Lee Enfield smle

[cervusnippon2013]

Hi lads. Looking to get soon an smle rifle. I will be looking to use it for deer hunting. Is there any way to attach mounts without causing damage to its original state. I don't think my eyes would be up to using iron sights.
Anyone know a reputable seller of these rifles as well.
Cn

 

[enfieldspares]

Yes.There were a number of options. FWIW for "old eyes" a No 4 might be a better choice. Why? The original sight is an aperture REAR not a notch MIDSIGHT. And options for non gunsmithing scope mounts easier to source.

 

[Laurie]

This guy (Danny Valmont) has a lot of experience scoping Enfields using no-gunsmithing mounts. In fact he was shooting his scoped No.4 at 700 yards last Saturday in a Diggle military rifle competition with success.

Welcome to Valmont Firearms - Guns For Sale in Sheffield, South Yorkshire

 

[alberta boy]

As ES points out , a No4 would be the best choice . It's far easier to mount a scope on one , I have three lol . There are a number of no gunsmithing mounts out there , including a Canadian one . I have a No 1 mrk3 , great rifle , but other than mounting a long eye relief scope on the rear sight base , you don't have many options other than drilling and tapping the receiver , which you , rightly , don't want to do .
There's always the Parker Hale sporters as well . If you're looking for a hunting rifle , one of these is a really good option . I've been using them for about 40+ years on everything from Deer to Moose , totally reliable . Honestly , it's my go to rifle , but I'm biased .

AB

 

[cervusnippon2013]

Thanks for the replys. I was hoping to get something from ww1 for a reason but I've 2 reasons for a ww2. The no4 is ww2 ?
Was this the rifle used in Africa, Egypt?
Also, is it possible to get soft point ammo as I can only find fmj here in Ireland.
How do I know if it's a shooter, barrel wise ?

 

[alberta boy]

I think it was the No1 that saw predominant use in North Africa , I may be wrong . The No4 didn't really show up in numbers until about 41 , others will no doubt know more than me .
I know nothing about ammo availability in Ireland , but there are a lot of different brands of ammo out there . The Lee Enfield is probably the most iconic Canadian rifles I can think of , anyone who shoots has at least one or more , so ammo for the 303Brit is available everywhere here , but that doesn't help you .
As to determining if it's a shooter , the same rules apply to LE's as any rifle . Check bore condition , check serial numbers to see if the bolt and receiver numbers match , many don't , and if possible , have the headspace checked by a gunsmith as you would any rifle that seen a lot of use . They are an extremely tough rifle and will shrug off abuse that would destroy most commercial firearms . You should go online and have a look at some sites like Milsurps.com , an amazing source of good , and accurate information , I'll see you there lol . Welcome to the club .

AB

 

[Fosbery Holster]

Hi lads. Looking to get soon an smle rifle. I will be looking to use it for deer hunting. Is there any way to attach mounts without causing damage to its original state. I don't think my eyes would be up to using iron sights.
Anyone know a reputable seller of these rifles as well.
Cn

Hi Cn, is there a specific reason for your choice of SMLE for ‘deer hunting’ maybe an Historical reason, do you prefer WW1 rifles over WW2 rifles?
With the SMLE there doesn’t seem to be a great amount of non smith choices in scoping this particular rifle, is it an inherited rifle?
Let’s find a starting point !

 

[Eric the Red]

Chris Watts at Lucas and Watts Gunsmiths is very knowledgeable in this field as it is a passion of his - he may have something available too.

 

[enfieldspares]

My own SMLE was conditioned for deer but FWIW it isn't maybe the best choice as they are damned heavy compared to a purpose made BSA Lee Speed sporting rifle.

 

[alberta boy]

My own SMLE was conditioned for deer but FWIW it isn't maybe the best choice as they are damned heavy compared to a purpose made BSA Lee Speed sporting rifle.

^ This

 

[Harry mac]

At 9 1/2 Lbs for the rifle; call it 1 Lb for a scope and mounts, then just under an ounce per round, and before you know it, you're lumping an 11 lb rifle through the woods. I did it once each with my No4 and my SMLE. After that I restricted my Lee Enfield stalking to the No5 carbine. Much more civilised.

 

[ging125]

Have you considered a k31 7.5x55swiss?
Straight pull bolt very accurate, loaded with 308 heads/projectiles? Gunsmithing free mounts very affordable?
Although... can you reload in the south of Ireland?

 

[cervusnippon2013]

Hi Cn, is there a specific reason for your choice of SMLE for ‘deer hunting’ maybe an Historical reason, do you prefer WW1 rifles over WW2 rifles?
With the SMLE there doesn’t seem to be a great amount of non smith choices in scoping this particular rifle, is it an inherited rifle?
Let’s find a starting point !

