Need some advice on my first Lee Enfield

[Capybara]

Hi all:

I am in Arizona on some business and had an afternoon to spend, combing some local gun shops for C&Rs. Lots of stuff out there but not what I was looking for. I did come across a beautiful 1954 Lee Enfield #4 MKII though. I know very, very little about Enfields but all of the clamor over AIM's recent batch of Jungle carbines got me excited. I know that they are accurate, well made and a pleasure to shoot.

Th example I found has that beautiful sort of mottled wood and in fact, the wood looks VERY much like Bobby Ricigliano's Albanian SKS stock that he has posted pictures of, it is dark with a sprinkling of light sorts of stripes and lines, very handsome. The metal has about 70% bluing left, but it is worn in all of the right places, it looks very nice. The barrel has a mirror shine with some debris in the grooves but that could also be dust, I couldn't run a patch through it. The sights are intact and are quite interesting compared to my other milsurps. The serial number is PF (the PF almost looks EP'd?), followed by 326254. The front hand guard metal is stamped with what looks like N67? The bottom the receiver, right behind the trigger is stamped with an upper case F. Magazine functions well, bolt is tight, trigger feels great.

They are asking $375.00 for it. Is this an okay, crappy or great price for this rifle? It isn't in beautiful condition, but it has honest wear, not abuse like some of my Mosins and it is still a very good looking gun. It feels like it would be a great shooter, but I have no idea if this is a typical Enfield or something desirable? The shop has some knowledge so I doubt if it is a diamond in the rough but you tell me, what do I have here? Should I bring it home to California? I can afford $375.00, I might be able to get them to knock a few more bucks off of it, I just started reloading so ammo won't be an issue. Couldn't take pictures, sorry.

What say you experts?

[marksmandowntown]

The price sounds a couple bucks cheaper than Gunbroker prices for the condition you describe. PPU makes ammo in .303 British that comes in good reloadable brass. I love Enfields. Buy it, and post pics once you get it home please.

SMLE Man will probably be by soon to tell you what's up. He got me interested in Enfields to begin with.

[Mutant]

That Enfield raises two questions for me. Is it a "short" stock (harder to shoot) and - do you like the sight picture? I have found my '54 Enfield is harder to find the center for the front sight because of the "new" wing design. It just does not naturally center the post for my eyes. This may be my personal problem but my 1917s, Ishapore, P14, etc., all seem easier for me.

The price sounds Ok but it is impossible to be anywhere certain without looking at the rifle. For me it is the bore that is most important so you decide. The price does look fair from here.

[Capybara]

Hmm...short stock, does that mean the LOP part of the stock is short or the coverage of the wooden fore end not as long? Bear with me, I know next to nothing about Enfields. All of the variants seem to be confusing as there are so many different types. I looked at the sight picture and it somewhat reminded me of my Garand sight picture, circle in the rear, post in the front and the adjustments on elevation seemed interesting. I did see the sight ears with the holes in them but I wasn't really very critical of them.

The serial number on the receiver and stock match. It has a great patina, it looks as if it is all "tight and original", no gaps or cracks anywhere, just a few small dings and nicks. The butt plate looks like it hasn't been removed in a long time, the little lift up door for the cleaning kit? in the butt stock couldn't be moved with just my fingernail.

I will check the bore again with my bore light if it is still there. I won't be back at this gun shop until Friday so hopefully it will still be there. Working sunrise to sunset for the next two days. If I can get there early enough, I will take some pics and will post them so you guys can take a look but if I can talk them down to $325.00 or lower, I am just going to buy it, I don't think I can go wrong with this gun at that price. It seems to be all or mostly original, bore looked pretty shiny but I want to run a patch or two through it, can tell if it was dust or burned gunpowder in it.

And if someone buys it, oh well, it wasn't meant to be mine. I couldn't buy a rifle that I knew next to nothing about on impulse, that rarely works out for me.

Thanks guys.

[DennisCA]

Pic's would def help

Does it look something like this?


$375 seems a bit high, of course w/o pic's it's hard to figure.

[Syntax Error]

Yeah, we definitely need pics to help you out here.

[smle-man]

If it is the short stock it will have S stamped on the comb back by the buttplate. Seems like most of the late date Mk2 war reserve rifles were put away with the short length buttstock. If the bore is crisp and not pitted and the muzzle is tight then $375 is a fair price. The #4mk2 is the best of the .303 #4 rifles. I'd recommend investing in a cheap sectioned cleaning rod and a couple patches and offer to clean the dust out of the bore for the gunshop and then see what you see.

[Enfield47]

It sounds like a decent rifle from your description. As long as you like the feel of it, then it's worth picking up. $375 is a fair price and you could always sell it for what you paid if you decide you don't like it, but I don't think that will be a problem. The Enfield has a really nice smooth action and .303 ammo is easier to find these days since PPU started manufacturing it. Their brass is great for reloading too.

[Capybara]

I will stop by there on Friday or Saturday and if they still have it, I will go for it. Dennis, from what I can recall, that does look like it, except the wood is much darker with the light stripes and mottled areas.

[Not that bright]

^^as stated above^^
IIRC with that a s/n in that range it is an "Irish contract" rifle. Some collectors place a slightly higher price on those for some reason. Possibly because they sat in storage for so many years.

[Enfield47]

Capybara, forgot to mention to make sure the bolt matches to the rifle. The serial number should be on the back of the bolt handle and should be the same as on the left side of the receiver. If it doesn't match you will need to have it checked with a field gauge to make sure it's safe to shoot. $375 is a good price if it matches, but if it doesn't you should talk them down on their asking price.

[Capybara]

Good advice, I didn't check the bolt serial number. I will do so. If it turned out to be non-matching, what then would be a good price, assuming that it headspaces okay? $300.00? $275.00?

[Enfield47]

I would think $300 would be fair for a non-parts matching Enfield.

[Capybara]

Thanks for all of the info guys, without CG, I wouldn't even own any C&Rs. The collective knowledge base here is amazing.

[Enfield47]

Capbara, did you go back for the Enfield?