Enfield No4 Mk1 questions

[Rescue190]

I picked up a pretty rough No4 Mk1 made at ROF maltby in 1943. There is still 70 year grease in many small parts. It looked pretty bad. Looks like it went through arsenal repair with the patch at the butt and being in a Savage made stock. The receiver, bolt and mag are numbers matching, pleasant surprise. The front metal on the stock and the middle barrel band have markings as well. I have not researched those yet. opinions on why in a Savage stock? I also do not know what the painted numbers are for on the stock or when they might have been applied. Wartime or post war? There was some remnants of paint on the other side but nothing discernible. Could end up being a good save if everything else checks out. All opinions and comments are appreciated.
John

[Composite]

sorry, I can't help you...but thank you for taking the time to present it to us so well / clearly.

[Narcis]

Mk II backsight is also "Savage"!
Proofmarks on barrel seem to be civilian marks. The two letters AS as well?

[Alex W]

Rescue,

N79 - Viners Ltd.
S76 - Metal Box Co
Cant help with S126 or the white paint on the stock.

I have a feeling that the mark on the end of the barrel is a civilian proof mark.

It's not unusual to find British rifles with different manufacturer parts which were replaced on unit armourer level or arsenal refurb - as long as the part fit and was serviceable they didn't care which manufacturer it was. However you may never know if your Savage stock was fitted in period or later.

Alex

[Narcis]

S126: C.E. Welstead, Croydon
Sheffield for Viners Ltd and London for Meta Box Co.
S134 (bolt release catch): Adressograph & Multigraph, Cricklewood

[BrodieBartfast]

The mark on the muzzle end of the barrel is a British Nitro Proof (BNP) marking. These indicated that the rifle had been test fired, and was deemed safe, before being passed onto the civilian market.

B.B.

[Rescue190]

Thank you for the responses and all the information. Much appreciated.
John

[08SMLE48]

My guess on the paint on the butt stock is that it is a rack number. It tells the armory custodian which rack to put the rifle on when the rifle is checked back in. Makes inventory much easier. Not very common on Enfields as far as I’ve seen.

[Danger]

Nice rifle mate.
what will you do with it?
I have a 1940 and 1918 rifles I still use for hunting.

As a side note, does anyone out there still use the old WWII 303's for target shooting or hunting?
When I was trained to shoot in the RNZAF, we were shown how to line everything up, then squeeze the trigger.
that has been my default for 20+ years.
But a few months ago I saw an old WWII manual on how to sight up a target and it's different to what I was taught.
I was told to line up the sights on the center of the target and adjust for distance by aiming higher.
The manual has the front and rear sights flush, but at the bottom of the target.
Were the old 303's offset? how do i word this? like a self adjusted sight that you needed to aim low to hit center? why is this?
I prefer to use iron sights on my WWI and WWII rifles, main reason is I don't want to ruin them by mounting a scope and the other is I just enjoy it.
Due to the events in March here in NZ, I have to hand in my AK47 and AR-15 to the govt, which have been my main hunting rifles.
AK47 has the correct scope mount and scope. AR-15 has a red dot open sight.
But now I'm back to the old girls, and a few other toys.
I tried the new aiming system on a goat across a ravine at around 60m, did the trick. Did the trick 6 more times by the end of the hunt.

[08SMLE48]

Danger you are talking about what’s called a 6 o’clock hold. I don’t personally do this but know folks that do and it works well for them. I have a ‘43 Lithgow SMLE that I’ve hunted wild boar and whitetail deer with in Texas and I line my sights up dead center and the old girl hits dead center.