My Enfields. What do I do with them? - added bore pic

smellie said:
The actual cocking-pieces don't interchange, either, because the threads are different: BA thread on the Number 4, Enfield on the SMLE.

The flat-sided cocking-piece came in about the middle of World War One for the SMLE because it cost less in materials and was quicker and easier to machine. It worked okay, too, so they didn't replace them all after the War although they did go back to the round cocking-piece because they thought it was better.

So the various Test rifles were made with the old rounded cocking-piece and the Trials SMLE Mark VI is selected as the new rifle and it is called the Number 4 and a bunch are made up for Trials..... and it has the round cocking-piece. So it goes into (somewhat limited, mind you) production as the Rifle Number 4, Mark 1.... with a round cocking-piece. That nice Mister Hitler then decides to start a World War when the ONLY factory that knows ANYTHING about the Number 4 Rifle is being retooled. Finally, Britain decides that it might disturb tea-break, but re-arming might be an idea, what with this uncivilised little blighter dropping bombs in everyone else's petunia patches, so they enter negotiations with Savage to build a whack of Number 4s.... with round cocking-pieces. Nice Mister Hitler and a couple of million heavily-armed friends go touring in Poland, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Chamberlain's Government resigns, Winston is handed the PM job and the excrement strikes the rotary air-recirculation device. Canada decides to Do Something and so Long Branch is set up at a furious rate and starts cranking out Number 4 Rifles..... with round cocking-pieces. And BSA is told to set up a plant and make the Number 4.... with the round cocking-piece.

And then it is rediscovered that a flat cocking-piece with deep grooves works ALMOST as well, uses about half the steel and is faster to make: orders go out to the plants making the things to stop making the round cocking-piece and make the flat cocking-piece with deep grooves. It actually got to the point that they made flat cocking-pieces which were SLAB-SIDED; this was discovered to be a Big Mistake and so they nearly all were changed out during refits.

And it was the same with barrels, 5 grooves being the ideal but 6, 4, 3 and 2 being manufactured, 2-piece barrels going into production and all the rest.

Hop on over to milsurps dot com, take out a membership and download THE LEE-ENFIELD RIFLE by Major E.G.B. Reynolds. It's a 1960 book but it was written before the Great Shredding Of Documents and the information is ALL there. THEY WERE DESPERATE.

And so here we are, nearly 70 years later, thinking that ALL Number 1s had the rounded cocking-piece and that ALL Number 4s had the slab-side model. Not so, not so: both rifles had BOTH types, depending on where and when they were made, when and how they were refitted.

That said, a proper round cocking-piece on a Shirley Number 4 rifle is well worth remarking.

Hope this helps.
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Click to expand...

You have a way with words.

I also concur. I've seen the various styles of cocking piece on the various styles of rifle.
 
bryan.14 said:
For the Top Lee Enfield No 4.

Install Ebony Tip forend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yhHZzgWwlc
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Laugh2

"..A well shaped Ebony fore-end, Simple and Elegant....." WTF! Simple???

Seriously?? I haven't been bothered to even clean them yet. LOL

I have some nice Teak. Will that work. :)

What does a barrel cost? The barrel in the Sporter is very nice. Good shine and nice edge on the Rifling. That particular rifle has seen little use. The gentleman shot a few rounds back in the 70's. He kept it in his closet all these years, never shot it.
 
Sporter on top...looks alright

mk4a.jpg

mk4b.jpg


MkIII has a bit of wear....
mk3.jpg

mk3b.jpg


Bottom Mk4 has some pitting :(
mk4ftrb.jpg
 
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