Rangers and Lee Enfields - "Up Here" magazine

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RangeRover

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Cover story in the latest issue of "Up Here"...

"Embedded with the Canadian Rangers". Good story and includes a photo album w/ lots of Enfield shots.

OctNov2010.jpg


http://uphere.ca/node/613
 
I understand why they don't like the rifle that they are issued. I think a lot of Rangers get put off by the way the rifles look. You add in some technical ignorance on the weapon system itself and you get comments like "the rifle is f*cked, it has a bent barrel".

It's a shame really becasue the Lee Enfield is a really good rifle and performs the role Rangers require quite well. Not too many firearms would put up with that kind of abuse and still function like a Lee Enfield can.
 
oh, jeees, now i'm going to have to check all my enfields for bent barrels....

They likely think they should be getting new fancy guns. If it were me in those conditions I would want a 45 1911, and a lee enfield. If I had to pick just one, It would be the Enfield. Of course it would have to be one of the "non-bent" ones.
 
Tudenom said:
I understand why they don't like the rifle that they are issued. I think a lot of Rangers get put off by the way the rifles look. You add in some technical ignorance on the weapon system itself and you get comments like "the rifle is f*cked, it has a bent barrel".

It's a shame really becasue the Lee Enfield is a really good rifle and performs the role Rangers require quite well. Not too many firearms would put up with that kind of abuse and still function like a Lee Enfield can.
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Haha - that was my though.... more likely a "user error"... I can understand parts being an issue in the north where everything from chicken eggs to toilet paper is expensive and in short supply. However, basic maintenance on guns should prevent a majority of issues. A bent barrel doesn't happen except in some pretty exceptional situations... like tossing a loaded cooler on top of the gun while suspended off the ground... something like that.

Heck, I wonder how many of those guns would shoot right with regular training from a certified instructor and a once over by an armourer.
 
Tudenom said:
I'm embarrased by that article. Please don't think all the Rangers are like that.
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Tudenom said:
I understand why they don't like the rifle that they are issued. I think a lot of Rangers get put off by the way the rifles look. You add in some technical ignorance on the weapon system itself and you get comments like "the rifle is f*cked, it has a bent barrel".

It's a shame really becasue the Lee Enfield is a really good rifle and performs the role Rangers require quite well. Not too many firearms would put up with that kind of abuse and still function like a Lee Enfield can.
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I know they aren't, I know a bunch of Rangers up in Nunavut that are great guys. But I also know that different Inuit communities have different outlooks on life.

When I was working up in the Arctic, someone told me the Army tried replacing the Ranger's Lee Enfields years ago with modern commercial rifles like Remingtons or Winchesters. All of a sudden, there was a rash of rifles being brought back with bent barrels. In the following investigation of what caused the damage, it was determined that the rifles were being used to club seals over the head. The result was a bent barrel on the less sturdy commercial rifles as compared to an Enfield.

I wonder how the barrels in the article got bent.:rolleyes:

I do know that since they have gotten a taste of the C7, a lot of the Rangers I spoke with want to be issued them instead. I know I'd rather be carrying an Enfield on patrol if I was potentially dealing with polar bears.

Too bad there aren't huge stockpiles of them in mint condition any more.:(
 
Of course, the C7 is much nicer to carry than the Lee Enfield. But you're right, it isn't the carrying that stops a polar bear.
 
In 2007, she was part of Operation Nanook, where the regular army came to nearby Norman Wells and the Rangers were employed as wildlife patrol. One night, at the Legion – after she’d hustled them all for their money at the pool table – things got a bit serious. “It was a lot of fun until all those army guys started fighting in the Legion,” she says. “They just ruined it.” Instead, Lori-Ann sees benefits for herself and her family. Her daughter has recently joined the Junior Rangers.
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Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa hahahaha.

Having known some of the people involved, I can't help but laugh.
 
MapleSugar said:
I do know that since they have gotten a taste of the C7, a lot of the Rangers I spoke with want to be issued them instead. I know I'd rather be carrying an Enfield on patrol if I was potentially dealing with polar bears.
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A rifle that goes "bang" when you need it to has a beauty all of its own....:cheers:
 
About time they were upgraded with new rifles don't you think, could say FNC1 but they got melted down, so how abot Norc m14's?
 
the BIG problem with the semis is they DON'T like to operate at low temperatures- when we were carrying c1s , i don't know of how many times you'd hear of going on ops with them and it was YOUR c1 that went fubar, not their lee- enfields- mind you i have seen a lee-enfield ftf at -40 as well, but the 8mm mauser still kept firing
 
H Wally said:
Bent barrels eh?
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My firearms instructor was retired RCMP who'd done a stint up North - that was the first thing he told me when I asked about the Rangers and their Enfields:

Basically the sentiment was they "use those goddamn things for poaching moose and levering their canoes out of the ice - more barrels bent than not"
 
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