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British Enfield find,need help with to ID

Article about: First one of these I have ever had,bought today,looks like matching numbers,anyone know these?Am sure you guys in the UK have seen a few!A 303 caliber I think?

  1. #1

    Default British Enfield find,need help with to ID

    First one of these I have ever had,bought today,looks like matching numbers,anyone know these?Am sure you guys in the UK have seen a few!A 303 caliber I think?Very smooth action ,like butter.Havent checked the bore,how do you get the bolt out?
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture British Enfield find,need help with to ID   British Enfield find,need help with to ID  

    British Enfield find,need help with to ID   British Enfield find,need help with to ID  

    British Enfield find,need help with to ID   British Enfield find,need help with to ID  

    British Enfield find,need help with to ID   British Enfield find,need help with to ID  

    British Enfield find,need help with to ID   British Enfield find,need help with to ID  

    British Enfield find,need help with to ID   British Enfield find,need help with to ID  

    British Enfield find,need help with to ID  

  2. #2

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    A nice postwar No.4 Mk2 rifle, made by ROF (Royal Ordnance Factory) Fazakerley, Liverpool, as indicated by the 'F' in brackets on the side of the receiver. If it hasn't been rechambered, it should be a .303.

    To withdraw the bolt, you open it, and push down on the button located on the right hand side of the receiver, below the rear sight and just behind the charger bridge. With that depressed, you should be able to slide the bolt out. The bolt removal process is slightly different on the Mk1*, produced in Canada and the USA, though as this one was produced in Old Blighty you don't have to worry about that.

    Regards, B.B.

  3. #3

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    Thanks B.B.! that worked, bolt is out,bore looks great.Is the black enamel paint on the metal factory original?Should I remove it or leave it alone?Dont have any 303 ammo ,any other way to tell it a 303?

  4. #4

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    My only reference is a deactivated example, so I won't be able to help on determining whether or not it's a .303. As far as I now, Enfield rifles weren't rebarreled in significant numbers. Bren guns were converted to 7.62 (known as the L4, done in the late 1950's), but in 1954 the SLR replaced the No.4 as the service rifle of the British Army. So the British didn't rebarrel them, but other countries may have.

    As for the black paint, here's my own No.4 Mk1*, exhibiting the same finish. It appears to have been painted over the original bluing. It may have been done postwar, as a new protective coat on rifles which had, by then, largely worn down to the bare metal.

    British Enfield find,need help with to IDBritish Enfield find,need help with to ID

    Regards, B.B.

  5. #5

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    Thanks again B.B.nice example you have!I bet its a 303 as its not marked for a different caliber,will get a box at the gunshow this weekend.

  6. #6

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    I’d bet it will have a commercial proof mark with the calibre and proof pressure marked on it somewhere on the barrel (usually around the bayonet area on a no.4)

    The paint is correct from Aug 44 (think it was August) for factory finish however I think this is a refinish as the serial number has been duplicated/stamped on the wrist after it left the factory and those markings have been painted over.

  7. #7

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    I found some info on this Enfield,the large Z on the side of the buttstock means it was considered scrap /condemned as receiver was damaged or worn and not fixable.The buttstock could have been a surplus part used on this rifle but if you look close at pics you can see a ghost of a Z on upper stock that is ser no to the rifle so even though someone tried to remove these paint stock markings,they didn't do a good enough job(thank goodness).I returned the rifle and got my money back,better safe than sorry!They didn't scrap these rifles as they used them for drill purposes.

  8. #8

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    The ZF rifles were returned to depot as beyond economical repair for reasons usually associated with the action body. Usually worn bolt way, an action that fails the go/no go gauging and can’t be corrected with a new bolt head, chipped locking grooves or with the Mk1*, the waisted section of the bolt rail. They didn’t always become DP, some could be SKN or just stripped for parts.

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