Britsh Lee Enfield 303

[Mosin Bubba]

Enfields are from the same generation as a Mauser but feel different. The bolt wants to jump into your hand when you lift it, which feels odd if every bolt action you've ever shot has been cock on open. The No4 and No5 two piece stocks feels a little looser, whereas a Mauser in your hand pretty much feels indestructible. The 303 is a pretty mild recoiling round in its usual form and is much nicer to shoot than an 8mm.

Purely as shooters, they're arguably even better than Mausers... less recoil, a faster bolt, 2x the capacity, and no barleycorn sights to deal with. But the strength and thorough engineering of the Mauser bolt just does it for me... kind of an Old World craftsmanship vibe that you don't see any more. The looser, springy Enfield doesn't give me those same fuzzies.

I do have a Jungle Carbine No5 that someone bubba'd a dot sight onto and love it. The fun there for me is less "old school battle rifle" and more rednecking it. The only bad part is buying ammo.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Once you learn the bolt on the Enfield nothing else will come close as to speed and smoothness in a bolt gun.

 

[JohnB-40]

In the "good old days", I walked out of the San Jose gun show with a Lithgow No1 mk3*,a 1907 pattern bayonet,sling and a wood crate with 500 rounds of .303 mk7 rounds in chargers and bandoleers in it for $150,luckily I went with a friend. I still have it along with a No 5 mk1,but now I roll my own cartridges and only fire them occasionally. Lee Enfields are the rifles of Empire and there is a lot of history and travel in them.

 

[AlexanderA]

Lithgow (Australia) never transitioned to the No. 4; they were still cranking out Mark III's during WW2. A lot of the Australian production used Coachwood stocks (a relatively soft Australian wood). As a result, they had to internally reinforce the "draws" area of the forend with brass strips.

The second rifle I ever owned (as a teenager) was a Lithgow Mark III. This cost all of about $12 at the surplus store. After a bit of firing, the forend cracked around the receiver. That was the excuse I needed to sporterize the gun. New stocks, new sights, rebluing, etc. It turned out quite nicely, but it no longer fit in my collection, so I eventually sold it. To this day, I regret sporterizing it instead of restoring it. But in the 1960's, I didn't know any better.

 

[GBExpat]

... But in the 1960's, I didn't know any better.

"We."

 

[lysanderxiii]

I do have a Jungle Carbine No5 that someone bubba'd a dot sight onto and love it. The fun there for me is less "old school battle rifle" and more rednecking it.

That reversible if you want to restore it back to its original condition.

Just need these pieces and an ejector screw.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

That reversible if you want to restore it back to its original condition.

Just need these pieces and an ejector screw.

View attachment 1011500

I like it better this way. Even left the crappy 1996 red dot on there for maximum Bubba appeal.

Guess it's worth mentioning as well that it's had the stock refinished and the metal cold blued, so it's nothing that original or collectible. It was a good looking job, but you can tell that the sheen by the receiver in the picture is gloss poly.

 

[Enfielder]

That reversible if you want to restore it back to its original condition.

Just need these pieces and an ejector screw.

View attachment 1011500

I have all those parts in a tool box somewhere. If anyone wants them get a hold of me.

 

[desidog]

I think hands down that the Jungle Carbine's recoil pad is the most painful of all milsurps... Maybe they weren't as bad back in the days before their rubber pads petrified.

 

[JohnB-40]

If I remember correctly the No 5 was developed for airborne troops. The butt stock pad was made in that shape to protect the floor of aircraft.

 

[Swampman]

...Make sure you're getting Mark IV clips. BP (British Pens) is a good maker.

I got lucky ages years back and got 3 cases of late 70's Greek .303 HXP ball loaded.on what looked.like unused BP marked chargers.

Any idea of what the story behind this would be?

Did British Pens make chargers for the Greeks?

I don't know much about .303 clips, but these were as slick as any I've ever used.

 

[AlexanderA]

Yes, the Greek HXP ammo on BP clips is an excellent combination.

Apparently, it was cheaper for the Greeks to buy the clips rather than make them themselves. BP was probably the low bidder, given that their tooling was sitting idle after the lapse of British contracts. Anyway, this is all guesswork on my part.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Sources I have seen agree with GunnyUSMC: the Lee Enfield rifle was issued with one magazine and no spare magazine(s) and twas meant to be reloaded in combat from stripper clips.

I acquired a spare magazine for my No1 MkIII* and had to use the original one as a template to modify the new one to fit the rifle.

 

[AlexanderA]

I acquired a spare magazine for my No1 MkIII* and had to use the original one as a template to modify the new one to fit the rifle.

The magazines for the Mk. III and the No. 4 are different. Was the new one a No. 4 that you had to modify?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The spare magazine I acquired for my Mk. III was definitely a Mk. III magazine.
The dealer had both Mk III and No. 4 and there were differences.
The main diff between the original MkIII and the new MkIII as I recall was the angle of the tabs at the front of the magazine.
It's been about 20 years.
Back when a lot of the new .303 Brit ammo on the market was Hansen brand.

 

[AlexanderA]

The dealer had both Mk III and No. 4 and there were differences.
The main diff between the original MkIII and the new MkIII as I recall was the angle of the tabs at the front of the magazine.

A quick way to tell them apart is that the ribs on the Mark III magazine extend all the way to the bottom, whereas the ribs on the No. 4/5 magazine stop just short of the bottom.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The MkIII and No 4 magazine looked enough a part I assumed they were not interchangeable.

 

[lysanderxiii]

I think this is all of the Enfield made variations:

Clockwise from top, left: Long Lee-Enfield, Lee Enfield Carbine (6 round), No. 4, L42A1 (7.62mm), SMLE/No 3


From left to right: Long Lee-Enfield, Lee Enfield Carbine (6 round), SMLE/No 3, No. 4, L42A1 (7.62mm) (the No. 3 is missing its Auxiliary Spring)




The Long Lee and the Carbine have a spring link that semi-permanently attaches the magazine to the rifle.


The ejector on the L42A1 magazine