What's It Worth - No. 5 Mk 1 (F) Photo's Added

Gave away a patio set to some folks we know. Couple of weeks later, the guy calls me up and says I have a Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine you can have, I'm not using it anymore. So I picked it up today..

Pretty minty condition, no rust, barrel looks clean (it's got a bit of dust on it) so I'll get to closely inspect once I clean it. Receiver, bolt and mag have matching serial #'s. Wood is also intact, no cracks and very few dings. I would say it's about 95%, all bluing is intact. Also comes with a peep (don't know if this was standard with these rifles).

Any idea what it is worth?

And, do I want to strip it down and clean it right up, including cleaning up the stock, etc. Or is the value in not touching it other than a good oil clean.

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No 5's go for $375 - $475 perhaps slightly more if mint and very early. I'm not a fan of going crazy on cleaning these rifles, they were built to work so a bit of honest dirt is expected. It does sound like a nice example, given all matching numbers, and despite their age they are excellent all purpose rifles. Have a smith confirm the headspace before firing.
 
If it was never FTRed,has the 800m sight,numbered stock,along with all other matching numbers it is in the $300-350 range for a run of the mill Fazakerly. A bit more for 1944 or after 6/47 production. I've seen many very nice (F)s and a few BSAs the last few years go for these prices at shows,and auctions. Now gunstores and the dreamers here on the EE are a different story when it comes to the asking price.
 
More Info

O.K. I'll post some pics later today or tomorrow. Other markings - 5/47 AA ###x (serial #), do I assume date of mfg May, 1947?

Stamped below the safety "England".

Checked and receiver, bolt, mag and stock all have the same serial # AA ###x.

Top of stock, just forward of the rubber buttplate is stamped "S".

Barrel markings forward of top wooden forend piece:
.303 2.22" below marked BNP18 . 5 Tons per square ".

Fellow who gave it to me said he had used it for hunting. I'm going to phone him and find out when he last shot it.

And what does FTRed and Fazakerly mean???
 
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Fazakerly would be where it was made ROF (F) or Royal Ordinance Factory at Fazakerly. Only place besides the BSA plant at Shirley that made No5 Mk1 rifles. FTR means that it was rebuilt at some point or Factory Thorough Rebuild (might also be Refurbishment I forget) Are the markings on the receiver nice and legible or have they been scrubbed?
 
FTRed meen ''factory through refurbished'' and Fazakerley is a city where The Royal Ordonnance factory was in England.
 
FTRed meen ''factory through refurbished'' and Fazakerley is a city where The Royal Ordonnance factory was in England.

Perhaps a Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF), rather than The Royal Ordnance Factory. There were others, though that was the only one to produce No.5 rifles. (BSA at Shirley was not an ROF.) Fazakerley is part of the urban sprawl of Liverpool. The ROF there was closed in the 1960s and has since been demolished.


The rear sight on Waynewjw's appears to be the proper milled type, if graduated to 800 yards it is correct for a No.5, if it goes to 1300 it has probably been swapped from a No.4 rifle.

Waynewjw, if your friends need any more patio furniture, please let me know. ;)
 
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Stock Finish

The rear sight on Waynewjw's appears to be the proper milled type, if graduated to 800 yards it is correct for a No.5, if it goes to 1300 it has probably been swapped from a No.4 rifle. It is graduated to 800 yards. So I guess original gear.

Spent some time cleaning it tonight. 2 questions? How do you remove the stock? I know how to get the top portion of forend off, but how does the stock at the trigger strap (if that's the proper term) come apart. There's a brass pin, does this need to be punched out to come apart?

2nd question - what is the finish on the original factory stock? Is it oil or was it a varnish of some type? And if I wanted to refinish the stock, what would be the best way to go about it?
 
That rifle is in great condition. The wood looks just about perfect, about the only thing I can see is that the metal needs a bit of a cleaning. The original wood finish is BLO (boiled linseed oil). Be careful not to over do the cleaning thing, most of the market for these rifles would rather see it looking original than looking new. I've yet to see an FTR'd No5 - I don't believe they bothered as the FN came online before the No4 MK2 and No5 required that type of repair.
 
I've had two different (F) rifles that were FTRed. One had a renumbered stock,and magazine was a 6/45. The other a 2/46 had been scrubbed,mismatched unnumbered stock,renumbered bolt,unnumbered magazine. I've seen ones with Ishy screws,and Ishy renumbers over struck-out BSA numbers.
 
Clean the dirt, but from the pics, nothing else is needed. DO NOT strip the stock or the metal. If anything, I would use the same MILD cleaner you would use on a piece of furniture.
 
The butt has a long srew up the inside of it attaching it to the socket. As for the part of the stock ahead of the socket,remove barrel band,screw at front of trigger guard,and screw behind trigger that goes through the socket,remove the trigger guard,then you might have to wiggle the stock off. Don't remove the brass pin though that goes through the stock.

As for price I'd give you $350 maximum for it myself on a cash deal. Might be worth more in your part of the Country though.
 
Linseed Oil??

O.K. so if I decide to mildly clean up the stock with a mild detergent, I would assume I should remove the stock to clean - yes? Once I clean, do I leave as is, or do I want to put a coat of boiled linseed oil on? And, do I just buy "boiled linseed oil" or do I buy linseed oil that I have to boil?

Once applied, just let it sit and dry??

Now it also came with the, I think, original leather strap. And it has dried out a bit. Should I oil or what?? I have some stuff I used for to soften a new baseball glove with, I was thinking of using that? Suggestions please?

Thanks to everyone for the help and info, it's appreciated.
 
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