SMLE No 4 Mk 1*

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Urkie1979

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Hi folks;

I hope I'm posting this thread in the correct place. I'm looking to buy a SMLE No 4 Mk 1*. I've seen some in my area in what would be considered good to very good condition. Most are marked Long Branch and 1 is a Savage from 1943. They appear to be going for around $350 and I was wondering if this is a good price. I'm a big fan of the SMLE and want to buy one but don't want to be gouged either. Any thoughts?
 
If they are in their original military configuration and in the condition you describe, then yes, that is a fairly decent price.

If they have been sporterized, then no, that is too much money to pay.
 
Urkie1979 said:
Hi folks;

I hope I'm posting this thread in the correct place. I'm looking to buy a SMLE No 4 Mk 1*. I've seen some in my area in what would be considered good to very good condition. Most are marked Long Branch and 1 is a Savage from 1943. They appear to be going for around $350 and I was wondering if this is a good price. I'm a big fan of the SMLE and want to buy one but don't want to be gouged either. Any thoughts?
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I think $350. would be a decent price for either if in original Military config. If a Bubba I'd say too high. Long Branch seems to be pretty popular here as they were made in Long branch Toronto, Ontario. There were quite a few come in Pakistan a few years back that had the Ishopore screw.

I personally have an all matching Savage 42 which shoots like a dream with a two grove boor. I don't think I'd sell it for less than $450. if I was ever to sell it now at this time anyway.
 
Thanks for the responses. All the SMLE's that I looked at were in complete wood furniture. Most appear to be in pretty good condition. Some had an upper hand guard that rattled a little. 1 Long Branch was better than the others and the Savage is dated 1943 and, judging by it's exterior, looks immaculate. The complete furniture on it is a lighter wood (thinking beech) and well lacquered as if it was used in parades. It is also stamped US PROPERTY.
 
Urkie1979 said:
Thanks for the responses. All the SMLE's that I looked at were in complete wood furniture. Most appear to be in pretty good condition. Some had an upper hand guard that rattled a little. 1 Long Branch was better than the others and the Savage is dated 1943 and, judging by it's exterior, looks immaculate. The complete furniture on it is a lighter wood (thinking beech) and well lacquered as if it was used in parades. It is also stamped US PROPERTY.
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parade rifles were usually chromed, lacquer means bubba
 
First off, they aren't SMLEs.

They are Lee Enfield No4 MkI* rifles.

Next, as mentioned above, they should be all complete for that price.

Some people get all fuzzy if they are mixmasters. IMHO, not a real issue. Most of them are. One way or another, the vast majority of these old battle rifles saw overseas service.

Many of them were put together in their original factories with mixed parts. Especially the rifles made from 1942 to the end of the war.

Then, when the rifles were brought back from the wars or sold off, they were Factory Thorough Repaired to close to new condition.

What happened to them in other nation's service, like India, Pakistan, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Norway, Denmark etc, is anyone's guess.

You can just about bet, if it saw Indian or Pakistani service it had the reinforcing screw attached to the stock, just after the mag well. Again, IMHO a darn good idea and perfectly acceptable as a temporary repair by the rest of the world's nations. Probably should have been a prerequisite from day one.

Seeing as this will be your first one, condition is everything. First, make sure the bore is bright and sharp. Don't settle for one because it's pretty on the outside. Refinished stocks are your first warning.

If it hasn't been done correctly, it will diminish the value of the rifle. Many people are very good at refinishing these rifles and the job they do, is every bit as good as the FTR.

Bores with pitted or frosty finishes can shoot well but they usually foul like crazy.

Now, if you're looking for a cheap rifle to shoot, guess again.

Cheap surplus ammo is rare to non existent.
 
