SMLE Pics- Looking for some help ID

Scamaniac said:
I likely won't get a chance for any more pictures this week as the owner and I are on opposite shifts this week. I can't imagine him doing a restore himself, but I will run it past him. I will also pass along the warnings about the DP and suggest he maybe get it checked again by another gunsmith since his father had it done last when the firing pin was repaired years ago. From what I've read about the downgrading to DP, it happened for a lot of different reasons, that varied by the era, and the country. Did the armories xray the steel or have any technology that today's gunsmith does not? I am puzzled as to why someone would sport a DP rifle? After looking this rifle over I would guess it got the DP because it was old, worn, and had a broken firing pin. Spent brass looks perfect but maybe I should have been wearing a welding helmet instead of safety glasses. Thanks very much for everyone's help.
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Unless your gunsmith is a very very experienced with the SMLE & has all the correct tools & gauges, forget him.


tiriaq said:
Having the cutoff, rear long range sight and the plate for the long range front sight is helpful.
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The front plate has been machined down & has no mount for the arm so is only hole filler.


sunray said:
The so-called 'volley sights' is grenade launch sight. A lot of rifles declared to be not worth fixing got made into grenade launchers. The large disk on the stock is the base for a grenade launch sight. Mind you, most of those have the wire wrapping on the forestock.
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Good luck with lobbing a Grenade 2800 yards, you'll need more than just wirewrap to hold that baby together.
 
Nabs said:
I'm certainly not an enfield expert but wasn't the long range dial and arm used together for mass volley fire ?
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Yep, set the dial sight to the distance, line-up the little lug with the rear peep sight & lob away, this is also why the sling swivels on a SMLE are off-set to the right so the sling doesn't interfere with the sight picture.
 
Totally concur with 5THBATT. Don't put a live round near it. Any restoration should be coupled with the appropriate 'DP' markings for all reasons which he has articulated.
Best. (Mag Fed)
 
5THBATT said:
Yep, set the dial sight to the distance, line-up the little lug with the rear peep sight & lob away, this is also why the sling swivels on a SMLE are off-set to the right so the sling doesn't interfere with the sight picture.
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I always wondered why the swivels on my former Mk iii * were offset, I figured it was for ease of carry on the shoulder. You learn something new everyday.
 
Ah, I see the DP on the rifle now. This morning I was using a wee little electronic gizmo and couldn't see the pictures clearly.

Last year I received a No4 which was sold to me as "great shooter". It had DP on the barrel, the receiver and the bolt body. Well, why take chances... it didn't get desporterized...
 
Rifles got DP'd for all kinds of reasons, including that they needed some drill rifles. Drill rifles were maintained at a lower standard. SOME even got rebuilt into shooters when times were tough.

I have a DP'd SMLE I***.

I have been shooting it since 1966.

I still have my face (ugly as it is) and all my fingers AND the rifle.

Wanta try her out?
 
smellie said:
Rifles got DP'd for all kinds of reasons, including that they needed some drill rifles. Drill rifles were maintained at a lower standard. SOME even got rebuilt into shooters when times were tough.

I have a DP'd SMLE I***.

I have been shooting it since 1966.

I still have my face (ugly as it is) and all my fingers AND the rifle.
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Buy a Powerball ticket, right now.

tac
 
smellie said:
Rifles got DP'd for all kinds of reasons, including that they needed some drill rifles. Drill rifles were maintained at a lower standard. SOME even got rebuilt into shooters when times were tough.

I have a DP'd SMLE I***.

I have been shooting it since 1966.

I still have my face (ugly as it is) and all my fingers AND the rifle.

Wanta try her out?
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No thanks.

Yes all kinds of reasons but how do we know what they were?

Can you elaborate on the comment that some got rebuilt into shooters Smellie? It's all very interesting.
 
The marks on the butt disc look interesting. It looks like 'OAC' and 'COTC'. Could it be this rifle was used at one time by the Ontario Agricultural College, Canadian Officers' Training Corps?
 
I have shot several dp rifles inc. a Ross & I am still more or less intact. If you are worried about safety, send it to me & I will beat the snot out of it for you.
 
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