MLLE barrel

[Joe Turner]

The barel on my 1896 " Long Lee " is pretty worn. The grooves and lands are rough and the bore is oversize ( a .312 bullet will slind from muzzle to breech ) Does anyone have a source for barrels for this fine old rifle? I know that is a long shot but short of relining the original ( which is a long shot as well apparently ) another, better barrel is my best option. I sure like the Long Lee and wold like to get it running as a shooter. It is a basic parts gun out of New Zealand but a good one for my working collection. any help would be appreciated. My 1910 Ross is up and running although I need a better upper band but it is working very well. Thanks, Joe

 

[englishman_ca]

Replacement Long Lee Enfield barrel

Joe, how much is the rifle worth to you? There is the cheap way, then there is the easy way.

The chances of finding a replacement barrel are pretty slim to none. Most spares have been used up, but you might get lucky, I'm sure that there is one here or there gathering dust. Most are found in Australia or New Zealand, which is where the Brits sent their obscolete rifles when replaced by the SMLE. The odd barrel shows up on FleaBay but usualy goes for silly money.

Best practice I find, is to buy a sportered rifle with uncut barrel and use it as a donor for parts. The parts left over can be sold, often for as much as I paid for the the donor rifle! . A gunsmith might charge $100 to swap out barrels and do the headspace.

An alternative might be to get the barrel relined. I had one gunsmith quote me a ballpark figure of $175, and that would be if I dismantled the rifle and brought him just the barrel. I have been told that that is a good price, a liner would have to be custom machined due to the 30 inch length.

Removing the barrel and then replacing it back onto the receiver is not something that can be done in the home shop unless you invest in the proper tools. A barrel vise and an action wrench with correct spacers and bushings for the Long Lee knoxform and the receiver profile will run you about $300. Putting the barrel back on, it has to be carefully indexed to the receiver, otherwise sighting might be off or there might be extractor issues. It is not rocket science, but it has to be done right.

Easy way is to let a competant gunsmith could do the whole job, but it is the labour that runs up the bill. If that were the case, it might cost more to reline the barrel than the gun was worth. Cost might not be an issue if this was a family heirloom or similar. Relining would keep the rifle original barrel and its markings, which might be important on a rare piece.

And a third option. Is this an original spec rifle, or is it a sporter? An SMLE barrel is easy to find and would screw right on there.

 

[Joe Turner]

englishman ca! Thanks for the thoughtful response. I have the word out to various sources as does the fellow who sold me the rifle. He is inquring through New Zealand sources. I have a gunsmith who does fine barrel work who could do the barrel lining although I understand that relining causes a harmonics change in the barrel which may or may not be a problem in shooting. This rifle is a parts gun, no serial number matches but in pretty nice shape except for the bore. It is full military spec. If I could find a cheap enough " sporter " that still had a good long barrel that would be great but those seem to be pretty scarce as well. Since my collection is a working collection in that it used a good amount for load development, pleasure shooting, research and military museum displays I am always more concerned about mechanical integrity than having something " minty ". I agree that the job has to be done right and I can get that done here. I will keep at this but really want this rifle up and running. If someone would have told me I would be collecting Enfields years ago when I was playing US Indian Wars cavalry I would have laughed. I had an SMLE then but it was just another surplus fun shooter. Now its more serious business. I am sure you are familiar with the progression of this disease. Best regards,, Joe