Enfield shopping advice.

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  • mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Feel welcome to PM me for advice. I've been collecting Enfields for nearly 30 yrs now. Like to think I know a thing or two about 'em.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    We will have a few at the Howard County show this weekend

    Hmmmm....this is very interesting. I was planning to go Saturday. Any chance you'll have a headspace gauge there too? Can you PM me a ballpark price? Honestly, I hadn't planned on being a buyer just yet...but...who knows:shrug: Finding the right rifle is like falling in love. It happens when it happens, whether you plan on it or not.:D

    Thank you!
     

    zoostation

    , ,
    Moderator
    Jan 28, 2007
    22,857
    Abingdon
    Also be careful when shopping for Enfield MK III's. There were a ton of Khyber Pass rifles (Afghan cottage industry knockoffs) imported about ten years ago. They are dangerous to shoot but usually aren't too hard to spot if you Google Khyber Pass Enfields. I had one once and the barrel was offset a good ten degrees from the receiver. Thank God I never shot it. Of course I think there is nothing to worry about with guys like FFBWMD and our other IP's, but I'm just talking about in general while you are looking and buying from folks you don't know. In all honesty sometimes the sellers don't even know that's what they have.

    http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=19606

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khyber_Pass_Copy
     

    FFBWMD

    ,
    Industry Partner
    Oct 3, 2011
    4,662
    Woodbine MD
    Hmmmm....this is very interesting. I was planning to go Saturday. Any chance you'll have a headspace gauge there too? Can you PM me a ballpark price? Honestly, I hadn't planned on being a buyer just yet...but...who knows:shrug: Finding the right rifle is like falling in love. It happens when it happens, whether you plan on it or not.:D

    Thank you!
    I won't have gauges with me but all have been checked or they wouldn't be on my shelf. There are 3 No1mk3 and 1 No4mk1
    I'm interested in buying an Enfield MKIII, but don't know enough about them. I posted this thread in "rifles"
    https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=205846

    and it was suggested that I might find more guidance in this section.

    Thanks for your input!:D


    Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
     

    lee2

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Oct 8, 2007
    19,012
    I won't have gauges with me but all have been checked or they wouldn't be on my shelf. There are 3 No1mk3 and 1 No4mk1



    Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

    I can personally vouch for Brian . He is an honest and straight forward
    Person.:thumbsup:
     

    zoostation

    , ,
    Moderator
    Jan 28, 2007
    22,857
    Abingdon
    Just curious, what's an Enfield MK III selling for these days? I have a 1920 Lithgow I've been thinking about selling as I thin the herd but don't really even know what to ask anymore, and Gunbroker isn't much help since you can never tell what's a real price and what's a crazy one.
     

    Clovis

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 1, 2011
    1,408
    Centreville
    Mawkie knows a great deal...don't ignore his generous offer.

    Curious what flavor of Mark III* you would be looking for: British? Indian/RFI? Aussie? Maybe a dispersal? Whatever, I would check all the numbers match and have an eye for the stock around the action for cracks, could be nothing or a sign of big problems. Have fun!
     

    chooks9

    Bear with Arms
    Jan 3, 2013
    1,155
    Abingdon
    Just curious, what's an Enfield MK III selling for these days? I have a 1920 Lithgow I've been thinking about selling as I thin the herd but don't really even know what to ask anymore, and Gunbroker isn't much help since you can never tell what's a real price and what's a crazy one.

    I saw a nice (arsenal refurbished in UK) SMLE for $325 a few months back, but most of what I have seen go for $300-500+ depending on condition, age, etc.

    I wish you can still find them for $200 with bayonet and sling like I got ten years ago.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    Thanks for all the input. Mawkie already gave me some good tips:D That is definitely good to know about the Khyber Pass copies :sad20:

    My intent is to go to both the Bel Air and Hoco gunshows this weekend to do some SMLE touching. Hopefully handling a few will help me get a better idea of what's good and bad. I really shouldn't bring anything home yet...I need to be buying tires right now, not guns...tires... I'm going to tell myself that constantly, but I'm a really bad listener. :innocent0
     

    Whitey

    Collector and involved.
    Apr 5, 2014
    303
    Central MD
    This thread made me pull part of my SMLE collection out of hibernation. Now my cats are pissed cuz the rifles are all leaning on their favorite afternoon sleeping spot.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    The Enfield world is surprisingly big, luckily not as vast as the Mauser universe. Only took me a couple of decades to get a handle on things! Still pining away for a Lee Metford, one of the last items in my Enfield bucket list.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    Last night I saw one at the Bel Air gun show. It appeared to be in really good shape...almost too good? The seller was selling it for someone else, so he didn't know much about it. Had I not known that there would be at least three at the HoCo show the following day, it may well have come home with me for $425. I know that looking good on the outside doesn't mean safe to shoot, and, out of principle, it just didn't seem right to buy the very first one I picked up. Besides...if I struck out at HoCo, it may still have been at Bel Air (although it would cost me another $10 at the door...but that's another rant).

    Mawkie said that he was going to be at HoCo in the morning and generously offered to check anything I found out there with me. I wasn't completely sure when I'd make it there, so I gave him my phone number in hopes that, if I didn't catch up with him, he'd let me know if there was anything good there. That was a good plan, and I greatly appreciate all his help. I went through the show, checking my phone periodically and figured he didn't make it because I hadn't heard anything. Then, as we were on our way home at about 2pm, my phone lights up to tell me I have 2 new messages: One from Verizon telling me my bill was ready at noon, and one from Mawkie saying he was there at 10:46. :mad54: That really sucks because we were there too. In addition to invaluable advice, it would have been cool to meet the man and the legend in person.:sad20: I just don't get it.

    Anyway...left to my own devices...I forced enough discipline to run through the entire show before buying this one from South Carroll for $350:D
    No1MK3 first.JPG

    It definitely shows wear and tear of nearly 100 years in service, but I'm AOK with that.
    No1MK3 date.JPG
    There is a lot of grease...I can't quite tell if it says 1919 or 1918. I'm pretty sure that round dent in the wood direcly above the trigger is from the safety screw of another rifle that was stacked on top of that :shrug: I don't mind it one bit. I think after a thorough degreasing, it is going to have about the same well earned patina that my '03 carries. Other than dressing up a few chewed on screw heads, the only change I might make is the buttstock. As you can see it doesn't match the rest of the wood (although the camera flash really brings that out more so than in person). It has a small repair to it and a few hairline cracks (though none in the wrist...I don't think it's going to be a real problem unless I have to bash a Turk or Austro-Hungarian with it, which...well...one should always be prepared for anything ;) )

    Because it came in under what I figured was my budget, I overpaid a little for a box of ammo just so I could do this:
    No1MK3 muzzle.JPG
    It may not be spectacular, but at least it didn't run all the way in to the case.

    I've got a good bit of degreasing to do, but overall I am very satisfied. I even have a couple of bucks left in my pocket...it may be the beginnings of a No.4 fund:innocent0
     

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