First Enfield, First Post |
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davoovs
Newbie Joined: May 09 2012 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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Posted: May 09 2012 at 9:35am |
Picked up first Enfield today. No.4 MK1 Long Branch. Anything not covered in cosmoline (barrel bands, muzzle) are rusty. Paid $175 not that it matters. .303 with a CAI barrel. I see bolt, receiver and magazine share the same serial number. I can see bolt and receiver, but magazine... Whats up with that??? Receiver is stamped Long Branch 1943. Sight stamped MK III. Receiver has an "L" in its serial number while the bolt and magazine dont. Googled enfield and this looked like the place to go.. I am not a collector for value but appreciate historical firearms as well as new stuff.. This will be a shooter. Stock isn't cracked, not to bad a deal i'm hopin'. I took a couple pics.. This is my first post so please bear with me.
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Eric
Admin Group Moderator Joined: October 23 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 724 |
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First off, welcome to the forum. Secondly, very nice rifle! I would love to find a No.4 in decent condition for 175.00. I just always seem to miss the good deals.
Eric
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Canuck
Special Member Donating Member Joined: January 17 2012 Location: Agassiz BC Status: Offline Points: 3535 |
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Nice rifle, its' always good to buy a rifle with everything intact and matching! You got a good price for that beauty!
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davoovs
Newbie Joined: May 09 2012 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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Thanks!!! I'm looking out now for ammo.
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White Rhino
Special Member Donating Member Joined: May 05 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5118 |
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CAI is the importers mark !!! Century Arm International !!!
Wish I could still get them for that price ...actually I did at one time get them cheaper than that ...but them days are long gone ...you got a very good deal there !! |
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"White Rhino"
"Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer." --W. C. Fields |
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davoovs
Newbie Joined: May 09 2012 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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What does CAI do as an importer? Would they stamp a magazine to match numbers to a receiver and bolt. I doubt a military contractor would do that. The barrel is stamped CAI but the receiver and bolt numbers match minus the addition of an "L" in the receiver number which I assume designates long branch. I also wonder if CAI would stamp a replacement bolt as the numbers are quite large on the rear of the bolt handle. I am actively seeking more info on the rifle (google) so I will try not to be too much a bother with newbie questions. Thank you for your responses (and patience)
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Target
Senior Member Joined: June 05 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 355 |
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Short of putting the import mark on the rifle CAI does nothing basically. They look at em, price em, pack em, and ship em. The military contractors did mark the mags as these are not to be removed from the rifle like you would an AR15. Soldiers got 2 mags, one in the rifle and a back up if the primary got damaged or lost. The Lee Enfield is meant to be fed with chargers and NOT magazine changes like an assault rifle. The only reason for removing the mags is when you clean the gun or need to clear up a jam. These mags are fragile so try to be careful when it comes to insertion and removal of it. But yes the L is for Longbranch and when it comes to American made rifles there is a C in the serial number along with "US PROPERTY" stamped on top of the receiver wall.
That is a great looking rifle and it looks like it is gonna clean up great! Clean it up and keep it in that condition and that 175 bucks is gonna multiply over the coming years! |
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Zed
Special Member Donating Member Joined: May 01 2012 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 5585 |
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It appears to be a No 4 Mk1* model, the * denotes a simpler bolt removal system I believe, removal of the bolt release catch that is on the No4 mk1 rifle, basically a wartime economy to speed up production. Most US production was Mk1* specification. The rear sight is a mark 3 sight, it is correct. You could fit a Mk 1 sight which is screw adjustment instead of the slide. Again, the mark 3 sight was a wartime economy compared to the Mk1 sight. You will enjoy shooting it; they are great rifles.
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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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If you're looking for ammo MIlSurp is getting hard to find. Try some Prvi Partizan, its nice stuff, reasonably priced & reloadable as well.
Oh & welcome. |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Lost Kangaroo
Senior Member Joined: February 18 2007 Location: Rochester NY036 Status: Offline Points: 719 |
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Reload my man, many good recipes out there...better groups, no corrosive salts and you get the satisfaction of shooting what you made, cant beat it.
After the initial startup costs, you will make your money back quickly if you shoot a fair bit. Especially with the .303 costs these days. 180 grain Sierra projectile Varget powder (I go for around 38 grains) CCI or Remington primers....I try to use the same batch for each bunch of reloads. This is pretty close to milspec and will shoot well for you, I promise! |
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Get some
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Ishapore150
Groupie Joined: September 08 2011 Location: Eunice,La Status: Offline Points: 60 |
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Speaking of Ammo,Would you believe there's 2 boxes of Remington 180gr .303 British at Harry Smith's Ace hardware right here in Eunice,LA.Saw them today when I was looking for bug spray.They are $26.99 each.I guess that's not too bad of a price.I don't see them flying off the shelf any time soon...LOL
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-.- -.. ..... --- --.. .--- If you understand that 73's
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meta1704
Groupie Joined: February 06 2012 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 37 |
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since your in the states, cheaperthandirt.com .303 16.95-30 bucks depending on what you buy. also cabellas has it for not to bad usually around 17-18
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davoovs
Newbie Joined: May 09 2012 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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Thanks for the info. Been going through the posts.. Lots of info and answers to questions I hadn't even thought of yet. Did find $20 boxes sellier and beloit through natchez i believe.
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SW28fan
Special Member Donating Member Joined: July 02 2007 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 2951 |
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The S&B is good ammo but it has next to no case life if you reload. Reloading is the way to go with a 303, neck size only and have a set of brass for each rifle. Lost kangaroo's recipe is the same as I use. Privi brass is the best out there for a 303.
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Have a Nice Day
If already having a nice day please disregard |
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Yup S&B is an attempt to bring the old design into the 21St century. Its "Fire & forget" ammo!
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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