Opinions on 1958 SMLE

nessy357

nessy357

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I"m thinking about buying a 1958 SMLE I believe was issued to RAF Reservist (Territorials) .It's possibly unfired condition,has a scope mounted, and a rubber butt pad.
The price is $200, I feel this to be a fair price, but I'm not sure.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance nessy.
 
nessy357 said:
I"m thinking about buying a 1958 SMLE I believe was issued to RAF Reservist (Territorials) .It's possibly unfired condition,has a scope mounted, and a rubber butt pad.
The price is $200, I feel this to be a fair price, but I'm not sure.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance nessy.
Click to expand...
get it. the RAF reserve is called the RAF reserve, only the army reseve is referred to as the TA. Check all the usual spots for abuse, and pull off the butt pad and see if it has the RAF albatross stamp. I understand that some of them are indeed stamped with the RAF logo.
 
NO SMLE's were made in 1958...??? Are you sure it's not a 1958 FTR SMLE or perhaps a Faz made No.4 rifle?

Also, if it has a scope mounted and is NOT A No.4T or an L42 or L39 series sniper rifle, then it's bubba's and not worth $200 except as a source for parts.

Of course, if it's a no-gunsmithing mount, that's another story.
 
It was Bubba'd but I had to bring it home.All markings on the wood were sanded off and varathaned.Basically bought a pretty shooter.It's has the original mag and shows no signs of ever being loaded, the bolt is pristine,all that is gonna change on Sun.
The ser # is 11/54PF326634 No4 Mk2
Thanks again nessy

SMLE002.jpg


SMLE001.jpg
 
Claven2 said:
NO SMLE's were made in 1958...??? Are you sure it's not a 1958 FTR SMLE or perhaps a Faz made No.4 rifle?

Also, if it has a scope mounted and is NOT A No.4T or an L42 or L39 series sniper rifle, then it's bubba's and not worth $200 except as a source for parts.

Of course, if it's a no-gunsmithing mount, that's another story.
Click to expand...

While it didn't turn out to be, there is one possibility you missed Claven: It could have been a EAL with the origional PH scope mount. The rubber butt pad would have supported this. The timeframe of 1958 would have been in the ballpark for the EALs as well.
I passed on a minty EAL military, because it had holes drilled in the left side right through a portion of the serial number and even through the EAL. The guy said he had the scope mount at home. Later learned that some of the EALs were factory supplied with scopes.

Nessy: Not a bad looking rifle for $200.
 
Thank you ,It was butt padded by the local gunsmith,who also verified it, I'm told it was built in England , the CFC were sceptical about it during the transfer ?
Cheers nessy.
 
You did well, even if my heart bleeds when I see such a nice rifle drilled and tapped for a scope mount... all the ones I have seen had the wood chopped up and the fittings discarded in the refuse bin.
I'm happy you didn't give the name of the "gunsmith".:mad:
I hope it shoots well.;)
PP.
 
That kind of bubba job pisses me off more then the chopped up ones......
It's 99% as issued, but can never be restored.....
FYI, the unfired FAZ No.4mkII's are selling for $500-$600 in original condition.......slap that gunsmith next time you see him.
 
Enfield

One thing you could do to improve things is to replace butt with unmodified one. Shouldnt be hard to find, then strip the finish with stripper and ###X steel-wool the apply several coats of BLO (boiled linseed oil). By the way,what part of the island are you in?
Geoff in Victoria
 
The rifle is no doubt a fine shooter, and a great buy at $200. It is also an excellent example of how to spend money, and put a lot of work into a project, and wind up with something worth less than before the work started..
 
Nice looking rifle!

I love the stand/tray it is on also...I have to get me one of those someday. :D

Great to see another Vancouver Island GunNut/Enfield shooter. :)
 
I,m in Port Alberni,where I'm organising the Gun Show for June 25th;) ;)
I'm not so sure I can bring myself to shoot it now:confused: it's 52 yrs old and still got it's cherry.
I might do what you suggest Geoff, and bring it back to what it should look like.
Funny thing is my cousin in Ontario has the very same one, he's not a shooter,just keeps it for sentimental reasons (ex-RAF)
Cheers nessy
 
Nov 1954 production

Sad to see that the gunsmith has drilled the reciever for a scope rail. The butt is easy to fix if you ever want to try to restore it.

I would have bought it for $200. I would have swaped out all the foreend wood and metal bits with sporterized wood and resold it for $200 as a sporter.

The good forearm would go on another restoration project.

For $200 you have a good rifle if your not too pickey, historically, about what your shooting.
 
Damn Nessy i wish you had brought that baby out to the shot show. I have never even seen a full wood Enfield in the flesh. :D well Very nice rifle man :D I wish it was mine ;) :p :D
ttyal
Riley
 
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