Info on Lee Enfield SMLE Mk. III rifles

[britisharmy]

Yup here is a good place.
http://www.ima-usa.com/index.php/cPath/1

[egon12]

britisharmy beat me to the punch with the s arrow a mark. The book that I used is Ian Skennerton's The Lee-Enfield: A century of Lee-Metford & Lee-Enfield rifles and carbines. The book runs around $60-70 and it is worth its weight in gold when it comes down to research. There are also a few books published by North Cape Publications by the late Charles Stratton that are good but there are some errors in the book but it is a good ready reference and it is a little more portable than Skennertons book.
The price you paid is a little on the high side for what it is but I think every collector has done the same thing. I remember my first high power rifle I ever bought was a beautiful k98 mauser. It looked good on the outside but the bore was shot out and it keyholes bullets at 15 yds. I learned a vaulable lesson: let the rifle speak for itself and the dealer's stories are just that: stories. And the other lesson that I learned a long time ago is a little reseach goes a long way. Gunboards forum and Surplus rifle are great resources to use when looking for a new milsurp.

[egon12]

The headstamp for the ammo that you bought is for Royal Laboratory in Woolwich England, the 52 is the year of manufacture and the 7 is either the month or for Mark 7 ammo which is the standard .303 round.

[Garpman]

A caution on surplus ammo if you happen to come across Pakistani surplus. There have been numerous reports on how bad this ammo is. Full of duds and hangfires. This appears to be old news for those who have been at this for over 20 yrs or so but I recently purchased some POF for testing. Mine turned out fine so far, but it appears I am one of the lucky ones.

Not saying to avoid it all together, as it is cheap shooting, but be careful and make sure you know the drill for hangfires. I was taught by the USMC to wait 30 seconds. There is a thread on surplusrifle.com with a pic of someone who supposedly got their thumb ripped open when he opened the action too soon.

[WWGunslinger]

What does the C.R. under the crown stamp mean?

[762xIan]

I couldn't find "C.R." but there is a wealth of info here on various markings and codes and how the numbering system worked.

http://enfieldrifles.profusehost.net/main.htm

Lots of good illustrations and pictures of all the various Enfields out there.

[britisharmy]

Originally Posted by WWGunslinger

What does the C.R. under the crown stamp mean?

It is G.R. which stands for George Regine (king george V)

[WWGunslinger]

Aimsurplus.com has boxes of ammo for sale that look almost exactly like what I have but it says POF on it. Mine doesn't say POF.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/P..._Brit_FMJ.html

I wonder what I really have then?

[762xIan]

Mine doesn't say POF.

What does yours have on it then? There are several sites that have headstamp info for ammo. If it doesn't say POF that may be a GOOD thing! Maybe you have some real Brit ammo? The POF ammo is pretty unreliable and dirty. Lots of click......bangs.

[WWGunslinger]

Originally Posted by 762xIan

What does yours have on it then? There are several sites that have headstamp info for ammo. If it doesn't say POF that may be a GOOD thing! Maybe you have some real Brit ammo? The POF ammo is pretty unreliable and dirty. Lots of click......bangs.

pic of ammo
stamped onto the rear of the casing itself is a R, broad arrow, L, the number 52, and the number 7.

someone else on here said it looked like it means Royal Laboratory in Woolwich England, the 52 is the year of manufacture and the 7 is either the month or for Mark 7 ammo which is the standard .303 round. so maybe it is real Brit ammo.