question about Enfields

[The Grand Inquisitor]

One of the gun shops I go to has 2 or 3 Enfields for sale and my interest has been peaked by them. The thing is is that I know almost nothing about them.

Many of the the Enfields I have seen have a big wire tape around the them that I have always been wary about, but some do not (I am assuming this is because they are falling apart). Does anyone have a good website or have a good enough heart to write out some info about about the WWII era Enfields as a whole (and ammo) and if they are worth buying over other WWI and WWII era US/Russian/German rifles.


All the Best.

 

[Turkish]

Sorry, can't help you with a website but I can tell you the wire wrap is on Enfield's made for grenade launching. The wire is used to reinforce the gun when firing grenades. I'm not sure, but I think I've also heard that the barrels on these tend to be bad, since they were mainly used with blank ammo and never cleaned much.

 

[Feanaro]

Many of the the Enfields I have seen have a big wire tape around the them that I have always been wary about, but some do not (I am assuming this is because they are falling apart).

The wire wrapping was for a muzzle mounted grenade launcher. It, basically, kept the rifle from flying apart. I have heard reports that they are quite often in bad shape but no personal experiance here.

Good site about the Lee... http://www.geocities.com/lee_enfield_rifles/

 

[Dave Markowitz]

The wire wrapped SMLEs were used as grenade launching rifles. By the time they were selected for this duty, they were already in pretty sad shape. I would not buy one as a shooter.

A good place to start looking for info on Lee-Enfields is http://www.303british.com/ .

 

[bobs1066]

Also check out: http://p077.ezboard.com/bparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums

 

[Lone Star]

The NRA has a nice publication on Lee-Enfields, and the major small arms books, like "Small Arms of the World" by Smith and Smith will tell you the basics.

I wouldn't buy one unless it was in really nice condition, but that's true of all military surplus rifles.

If you get one, spare it milsurp ammo and use Winchester or Federal commercial .303 ammo. You'll avoid corrosive priming and get higher quality, as well as having softpoint ammo suitable for hunting.

Lone Star

 

[Red_SC]

http://www.surplusrifle.com/no4/index.asp

I've found this to be a good source of information.

 

[swingset]

The wire wrapped rifles were, as mentioned, downgraded from service for duty as grenade launchers. Often they're still headspaced and can shoot, but weren't up to spec for the Brits to keep them in front line service.

As for WWI & WWII Enfields, the sources mentioned above are excellent. Also a good source is:

http://www.geocities.com/lee_enfield_rifles/

http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~stratton/en-page.html

And for ammo: www.303british.com