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Urkie1979 said:
Hi folks;

I hope I'm posting this thread in the correct place. I'm looking to buy a SMLE No 4 Mk 1*. I've seen some in my area in what would be considered good to very good condition. Most are marked Long Branch and 1 is a Savage from 1943. They appear to be going for around $350 and I was wondering if this is a good price. I'm a big fan of the SMLE and want to buy one but don't want to be gouged either. Any thoughts?
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Not to add too much to other posts-just to clarify that (full military ) means it has wood from front to back, top and bottom. At $350 that would be a great price for one in good condition. "Sporterized" has had the wood cut back ( about half way) and end of lower wood rounded, usually at the mid-band area, and the top woods removed and probably discarded. They seem to go about $150-200 these days. "Bubba" means the wood has been cut, and often the barrel has been cut back. A No 4 should have about 2 inches in front of the front sight, with milled lugs that the bayonet clips on to. "Bubbas" are not generally restorable to Full Military if the barrel has been cut back.
"Commercial sporters" such as Parker Hale are military models converted to sporter configuration by a British company and can be quite nice, and usually go in the $350 range.
Interested to hear where the ones you looked at fit into the above general categories.
"SMLE" usually refers to the earlier No 1 rifles,
 
woodchopper said:
moving to the milsurp section ;)

where the crusty old guys that have all the answers hang out
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Hey!!I Resemble that comment!!If it is uncut/wood and barrel that is a fair price to pay.If the wood is cut assume $200.00 to replace wood and hardware.If barrel has been bobbed once you find a barrel look at a couple of hundred dollars to fit it + the cost of the barrel.And that is on the reasonable side.
 
As for the lacquer on the wood of the Savage, that was somewhat of an overstatement on my part. The wood just looks in great condition and has a good coat of varnish. Again all the ones I looked at have the full military furniture and the muzzle cap does protrude as the bayonets were on all of them (the old pig sticker as it was called). The one Long Branch I was interested in most and in the best condition of the Canadian made ones is dated 1950. All the bores seemed good too. The actions were as smooth as expected from an Enfield though not as fast probably because they had some grease in them. I counted 3 or 4 Long Branch and 1 Savage. Aside from those there were 2 or 3 "Bubba" Enfields as well.
 
Urkie1979 said:
As for the lacquer on the wood of the Savage, that was somewhat of an overstatement on my part. The wood just looks in great condition and has a good coat of varnish. Again all the ones I looked at have the full military furniture and the muzzle cap does protrude as the bayonets were on all of them (the old pig sticker as it was called). The one Long Branch I was interested in most and in the best condition of the Canadian made ones is dated 1950. All the bores seemed good too. The actions were as smooth as expected from an Enfield though not as fast probably because they had some grease in them. I counted 3 or 4 Long Branch and 1 Savage. Aside from those there were 2 or 3 "Bubba" Enfields as well.
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If they are going for $350 I'd grab the 1950 Long Branch and the 1943 Savage if I were you.

Hell, I'd probably grab them all if they were in really good shape!
 
Winchester-1897 said:
Were not the parade rifles used for that parade or drill purpose because they were rejected for the field and maybe unsafe to shoot?
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sometimes, but drill purpose and parade are 2 different things, parade rifles are shiny and clean and only see daylight to show off for the royals or similar. they often chromed all the metal, polished all the brass, and even had matching chromed bayonets.
drill purpose were used for all sorts of training, from showing how a gun works to teaching guys how to march with rifles, some were made DP from good but extra or out of date rifle by simply stamping DP on them, others were no good for anything else, and some were DPd by drilling holes in the chambers and/or breaking off firing pins and/or cutting the bolt face or any number of things.
 
scott585 said:
sometimes, but drill purpose and parade are 2 different things, parade rifles are shiny and clean and only see daylight to show off for the royals or similar. they often chromed all the metal, polished all the brass, and even had matching chromed bayonets.
drill purpose were used for all sorts of training, from showing how a gun works to teaching guys how to march with rifles, some were made DP from good but extra or out of date rifle by simply stamping DP on them, others were no good for anything else, and some were DPd by drilling holes in the chambers and/or breaking off firing pins and/or cutting the bolt face or any number of things.
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Thanks for explaining.
 
I know for a fact that the 1950 Long Branch is $350. It's assumption on my part that the Savage is going for the same because the guy didn't provide a different quote when I was handling it. Next step will be trying to find affordable .303 Brit ammo. Not bloody likely I know. I'm aware the surplus is all but flat for this caliber but don't want to remortgage my house for the stuff either.
 
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Just a small note. the handguard being a bit loose can be corrected by cutting a strtip of card stock and fitting it under the barrel band. Not that I would find it necessary but some folks like things tidy.
 
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