Lee enfield storage crate question

[Razor117]

Good day and thanks for reading.
I'm a bit of a Lee Enfield collector in the sense that I like to keep rifles serviceable. I cut my teeth working on the rangers rifles and got hooked on them in my private life in my off hours.

Where I'm at is that I have a growing number of rifles and was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of the storage crates. Or if they existed. I'm aware of the (T) series and No7 transit cases but I am thinking in the realm of storing more than one in a crate. And no I'm not planning on burying it ��
Any pointers for dimensions or if one still exists would be great. Was there a huge difference between No1 and No4 crates?

Thank you

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

There are two chests - the Canadian CNo.7 .22 rifle chest, and the No.15 No.4 (T) chest, whether made in Canada or UK. They are identical except the No.15 is about 2" taller to accommodate the rifle with scope attached. The chests are very robust and quite heavy. There is a rarer BREN chest too.

I have found the original leather straps on the No.15 chests after 80+ years are too brittle to be trusted. Likewise the CNo.7 chest straps are almost always found as salvaged No.4 canvas sling lengths. Sometimes these have deteriorated with age and tear with the weight of the loaded chest.

Yes, a rifle will nest quite nicely and store safely in the chest. That is the idea. But after that, there are much more manageable modern plastic chests with foam inserts, good hinges and latches, and which won't dislocate your shoulder picking them up. If there is an advantage of old over new there is also a disadvantage. In the wooden chests, there is only a little felt contacting the stock whereas foam touches the whole rifle, and can hold moisture. But, if you No.4 has a Long butt, it won't fit either a CNo.7 or No.15 chest.

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

I should add, let your Goofle skills roam the interwebs. There are shop drawings of the No.15 chest posted on various sites. But, except for height, it is a CNo.7 chest with British slot vs Canadian combination slot and Robertson hardware.

 

[can14]

They also made Thompson Model 1928 chest's

 

[Cottage Hill Bill]

https://www.gunboards.com/threads/australian-smle-transit-chest.289171/#post-2344218
https://www.gunboards.com/threads/aust-chest-no-1-mk-2.534905/#post-4640041
https://www.gunboards.com/threads/replica-wwi-smle-storage-shipping-crates.1234676/#post-11188203

A search on "chest" the GB Lee-Enfield forum yielded 23 pages threads.

 

[bobdbldr]

you may be able to use old Mosin crates that were plentiful just a few years ago!

 

[woodchopper]

I have contemplated making my own multi-rifle crates.

There was shipping crates that held multiple rifles, I don't remember how many rifles, 4 or 8 I think, but I did see 2 crates that held sequentially numbered LB rifles that Mr Kerr had stashed away.

 

[Razor117]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Now to do some research

 

[can14]

There were also L1A1 boxes that held 6
Singapore Police Rifles

 

[cantom]

Sadly I don't have this, just the pics.

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

^^^^^

Jaw dropping! When I was issued my FN C1A1 for Basic Training it came in a brown cardboard box. The Supply Tech showed me the serial number, made me sign, and closed up the flap. After trudging to my shared room to leave the other stuff, I had to return the box to stores. It is hard to march purposefully with a 4' long empty box under your arm.

 

[woodchopper]

Sadly I don't have this, just the pics.

thanks Cantom that's what I was talking about, how many fit in those crates ?

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

I count 9 holes in the divider, but that is not a happy stockkeeping value.

 

[woodchopper]

I count 9 holes in the divider, but that is not a happy stockkeeping value.

the number 9 offends my stocktaking sensibility...

I suspect that there must be a way to get 12 rifles in that crate

 

[Wormald1995]

Here's one that's for sale currently on Facebook market place