Picked up an odd-ball Enfield Sporter

[Killer Kanuck]

Thanks TimC - I appreciate you looking.

For those curious - the bore cleaned up quite nicely. Had an opportunity to put a few through it a couple weeks ago - nothing on paper so I can't comment on the accuracy, but it went bang and ended up in the general area I was pointing, so it's a good start

 

[Grouse Man]

Good thing you checked with the experts here. I don't know how many times valuable guns have been saved by people here.

Great find and great luck you had!

 

[TimC]

Restore it to what though? There are enough oddities there to start about 4 rifles so I would say get it shootiing straight and cleaned up nicely, nothing wrong with an old rifle thats been converted as long as its still used.

 

[RRCo.]

Ok Considered opinion from the Army Rumour Service Historical buffs has come up with this;
"Regardless of the rifle's current configuration, the overwhelmingly likely candidate for RNB + rack number like that is the Royal Navy. There is not even any other recorded regimental marking (e.g. in Skennerton's "Broad arrow" lists) that comes close to the "RN" part other than Rawalpindi arsenal. The rack number without any sub-unit code usually indicates that its a pool rifle from a large military establishment or a school/University. Possibly the butt has come off something else, but the RN was a major user of all models of Long Lee. "

There my research is done, there is no guarantee that the rifle left any formal factory with any of those parts ever fitted so its a dont know in short!

Royal Naval Brigades:

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GREATWAR/2000-06/0960572929

 

[TimC]

We know they existed but by the Great War they were Divisions with Bns named after famous admirals such as Hood, Nelson etc. The rifles then would have been the SMLE and the roundel would have been fitted and N stamped on the wrist socket left hand side.
The time that this particular butt would have been stamped there matches with the supposition that it was a Long Lee, issued to a RN Base or Bks in the UK. As nothing else on the rifle matches its fair to assume its a parts gun resold as a sporter.
The Naval Brigades formed in emergencies such as Crimea, South Africa etc would have been ad hoc and niceties such as stamping rifles thus would possibly be ignored or not have had time to implement. The South African wars Naval Units fought really well and contributed massively to the artillery of the campaigns. They were however formed by drafting of volunteers from ships in port who would have equipped the men. So a rifle used by a Naval Rating at say Colenso would possibly have been stamped to his ship!