new to me rifle
Printed From: Enfield-Rifles.com
Category: Enfields
Forum Name: Enfield Rifles
Forum Description: Anything that has to do with the great Enfield rifles!
URL: http://www.enfield-rifles.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13243
Printed Date: March 26 2026 at 8:19pm
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Topic: new to me rifle
Posted By: ..SNAKEBIT..
Subject: new to me rifle
Date Posted: March 02 2024 at 12:53pm
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just got this rifle, it was my father's and I am giving it to my 24yr old son now I am looking for info on it  |
Replies:
Posted By: A square 10
Date Posted: March 02 2024 at 4:07pm
| its a savage made no 4 mkI* it looks like 1943 but my old eyes cant see very good anymore , someone will add more , looks a bit worn but a service rifle of that age should , whats the rest of it look like - should be full wood to the front |
Posted By: Mayhem
Date Posted: March 02 2024 at 4:08pm
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I'm sure it is a typo - don't you mean No 4 Mk I*? ------------- .303 - Helping Englishmen express their feelings since 1889 |
Posted By: A square 10
Date Posted: March 02 2024 at 4:14pm
| yes - a typo , sorry , dfixed , the eyes dont see the keys well anymore either |
Posted By: ..SNAKEBIT..
Date Posted: March 03 2024 at 3:15pm
  
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Posted By: shiloh
Date Posted: March 03 2024 at 9:48pm
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Beautiful, she has the look of an old battle weary soldier. Love seeing original unaltered rifles.
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Posted By: ..SNAKEBIT..
Date Posted: March 04 2024 at 12:52pm
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???? ANY HELP? does the U.S.PROPERTY mean it was military issued?? dont know how my father got it or where it came from
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Posted By: Goosic
Date Posted: March 04 2024 at 4:58pm
As Shamu stated earlier in this thread, your rifle is a No4Mk1* made by Savage Stevens at the Chickopee Falls Massachusetts factory. The U.S.PROPERTY stamp is part of the Lend Lease program. Yes, it was intended to be military issued. According to your serial number, the rifle was made in early February of 1943...
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..SNAKEBIT.. wrote:Posted By: Canuck
Date Posted: March 04 2024 at 6:19pm
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Nice original rifle! Thanks for sharing it with us. After a good cleaning and lubrication have it checked over by a gunsmith for head space and general safety checks. How is the rifling in the barrel? I like seeing these original rifles pop up in this condition, I don't see many like this any more. It's like a blank canvas waiting for the masterpiece to emerge. I hope your son enjoys your gift! ------------- Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually |
Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: March 05 2024 at 4:14am
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Agree, it's a lovely original rifle. I assume that it's matching numbers; bolt and receiver. Also it has a 0 (zero) bolt head fitted; which leaves room for headspace adjustment if necessary. I would suggest a proper clean and inspection. Headspace check and barrel inspection. Then shoot it; see what the accuracy is like. Welcome to the forum. ------------- It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice! |
Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: March 05 2024 at 4:25am
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Agree, this needs a full strip and clean. Nothing abrasive! Wood can be gently cleaned with Murphy’s Oil Soap then dried and a few coats of BLO well rubbed in. Check the back surface of the bolt handle, it should have the same serial number as the rifle. If not, it has been replaced after it left military service and not likely correctly fitted to the rifle. If it does match, all you need to do is check headspace (as the bolt head could have been swapped, although not likely). If you do intend to clean it, you must be careful removing the forend. Do not pry the forend off the action at the muzzle, this will damage the wood bearing surfaces at the sear lugs. The forend needs to be kept parallel to the barrel as it is removed. It may need to be tapped with light hammer and wood block along the upper edges of the forend at the rear, after removing the two barrel bands, handguards and trigger guard. Can you take a photo of the left vertical flat side of the receiver (action body), there should be other markings here. If this is indeed an original rifle that has not gone thru a Factory Thorough Repair (FTR), its fairly rare. If it’s the original barrel, I would not expect the bore to be that good. The ammunition used in WWII was almost exclusively cordite loaded and corrosive primers. |
Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: March 05 2024 at 4:34am
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The forend appears to have some course checkering behind the sling swivel band. That would not be original and done after it left military service. Look along the bottom of the forend for a stamped serial number, it should be behind the front band and match the rifle serial number.
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Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: March 05 2024 at 6:03pm
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"U.S. PROPERTY" is an indication of "Lend / Lease", Is apolitical expediency to allow aiding Britain & I think Russia & other allies too, during WW2 before the U.S. became involved. The guns weren't "given" which wouldn't be legal, but leased or lent (with the intent to pay & return later.) "Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Law_%28United_States%29" rel="nofollow - Tooltip Public Law (United States) https://uslaw.link/citation/us-law/public/77/11" rel="nofollow - 77–11 , H.R. 1776, 55 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Statutes_at_Large" rel="nofollow - Stat. https://legislink.org/us/stat-55-31" rel="nofollow - 31 , enacted March 11, 1941), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease#cite_note-1" rel="nofollow - [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease#cite_note-lend_lease_archives_gov-2" rel="nofollow - [2] was a policy under which the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" rel="nofollow - United States supplied the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" rel="nofollow - United Kingdom , the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" rel="nofollow - Soviet Union , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_France" rel="nofollow - France , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China_%281912%E2%80%931949%29" rel="nofollow - Republic of China , and other https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II" rel="nofollow - Allied nations of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" rel="nofollow - Second World War with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food" rel="nofollow - food , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum" rel="nofollow - oil , and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materiel" rel="nofollow - materiel between 1941 and 1945." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease ------------- Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force) |