The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

meles meles wrote:

Dougan wrote: but why us a magazine cut off? ...the action was made for rapid firing

Ah, but the magazine cut off was to allow single shot fire to lure the fuzzy wuzzies out into the open after they had counted ten rounds gone, whereupon one could mow them down with the full magazine as they ran forward to chuck their pointy sticks....

Also, they were concerned about ammo expenditure. Whether the cut-off was open or closed was a decision made by officer/NCO depending on the situation.

11 rounds can also be used without a cut-off. My dad told me they'd quite often chamber the first round, closing the bolt with trigger depressed. They'd remove the mag and top off the '10th' round. When told to load, instead of cycling the bolt, they'd pull the cocking piece back.

As for the rifle choice, find a nice MkIII with original fittings such as the cut-off, windage adjustable rear sight and volley sights - you never know when you need to protect the sett at ranges over 2000 yds

Personally for the No4 I'd want a genuine WW2-era one, so that rules out the Mk2s. Don't forget the Indian Ishapore variant too, and the WW2 Lithgows, etc..... Hard to know where to draw the line

What Lee Enfield?

I would suggest a No1 MkIII or MkIII* they're just about as iconic as a red phone box.

I love mine. They shoulder well, shoot straight, they're built to last... literally, and they're fun. Plus, I love the look of 'em.

Hmmm, maybe we need to invest in a SMLE with a minor adjustment: volley sights, magazine cut off and an adapter to take an MG34 style double snail drum magazine...

adapter to take an MG34 style double snail drum magazine...

Crazy, crazy badger engineers :lol:

I'd say a No.4, on the basis that it's simple, robust and if it goes wrong you only need a flathead screwdriver to dismantle the entire rifle.

Plus you can still pick up No.4s in good nick, even with a brand new barrel if you so desire. SMLEs are nice, but they strike me as rather overcomplicated.

Gaz makes a good point... he's wrong, but it's a good point

[Jedi mind trick]

"This is not the No4 you're looking for, have a proper SMLE instead"

Tower.75 wrote:
Crazy, crazy badger engineers :lol:

We're imagineers....

Gaz wrote: SMLEs are nice, but they strike me as rather overcomplicated.

:shock: 'nice'... :G ...'overcomplicated' :shock: *rendered speachless*

Complicated! Gaz have you been sniffing the virtual newsprint again???

They're like camels, ooman: you only need to know which end spits...