Q:Lee Enfield No 3 ERA (Emergency Reserve Arm)?

Busta Capp

Busta Capp

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Helping a neighbour out with a firearm to determine what he has. From what I can tell, this is a Lee Enfield .303 No 3 ERA (Emergency Reserve Arm). I say that as the rifle is stamped just above the serial number with E R A. This was sporterised at some point in it's life. Can the Milsurp guru's tell me if I have this right? I based this upon info found at the following site;

http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/arms/rifles/armbsr.htm

Here are some photo's

LeeEnfield001.jpg

LeeEnfield003.jpg

LeeEnfield004.jpg

LeeEnfield005.jpg

LeeEnfield002.jpg

LeeEnfield006.jpg
 
Busta Capp said:
Helping a neighbour out with a firearm to determine what he has. From what I can tell, this is a Lee Enfield .303 No 3 ERA (Emergency Reserve Arm). I say that as the rifle is stamped just above the serial number with E R A. This was sporterised at some point in it's life. Can the Milsurp guru's tell me if I have this right? I based this upon info found at the following site;

http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/arms/rifles/armbsr.htm

Here are some photo's

LeeEnfield001.jpg

LeeEnfield003.jpg

LeeEnfield004.jpg

LeeEnfield005.jpg

LeeEnfield002.jpg

LeeEnfield006.jpg
Click to expand...

Made by Eddystone (ERA)
 
Busta Capp said:
Okay, so not Emergency Reserve Arm, but the E in ERA stands for Eddystone?
Click to expand...

Eddystone Remington Arms. A subsidiary of Remington. I have a 220 Swift built on a Remington P14 action and it just has RA on the receiver. Your friends rifle is not a Lee-Enfield, but an Enfield none the less. Known by some as an American Enfield. Designed by Enfield in England, and built by Winchester, Remington, and Eddystone Remington in the US. Other than the fact that it shoots .303 British ammunition, it is not remotely similar to a Lee-Enfield. The Americans also used the design for there Model of 1917 rifles in 30-06.
 
Barrel appears to have been cut/shortened so beyond restoration. However, rear Volley Sight and RAF Unit marking disk are worth a few dollars to a collector.
 
Royal Air Force marked! Very scarce indeed.

Too bad the barrel is cut, but there are barrels to be found if you look hard enough.

If it were mine, I would keep it just the way it is and lay in all the full-military parts to do a complete restoration when the day arrives.

You can scope this rifle with an S&K Insta-Mount, not drill one single hole in it anywhere .... and the mount is a little more solid than the Bank of England.

These tend to be rather superbly accurate but they really need a scope to prove it. Barrels last five-eighths of forever, too.

Very nice toy: wish it were mine!
 
Well, Bubba has already had his way, so they might as well have fun. Lay in the parts, though; you can get them now and in another 5 years likely you won't be able to, and this one is worth restoring.

As to accuracy, I have its much-Bubba'd twin here: rear-sight ears chopped, barrel bobbed, hole drilled into rear and of the chamber et cetera. It's a Winchester and has a perfect bore. Only thing possible to do with it" recessed Match crown on barrel after cutting it off straight, mount a scope, contour rear of receiver so it doesn't look like junk, repair hole in chamber, re-Proof, glass-bed the critter, go to the range. It shoots teeny-tiny little groups all day long, small enough that it NEEDS a scope. Half an inch at 145 measured ain't bad for a 6-shot group through a 94-year-old barrel.

I have one S&K mount for testing Number 4 Rifles, getting another for testing P-'14s and P-'17s and I don't have to drill a single hole anywhere and the rifles can go back to pure 'as-issued' when the testing is over and I have the targets to show what they CAN do with a 16x scope.

This one is NOT wrecked so far that it can't be rebuilt. MilArm had some barreled receivers last I checked; source for a barrel right there and you have the frame left over to build a super sporter.

But that's just my way of seeing things. It is ENTIRELY possible that I'm wrong.
 
It is a peep sight. The front sight that went with it was a pointer on a dial on the left side of the forend. Used for very long range shooting.
 
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