Family fought in both wars, ww1 France, battle of Aras and ww2 in Africa, Egypt. I have a tikka T3 for deer but obviously getting into the history of both wars I got interested in the LE. I'm not a member of a range but thought it would be nice to be able to use the LE for deer too.

 

[cervusnippon2013]

At 9 1/2 Lbs for the rifle; call it 1 Lb for a scope and mounts, then just under an ounce per round, and before you know it, you're lumping an 11 lb rifle through the woods. I did it once each with my No4 and my SMLE. After that I restricted my Lee Enfield stalking to the No5 carbine. Much more civilised.

No5. Is that the jungle carbine? I've heard there can be accuracy problems.

 

[cervusnippon2013]

Have you considered a k31 7.5x55swiss?
Straight pull bolt very accurate, loaded with 308 heads/projectiles? Gunsmithing free mounts very affordable?
Although... can you reload in the south of Ireland?

I was informed that at a range under controlled conditions that it's possible but definitely not in your own home as far as I understand.
I've looked at a lot of old, war type rifles but had it down to the LE.

 

[Brno2e]

I have a No 4 LE in .410 that gives me a buzz to take out and blat Squirrels and Rats round the feeders with and often dream of the Swedish M/41B as the ideal retro stalking rifle so fully understand the desire to shoot historical weapons outside of use on a range.

 

[Fosbery Holster]

Family fought in both wars, ww1 France, battle of Aras and ww2 in Africa, Egypt. I have a tikka T3 for deer but obviously getting into the history of both wars I got interested in the LE. I'm not a member of a range but thought it would be nice to be able to use the LE for deer too.

The SMLE was used in both wars, used in Africa and Egypt, from what I’ve gathered it’s not easy to scope an SMLE properly without drilling and tapping the mounts, (as shown in WW1 sniper rifles), it’s reputed that there is a no smith scope mount being sold in America, apparently very flimsy, but I have no experience with it. The SMLE service rifle in its military garb, could be a little clumsy to use in woodland and ‘heavy’!
You could look at the Lee Speed sporting rifle, same period, it would certainly be a whole lot lighter, it would give you the feel of the Lee Enfield with a five shot magazine, and you could probably find one already scoped.

The Lee Enfield No4 used during WW2 does lend itself very well to be a sporting rifle ‘basically’ but not only just changing the woodwork to sporting timber, the rear sight being removed easily to mount the no smith scope mount, a sporting No4 would be relatively easy to find. Again the No4 in military garb could be clumsy and heavy, without touching anything but the rear sight you can mount a scope.

Have you any feelings for the Pattern P14 .303 again heavy, Parker Hale sporterised them and mounted scopes, this rifle has the Mauser action ?

 

[cervusnippon2013]

I've no knowledge of the p14. Something new to Google

 

[alberta boy]

P14 / M17 Enfields are very good rifles , arguably the best battle rifle of WW1 . There are a lot of sporterized ones kicking around out here for a couple of hundred bucks . I have a Winchester made P14 with a cut down issue stock , everything else is original . With decent ammo , mine loves Federal Blue box 180 grs , it'll keep 3 rounds inside of two inches at one hundred yards with issue sights , not bad for a rifle that's over 100 years old and has endured decades of hard use .

AB

 

[LeftHandGuy]

This mount would appear to do what you want:

S & K Scope Mounts - Insta-Mounts

We manufacture two lines of high quality scope mounts: 1. Insta-Mounts for ex-military rifles without drilling and 2. Skulptured mounts for sporter rifles.

www.scopemounts.com

Aluminium, and probably won't win you long range competitions, but attaches with no gunsmithing and isn't stupidly expensive. The same company also make one that mounts to the rear sight, but that requires you to remove the rear sight assembly (you use the existing holes to pin it in place). You don't have to break or damage anything, but you will need the right tools.

Or there is this which is even cheaper and mounts to existing screws on the rifle:

SM8565 Lee Enfield Scope Mount Military Rifle SMLE Mk III #1 .303 Cal. Receiver Scope Mount - Enfield Rifle

Lee Enfield Scope Mount For Military Rifles Fits SMLE MK III (.303 caliber ONLY). This is a Great scope mount for classic Lee enfield rifle SMLE Mk III #1 .303 Cal. no gun smithing required. Scope Mount fits over firearm's receiver and attaches .

www.combathunting.com

And I have read on here about this guy as an Enfield dealer:

Highwood Classic Arms

Welcome to Highwood Classic Arms. We specialise in the sale & repair of the No4 Lee Enfield Rifles and also all models of Lee Enfield and classic military rifles including all versions of Martini Rifles both Military Spec & Target Versions. We try to keep stock of .22 Martini Rifle by Greener...

www.highwoodclassicarms.co.uk

I cannot speak to whether or how he could get you a rifle to Ireland - you may have better options locally.

I think it's definitely a cool project to set yourself up to stalk with a historic military rifle - I hope you manage it.