Lee Enfield No4 Mk2 - even a blind chook . . .

. . . finds a worm occasionally.

So my brother in law announces he is coming out with 3x 303's that I can have if I want, and duly turns up with a bundle of stuff wrapped up in a curtain . . .

First out is a No1 Mk3, cut down with a shortened barrel and pretty hideous stock, bore very dark but at least I find a bolt in there with a matching serial number - belonged to his Dad (my FIL)

Second out is another No1 Mk3, also cut down but with a somewhat nicer stock, bore also dark, but again a matching bolt.

Lastly a No4 - hmmm this looks interesting, bolt matches. Oh its a No 4 Mk2, even better, he tells me he bought it "as new" with a newly fitted barrel from Allan Millar's Gunshop (in Dunners) in 1982. Barrel looked a bit dark but after he left I put a few patches and a jug of boiling water through it, and guess what, its as bright as a button!! So I have acquired a really nice "Fulton Regulated" 4/53 marked No.4 Mk2 in totally original condition and what did I give ?? - well I had to confess to him he'd done me a good turn so I traded him an air-rifle "complete with scope" for it!! Hahahaha

Pictures later (my son is off with it gloating to his mates)!

Oh and yes I'll sell the others, will put them up tonight.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tentman

. . . finds a worm occasionally.

So my brother in law announces he is coming out with 3x 303's that I can have if I want, and duly turns up with a bundle of stuff wrapped up in a curtain . . .

First out is a No1 Mk3, cut down with a shortened barrel and pretty hideous stock, bore very dark but at least I find a bolt in there with a matching serial number - belonged to his Dad (my FIL)

Second out is another No1 Mk3, also cut down but with a somewhat nicer stock, bore also dark, but again a matching bolt.

Lastly a No4 - hmmm this looks interesting, bolt matches. Oh its a No 4 Mk2, even better, he tells me he bought it "as new" with a newly fitted barrel from Allan Millar's Gunshop (in Dunners) in 1982. Barrel looked a bit dark but after he left I put a few patches and a jug of boiling water through it, and guess what, its as bright as a button!! So I have acquired a really nice "Fulton Regulated" 4/53 marked No.4 Mk2 in totally original condition and what did I give ?? - well I had to confess to him he'd done me a good turn so I traded him an air-rifle "complete with scope" for it!! Hahahaha

Pictures later (my son is off with it gloating to his mates)!

Oh and yes I'll sell the others, will put them up tonight.

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Typical. Bloody typical

Bloody ratbag............lol well done

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tentman

....So I have acquired a really nice "Fulton Regulated" 4/53 marked No.4 Mk2 in totally original condition ..

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If it's "Fulton regulated", means it's an ex target rifle that's strictly not in orig condition. If you remove the mag and have a look to the rear ahead of the action band, there will be two screws heading back into the buttstock. These raking screws stiffened up the stock and were not a factory feature.

quite right - strictly speaking its a "Range Rifle", but now that I've cleaned it properly to reveal a fresh shiny bore, I'm still "as happy as a chook". I haven't seen a Fulton regulated Mk 2, must have a look and see what they did, the normal approach is quite different to the previous Mk's due to the way the fore-end is fitted up . . . .

Crying shame that you get to run around with these @Tentman
Better let a more giving soul a chance
Oh wait that would be me
Better to make someone as happy as a chook
Than run round like a headless rooster
Well done you!
Oh...and it didnt happen with out pictures mate
Still

Attachment 142635

Attachment 142636

This rifle has a very unusual foresight shape, I'd call it a "barley-corn" - anyone else seen one on a No 4 (or any other SMLE for that matter) - I'm guessing it might have been special order when the rifle was "regulated".

Attachment 142637

There were many variations to the regulating procedures carried out by Fulton's, but as I expected for a No4 Mk2 it doesn't have the screws up inside the magazine well - these would be counter-productive to the bedding of a Mk 2 by any of the sources I've seen. It does have the dowels used to centre the forestock.

Fazakerley?
Had one the same year. Not as nice as yours though. Mine had a mismatched stock. Had been shortened and then lengthened with a spacer. Shame. It shot extremely well.

It's a nice looking rig
Interesting foresight
Wonder why?
Better sight picture at distance maybe?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zimmer

Fazakerley?
Had one the same year. Not as nice as yours though. Mine had a mismatched stock. Had been shortened and then lengthened with a spacer. Shame. It shot extremely well.

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Fazakerley....its a 'scouser' like me...."a bright bore"....ill settle for that :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Boxton

It's a nice looking rig
Interesting foresight
Wonder why?
Better sight picture at distance maybe?

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Better sight picture against dark backgrounds / in low light. The standard No. 1 Mk III / No. 4 foresights are hard to find yet very precise when you do. If you're not shooting Service Rifle competitions I'd leave that barleycorn where you found it. For target shooting I'd blacken it with a candle or a lighter, for hunting keep it metal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scouser

Fazakerley....its a 'scouser' like me...."a bright bore"....ill settle for that :P

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Liverpudlian.....

Or maybe better would be the common auction description of "bore dirty, needs ckeaning". :)
What do you know about the Fazakerley factory? It obviously stayed in production for a while after the war.

I don't know about the shape of the foresight, a lot of styles were down to personal preference given the 6 o'clock hood required for target shooting then.

The arrangement itself, what appears from the photo to be a tapered dovetail for the element to slip into, was quite common. The old guys used to cut a fwd tapered dovetail into a standard foresight and then would have a range of width elements to suit the different sized aiming marks at different ranges. The elements could be easily tapped out and another tapped in.

Fulton may have also supplied this, I don't know. My Fulton just had a standard foresight.