So I've got a line on a Lee Enfield-Page 2: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Aug. 26, 2010 3:16 p.m. rebelgtp SuperDork

foxtrapper wrote:

The Enfields were beat to heck, many with the mysterious wire wrapped stocks, all greasy and nasty.

Hmmm did you happen to check the cartridge specs on those? Most of the wire wrapped Enfields I see saw service in India. The interesting part of that is some of the ones that saw service there were chambered in .308 instead of the .303 British.

From the description it sounds like someone found a stockpile of rifles and had not even bothered cleaning them up. You could possibly find a diamond in the rough in such cases though it would not surprise me if many of those rifles were no longer serviceable.

GPS You are lucky I'm looking for an '03 myself and hope to get one through the CMP program next year when they have them back in stock.
Aug. 26, 2010 3:26 p.m. BobOfTheFuture HalfDork

Yeah, the .308 Enfields are Ishapore rifles. Pretty cool stuff though, Supposedly have weak ejectors, but I've just heard that, no hands on info here.

I will post up more pics, but I belive I will make a new thread, to avoid further jacking of this one.

Fox- yeah, I figured. But next time you see em at that price, I suggest you snap em up. Im here in NY and have to pay internet prices, so that price I havent seen for years.

Edit- Rebel, thread is here- "Baltic Sniper"
Aug. 26, 2010 6:32 p.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

I did not check them, had no idea of the 308 chambered ones. I would have just assumed they were the 303 British (though I probably thought 30-03).

Mostly I look at them and lament that I didn't buy one when they were $30. Back when I bought my Nagant for $40. There's a lot of then cheap guns I should have bought some years ago.
Aug. 27, 2010 1:34 a.m. GR40RACER New Reader

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Slightly off-topic... I've got a fine looking 100% original A3-03 of Smith Corona manufacture... had since I was a kid. It has 3 ring scope clamp scars on the stock and in nice shape. Its got the FJA stamp and the P inspection marks but... is there any way to learn more about it from the serial? The man who gave it to me (my father's uncle who fought at Normandy and all over europe) passed away 25+ years ago. He wasn't much of a story teller before he passed.

Sure, post the serial and I'll look it up. Does it have a SC barrel, most common, or something else, possibly HS? What are the barrel markings just below the front sight? On the underside of the bolt handle there's a flat just where the handle meets the bolt body, what are the marks there? Are the FJA and P stamp the only cartouches on the stock or is there another stamp like RA, RIA or BA?
Aug. 27, 2010 3:52 a.m. digdug18 HalfDork

rebelgtp wrote:

foxtrapper wrote:

The Enfields were beat to heck, many with the mysterious wire wrapped stocks, all greasy and nasty.

Hmmm did you happen to check the cartridge specs on those? Most of the wire wrapped Enfields I see saw service in India. The interesting part of that is some of the ones that saw service there were chambered in .308 instead of the .303 British.

From the description it sounds like someone found a stockpile of rifles and had not even bothered cleaning them up. You could possibly find a diamond in the rough in such cases though it would not surprise me if many of those rifles were no longer serviceable.

GPS You are lucky I'm looking for an '03 myself and hope to get one through the CMP program next year when they have them back in stock.

The .308 factory chambered enfields have more beef to them in the recievers, but otherwise are the same. If you try to change one of the .303 guns to .308 you'll end up with most likely an exploding gun, the chamber pressure between the 2 rounds is considerable. Bottom line, if you want the .308 get it already chambered that way from the factory, and pay the extra money for the gun. Its one are you don't want to cheap out on.

Otherwise the enfield is a very good gun.