Thinking of My First Enfield
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Category: Enfields
Forum Name: Info for New Enfield Owners
Forum Description: Are you new to Enfields? Check out some of the how-to's submitted by our members!
URL: http://www.enfield-rifles.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5314
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Topic: Thinking of My First Enfield
Posted By: bcrossan
Subject: Thinking of My First Enfield
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 7:32am
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A local shop has an Enfield on consignment and I wanted to get some thoughts on what version this may and what the right price for the gun should be. The picture of the wood stock is a bit hard to read but it says 1943. Trying to understand what that date is vs the 1941 stamped on the gun. Thoughts on desirability of this gun and a fair market price? Thanks Bryan  |
Replies:
Posted By: Cookie Monster
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 7:55am
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You have a No1 MkIII Manufactured by Lithgow located in Australia. As far as value? Can you get several more pictures with an over all view as well? Value: Is what someone will give for it, may sell today for $350, tomorrow for $175.00 and next week for a $1000.00. Also what something is worth, what someone will pay and what is appraises for is three different things. Also local market drives the price up and down. There is idiots out there will appraise a rifle for an inflated value, but if you ask them to buy it for that price that’s a whole another story, then there is what is worth to them to sell and what it is worth to them to buy. Kind of like selling a trading a car to a dealer, they tell you what all wrong with it and not worth that much, then the next guy comes buy to buy it from them and it is the best car ever, Use common sense and send pictures. In general that rifle is worth from $150 to $350 depending on it’s condition and local market. |
Posted By: bcrossan
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 8:46am
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Thanks for the input. I thought I posted 3 pictures but only one came up. Here are the others. I focused on the markings and didn't get any of the full gun. What is the signficance of the 1943 on the stock? I am guessing 1941 is year of manufacture I know price is a very fluid thing but you gave me a range which is what I was really looking for. They are asking $225 but indicated he is open to offers. So I imagine the gun can be had for around $200. So seems this is in the right ballpark. Originally it was listed for $350. Is the Australian made version more or less desirable in terms of collectability? 
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Posted By: bcrossan
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 8:48am
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Posted By: A square 10
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 8:49am
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i concur completely , everything cookie said is the cold hard facts of pricing , now he also makes an excellent point related to "what its worth" with regard to input before you buy ,
there is a wealth of info [and some attitude] if you post photos that may benefit you in making your decission , but .....we need overalls as well as closeups of details to provide you what you seek ,
i realize sometimes getting photos is tuff - and i know posting can be a pain , but its essential to securing the best info ,
in leiu of those - what he told you is what we all know so far
but - if the bolt SN matches the receiver and other bits [back sight ladder] maybe the bayo boss and you like the fit/finish/furniture , if it looks to be complete , bore looks good , maybe its a good gamble , if not walk away - there are more .....
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Posted By: Cookie Monster
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 9:19am
| Well put A square 10 |
Posted By: bcrossan
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 9:26am
| Thanks guys. How rare are the Australian versions? Can you explain the different date on the stock? |
Posted By: SW28fan
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 10:15am
Well there wa a war going on and things do get damaged. Also After the war surplus bolt guns were cheaper than dirt and often got converted into sporters. Some folks like myself run a charitable service were we restore sporterised Enfields to how nature intended them.
If the the rifle has a FTR or FR mark on it the the late stock was a military replacement unmarked a restoration job. Though I have seen 41 rifles with 42 barrels and vice a versa that came from the factory that way. Two years is possible but very, very, very unlikely. Since collecting Enfields I have found that the word "Never" should not be used since they were made over such a long period of time and in so many places. ------------- Have a Nice Day If already having a nice day please disregard |
Posted By: bcrossan
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 10:22am
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1943 looks like it is branded into the wood. So that date originally matched the stamped dates in the metal when these came from factory? I had read a post that suggested that date is when they went back into the depots.... but not sure how accurate that was |
Posted By: Cookie Monster
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 11:24am
| Someone changed the stock after issue |
Posted By: Lithgow
Date Posted: July 05 2012 at 7:39pm
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It's common to have wood dated later than the action, at least on Lithgows.
Has the stock got the rifle serial number stamped on it? Does it match the serial number on the action?
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Posted By: Homer
Date Posted: January 01 2013 at 8:15am
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he!!o lads, First post here but I've been looking in for quite some time. I hope you don't mind me bringing this old thread back to life but a couple of points to be made here. Yes it is common for a butt to have a later year date than the action and this is because of the time lapse between when an action was manufactured and the time the rifle was assembled in full. This is particularly common on 40's dated rifles but not so common for a 1941 dated action to be assembled in 1943. It is possible however and could be determined for sure by the serial number that is not shown in the pictures. It could just be in fact like has already been mentioned, that the rifle was restocked after issue for whatever reason, in service or out of service. You will find discrepancies between butt and action dates right through the entire period of lithgow production and in one case up to ten years has been noted. That is where a 1928 dated action was assembled into a full rifle for the first time in 1938. Again this was evident by the butt date but also the barrel date, date on the rear sight and the most compelling evidence, the serial number. During other periods of manufacture like the mid 30's, a spread of two to five years between action and butt dates is quite common, where as again 1935, 36 and 37 dated actions were assembled into rifles in 1940. I hope this brief explanation helps those starting out because it is a commonly asked question. |