Lee Enfield Prices

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bros

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No sure about you but I've really been scratching my head.......what the heck happened to Lee Enfield prices????? The money people are asking and getting is bizarre at the least!!!!! Longbranch are the pricey ones at least here but even British ones are commanding some serious prices as of late. I remember debating spending the $300 plus for a wrapped Irish one from Century Arms a number of years ago....I should have bought a pallet of them instead of one!!!! Isn't that the way it goes could've, should've. I'm currently accumulating them (mainly No4 Mk2) but not here.....private deals if I can find them. In the last two years bought 2 Fazakery...mint bores and all matching including mags, wood a little tickled here and there. This winter picked up a Savage No4 Mk1....simply beautiful....all matching including mag.....never issued and appears unfired!!! Your thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Are you really scratching your head ?

Not trying to be a jerk....but I find it difficult to believe...anyone...doesn't understand why milsurps in general are going up in price.

Would you be scratching your head if they were dropping in price ?
 
bros said:
No sure about you but I've really been scratching my head.......what the heck happened to Lee Enfield prices????? The money people are asking and getting is bizarre at the least!!!!! Longbranch are the pricey ones at least here but even British ones are commanding some serious prices as of late. I remember debating spending the $300 plus for a wrapped Irish one from Century Arms a number of years ago....I should have bought a pallet of them instead of one!!!! Isn't that the way it goes could've, should've. I'm currently accumulating them (mainly No4 Mk2) but not here.....private deals if I can find them. In the last two years bought 2 Fazakery...mint bores and all matching including mags, wood a little tickled here and there. This winter picked up a Savage No4 Mk1....simply beautiful....all matching including mag.....never issued and appears unfired!!! Your thoughts would be appreciated.
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Never mind complaining about the prices, you are being very lucky to find that many nice ones.
 
Complete, unaltered Lee Enfields have been steadily climbing in price since the 70's. Ones
in "as issued" condition have & will always command a premium. Like other cool battle rifles
like 1903 Springfields, scarcity drives price & demand.

Grab a K31 Swiss now before these get bought up.....they're frickin' sweet.:)
 
I remember racks and racks of unfired Kar98ks at $27.50 apiece, $250 a dozen.

Racks of brand-new Kar-43s at $65, Johnsons at $39.95, Werndls at $11.97, Mannlicher 1888/90s at $12, Berdan IIs at the same, Sniders at $6 for a good one.

I have looked and looked and looked, but I just can't find a single one at those prices today.

Damn PROFITEERS, all of them!

Unless (a) the dollar no longer buys for a Dollar but instead for 8 cents, (b) there is a limited supply, (c) there are more Collecters out there and (d) Bubba has wrecked the best ones and has had 50 years of "Hey, it's your property, do whatever you want with it".......

Just saying....
 
I believe new collectors/ shooters are doing a lot to drive up prices- lets face it, even pricey milsurps can look like a bargain beside certain brand new hunting/ military style guns. However,having been there/ done that, I shudder when I see obvious newcomers fondling a Faked No. 4T with $4000.00 price tag. Now that I've learned a bit I enjoy searching out real bargains at the shows, which do exist. Case in point, at a recent show I found an excellent '44 Lithgow No. 1 with $300.00 price tag. All matching, bore as brand new, but some idiot had apparently replaced a broken striker with No. 4 parts and a mainspring that might have been out of a Mauser! Fixed in 20 minutes and now one of my favorites. Another example- a Martini Enfield that the seller thought was a Khyber Pass special because markings had been scrubbed at Citadel in Egypt ($275.00). My point is, if you're a new collector and want Lee Enfields, study up and you'll find some decent buys- after all, how many million were made.
 
milsurpo said:
.... if you're a new collector and want Lee Enfields, study up and you'll find some decent buys- after all, how many million were made.
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Or just do like me. Blunder in blind, flail about wildly, take yer licks, and get lucky occasionally! :)

infideleggwelder said:
my Dad bought 2 No 1s for $25.00 (the pair) at Canadian Tire back in the early 60s. still has them
i`m trying to get them from him for that price, maybe a little less cause they`re old .......lol
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And SHAME ON YOU for trying to cheat your dear old Dad!! Tell him I will gladly pay $50 apiece for them. If he covers shipping of course. ;)
 
There is a reason why Bubbas sporterizing their stuff catch so much flack. Patience is a virtue. Troll every gun show that comes to town and look in EE religiously. Maybe even do some research grab one of the million sporterized No.4s and put a new stock on it.
 
My Dad has a 1945 "US Property" Number 4 Mark 1 that I bought him for his birthday about 20 years ago now. It came with a #9 bayonet. I am not sure if the numbers match or anything, as at the time I did not know or care about such things. But this was the rifle he trained with back in the 50s, and when he was commanding officer of his reserve unit (C company, RNBR) he had it on the wall above his desk in the armoury. I don't think he ever put a round through it, and I know I never did.

I paid $150 for it at the time. Probably paid to much for back then. But it sounds cheap now.

Next time I go home I will give her some TLC. A good bore scrubbing perhaps ... and try to convince her to come home with me ....
 
It's been almost 100 years since WW1 started, 70 years since WW2, and over 60 years since Korea. They made a finite number of rifles and many were used for all three wars.
 
Supply and demand, that's all I have to say. Something can be extremely rare but if no one wants it then its worthless. Fortunately for some and unfortunately for others (like me) the Lee Enfields (and other Milsurps) have gone up in price.

Deals are to be had but they are few and far between. For example things I saw on the EE in the past couple of months which I could have bought (and if I were to sell profited on) a were Lithgow No. 1 Mk. 3 full stock for $150 (it was in rough shape stock wise but for $150 who cares?) and the other one I noticed was a 1895 Spanish Mauser Carbine for $200 (for some reason that sat around for a couple of days).

Another good example of a good find is my buddy got a original condition 1943 IBM manufactured M1 Carbine (no bayonet lug or arsenal repairs) for $400. He was unhappy with it because it didn't have the bayonet lug. When I explained what it was he changed his tune pretty quickly. Some people just don't know what they have and to others it will always just be a cheap throw away gun (because back in the day that was what they were).
 
There is also the fact that parts are drying up. A couple of years ago, #4 parts were all over the place and plentifull. Not so much now.
 
milsurpo said:
I believe new collectors/ shooters are doing a lot to drive up prices- lets face it, even pricey milsurps can look like a bargain beside certain brand new hunting/ military style guns. However,having been there/ done that, I shudder when I see obvious newcomers fondling a Faked No. 4T with $4000.00 price tag. Now that I've learned a bit I enjoy searching out real bargains at the shows, which do exist. Case in point, at a recent show I found an excellent '44 Lithgow No. 1 with $300.00 price tag. All matching, bore as brand new, but some idiot had apparently replaced a broken striker with No. 4 parts and a mainspring that might have been out of a Mauser! Fixed in 20 minutes and now one of my favorites. Another example- a Martini Enfield that the seller thought was a Khyber Pass special because markings had been scrubbed at Citadel in Egypt ($275.00). My point is, if you're a new collector and want Lee Enfields, study up and you'll find some decent buys- after all, how many million were made.
Click to expand...

You forget to ask how many went to the smelters.
 
WHOPPER_JR said:
There is a reason why Bubbas sporterizing their stuff catch so much flack. Patience is a virtue. Troll every gun show that comes to town and look in EE religiously. Maybe even do some research grab one of the million sporterized No.4s and put a new stock on it.
Click to expand...

Actually, I prefer to use sportered No.4's for something more fun than trying to make 'em back into issue-type .303's...Boring!;)
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