
Number 3 was the Pattern of 1914
Number 4 was the new rifle originally developed as the Number 1 Mark VI, then changed to Number 4 Rifle at the same time as all screw threads were changed from Enfield to BA. Buttplate screws and front-sight blades SHOULD interchange between Number 1 and Number 4, but that's about all! (Actually, the 2 internal action springs, Extractors, Stock Bolts and Washers can be persuaded to work.)
Number 5 was the Jungle Carbine, although most Number 4 parts will fit it.
Number 6 was the Australian Jungle Rifle built on the Number 1 frame; our chances of owning a real one are pretty thin.
Number 7 was the .22 version of the Number 4. There are at least 3 variants of these: the British version, the Long Branch .22" and the C Number 7.
Number 8 is the British Cadet version of the Lee-Enfield
Number 9 was the sweetest assault rifle ever designed, the EM-2 selective-fire Janson rifle in .280/.30. Rifle, cartridge and number all disappeared under massive US pressure, although US "state of the art" ammunition developments are coming close to catching up with this British 1949 design.
The entire system was washed-away by the development of the newer L (Land) system of nomenclature in Britain and by the C system here and R system in South Africa.
Hope this diatribe helps somebody, at least......
Last edited:
infideleggwelder
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
No5 Mk 1
I'll admit it. It helped me smellie.... Thanks for the list.....
Richard makes some tacticool accessories for the some Enfields. I have his latest Enfield D&T mount & it is the best mount I have seen. I had a lot of different no drill mounts but they always fell short of my needs. Either they required removal of the rear sight, were too high or had alignment issues. He also has a AR pistol grip conversion that might suit your tacticool craving.
http://www.specialinterestarms.com/index.php?page=enfield_accessories
Here is the latest mount.
http://www.specialinterestarms.com/index.php?page=enfield_accessories
Here is the latest mount.
To the OP: I see no trouble tacticooling a beat up sportered enfield. One with the barrel shortened or bridge removed etc. Some prices some posted for synthetic sets around here are far cheaper than full wood. Id say go for it.
If she is restorable by any means, or is already a full wood, I would pass on it. Plus the ones that have been hacked up or sportered go for cheaper anyhow. You can trade the one in for another hacked up one and have money left over to fund the synthetic stock you want. Win win situation.
P.S. Thanks smellie for the Info. Thats an awesome and concise breakdown of the numbers and marks of enfield. Copied and pasted for quick reference!
If she is restorable by any means, or is already a full wood, I would pass on it. Plus the ones that have been hacked up or sportered go for cheaper anyhow. You can trade the one in for another hacked up one and have money left over to fund the synthetic stock you want. Win win situation.
P.S. Thanks smellie for the Info. Thats an awesome and concise breakdown of the numbers and marks of enfield. Copied and pasted for quick reference!
It's a shortened sporter with 2 holes drilled and tapped for a scope on top. With aftermarket wood stock. It sucks the way it is and it's a no. 4. With the rear sight removed. It has nothing going for it and also has mag missing. I am just looking to see if I have any other options. I don't even want to shoot it as is. It has lost it's mojo.
My advice is very simple: scrounge around, haunt gun shows and gun shops, pick up the parts it needs, one by one. Don't race the clock; make it a PROJECT, do it slowly, savour each new bit. When you have all the right parts, put it back together again..... the RIGHT way.
Give it BACK its mojo.
Do that and you will have a RIFLE for LIFE: one that you will always be able to RELY on.
I did that, once upon a time, for a pretty set of sights I found in a $2 junk barrel. Indian Water-Buffalo Horn insets for adjustment buttons, very nice cross-sliding adjustable eyepiece on a graduated scale for Drift adjustment. I had no idea at the time that they were terribly rare, had been made only until the beginning of January of 1907 and then were ordered destroyed in 1924. They were attached to a barrel which looked washed-out and to an oddball Body dated 1907. I got more parts from that "$2 for anything" barrel and gradually built up a rifle. Careful inspection showed that the washed-out barrel was actually TAPER-BORED rather than shot-out. When I visited the Pattern Room in 1976, I mentioned that I was shooting a taper-bored SMLE Mark I***. The man looked at me as if I had two heads and said, "Really? We thought WE had the only one left! How does it shoot?"
That rifle will never be sold as long as I am on this side of the sod. Part numbers don't match and it is not "by the book" but then, many Navy rifles (this is one) were not "by the book" either. What makes it unique is that it is MINE. And it looks a lot better this way, with its LEATHER sling and Pattern 1903 Bayonet in place, than it would look as the front-bumper mount on a Datsun.
Think about it.
You just might do yourself a real favour.
Give it BACK its mojo.
Do that and you will have a RIFLE for LIFE: one that you will always be able to RELY on.
I did that, once upon a time, for a pretty set of sights I found in a $2 junk barrel. Indian Water-Buffalo Horn insets for adjustment buttons, very nice cross-sliding adjustable eyepiece on a graduated scale for Drift adjustment. I had no idea at the time that they were terribly rare, had been made only until the beginning of January of 1907 and then were ordered destroyed in 1924. They were attached to a barrel which looked washed-out and to an oddball Body dated 1907. I got more parts from that "$2 for anything" barrel and gradually built up a rifle. Careful inspection showed that the washed-out barrel was actually TAPER-BORED rather than shot-out. When I visited the Pattern Room in 1976, I mentioned that I was shooting a taper-bored SMLE Mark I***. The man looked at me as if I had two heads and said, "Really? We thought WE had the only one left! How does it shoot?"
That rifle will never be sold as long as I am on this side of the sod. Part numbers don't match and it is not "by the book" but then, many Navy rifles (this is one) were not "by the book" either. What makes it unique is that it is MINE. And it looks a lot better this way, with its LEATHER sling and Pattern 1903 Bayonet in place, than it would look as the front-bumper mount on a Datsun.
Think about it.
You just might do yourself a real favour.
@ MDR:
I'll haul it out and ask Janice to take a couple of photos.
If you are ever down this way, we can take it out, along with the completely-original NRF.
Wolverine has a nice range; they are only 4 miles from town.
I'll haul it out and ask Janice to take a couple of photos.
If you are ever down this way, we can take it out, along with the completely-original NRF.
Wolverine has a nice range; they are only 4 miles from town.
samsplacci71
Regular
- Location
- Toronto area
Get a synthetic or Boyd's stock, scope it and call it good.
