Lee Speed Target Rifle Odd Sight

T

Torandir

CGN Regular
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Location
Newfoundland
Hi All,
Currently I have this rifle on loan from the owner, who is not a firearms guy, but has had this for 60 years as his father found it inside the wall of a local hospital when doing electrical work (as can be seen in the photo of the volley sight where he was drilling into the wall and hit it). This rifle is a Lee Speed (commercial variant of the long lee) with a different style of crown than i've seen on others, it's perfectly flat/square, and enfield style rifling. The oddest part of the rifle however is the rear sight. It is some kind of early BSA aperature, however the aperature is so small, I can't see through it. It mounts where the original leaf used to be, and also has notch sights for use as well. I can't find any info around online and was wondering if anyone had seen one like it before. The other oddity is the marking on the barrel shank/knoxform area which I can find no information on, but it isn't a bsa logo. Overall the gun is in magnificent condition and all numbers match. It is missing the rear handguard unfortunately, but no idea when that was lost. It may have been taken off for a better sight picture on that added tiny rear sight.

Photos Here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tnyWJEQih8UkgT8s9
 
Hello Tora. This commercial target rifle sports a BSA & Co. model 1908 target sight for the Enfield rifle. The sight does not appear in the A.G.
Parker and Co. catalogue of 1911 or in Edna Parker's 1984 book "Century of Sights and Sighting Aids". I have this sight in mint condition and
mine has the p/patent 1907 adjustable slide with the V notch and small aperture exactly as this one. Normally these rifles came new with the service type sight but to get a special edge on the competition an adjustable sight was ordered special. Bisley did not allow adjustable sights
until 1908 and aperture back sights allowed 1910. The small aperture was common (even in the Mk III Ross battle sight of 1910) but one could buy a tool to enlarge to suit. I also have the tool/reamer. In absence of a proper name in my basic research I'd call this sight a BSA Model 1908. The knox form sports a retailer logo but I do not recognize it. Almost all target rifles whether Enfield or Ross had flat crowned
muzzles. Muzzles were turned round to enable bayonet fitting for service rifles. JOHN
 
Thanks for the info. I do know that the crown over IB stamp on the barrel indicates that the rifle was inspected and approved for military run and sanctioned matches. The story from the hospital is also surprisingly true as the have a few photos which I will try to post. That hospital when torn down also had a lot of other post war military equipment used as reinforcement in the concrete foundations for part of the newer wing at the time. I actually own a GEW98 barreled action that i pulled from the floor when the demolition was on going a number of years ago...Only in NL. The lack of reference material explains why I couldn't find any info on it. I'll see if i can find some info on the original patent, now that i know that the '08 part is the year, not the number. I'll also leave the aperture alone, while the rifle is a fantastic shooter. that aperture is way to tiny to be that far forward. I've got no problem with my ross m10, or M1917 rear sights, but for history sake, I'll leave that sight alone. That Makers mark on the barrel has me confused as well. it doesn't resemble anything I've been able to find, and unfortunately it's kinda difficult to throw an odd symbol in the google search engine.
 
I doubt that the mark on the Nock's Form is a makers mark. It is likely the mark of a dealer.
 
Ive had rifles that were marked by who bough them. I have a long lee and commercial CLLE that are marked UDF with a little logo on the knox in my safe now.
I had a cool commerical no1mk3 rifle that had an odd marking on the knox that i never did find out what it was.
 
Well if the hospital was in NFLD that's a different story. The Government there in 1939 was expecting to be occupied by the Nazis. there was a program to hide firearms and ammo in case they needed to set up a resistance. Firearms turn up there occasionally.
 
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