lee enfield 1917

**Davidh** · 08-18-2010, 06:26 PM

picked this up tonight its not mint but at least it still shoots as its been bored out to 410 i can have it on my shotgun licence

i dont know the going rate for these but i gave £100 for it which seemed reasonable, rgds Dave

**Redgemak** · 08-18-2010, 06:34 PM

Dave

for £100 it is a bargain even if it is bored out to .410
I like the wood.

Jean

**Bravo 20** · 08-18-2010, 06:39 PM

Nice find, Dave!! I think for what you paid for it, you did quite well. Here in the states any wartime Enfield has doubled and trippled in value in the past few years. I'm guessing the wood is a replacement? It looks too good to be on a gun of that age without the occasional ding or dent. But either way, well done!

**Davidh** · 08-18-2010, 06:45 PM

cheers guys, its my pics that make the wood look new, its got dints dengs splits etc looks like it may have been varnished at some point but its definetly old

the pic with the date shows the woods age better ,cheers Dave

**Bravo 20** · 08-18-2010, 06:58 PM

A 1917* date.......very nice! If my memory serves, the astrix, *, after the date indicates the gun was made without the magazine cutoff on the side. I guess the soldiers found it to be useless for trench fighting so it was done away with...plus it simplified the manufacturing of the gun, so I'm sure wartime expedience had something to do with it as well.

But you still got a bargin!!

**lithgow** · 08-19-2010, 08:29 AM

Hello- the '*' after the III on an SMLE denotes certain simplifications for wartime production-as stated the removal of the mag cutoff but also deletion of the long range dial sights and windage adjustment on the rear sight-however these changes were introduced over time and some IIIs will have various combinations of these-i just took possession of a 1917 Lithgow Smle marked as a III but without cutoff or dial sights but it has the windage adjustment on the rear sight. Back to the Enfield 1917-I assume the .410 is the modern round, not the Indian Musket?

**ian** · 08-19-2010, 06:39 PM

.410 is a shot gun calaber here in the uk
for small game and vermin many rifles were re bored to this to allow them to be owend on a shot gun license cheers ian

**John Brandon** · 08-19-2010, 07:18 PM

by lithgow

Hello- the '*' after the III on an SMLE denotes certain simplifications for wartime production-as stated the removal of the mag cutoff but also deletion of the long range dial sights and windage adjustment on the rear sight-however these changes were introduced over time and some IIIs will have various combinations of these-i just took possession of a 1917 Lithgow Smle marked as a III but without cutoff or dial sights but it has the windage adjustment on the rear sight. Back to the Enfield 1917-I assume the .410 is the modern round, not the Indian Musket?

Spot on

Don't see many Aussie Lithgows anymore. They used to be in abundance, but they seem to have dried up. I've got 3 which I shoot. One here
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/battl...obably-3016-3/

nice 410 David, and again a bargain price............

**lithgow** · 08-19-2010, 08:05 PM

Even here it's hard to get a decent example now-I have a 1917 No.III, a 1943 III* and a .22 No.2 MkIV* (1947 converted from a 1941 III*).

**HARRY THE MOLE** · 08-19-2010, 09:17 PM

Nice gun Dave. I used to have a Mk 111 (with cut-off and volley-sights) that had been issued to the NZ forces. That was also in .410, and I used the 3inch magnum rounds in it. I preferred it to my 12 bore. Around the time I got it in the late 70's, it was possible to get almost ANY gun on shotgun - I even saw Brens, Vickers and a Boys A/T gun. The oddest though were the Stens fitted with a 24inch barrel.