Although the 303 British is getting pretty long in the tooth, it is still an excellent hunting cartridge. From the protected front sight to the steel trigger guard, the Lee Enfields are built to absorb punishment and keep on going.įinally, the cartridge. Everything on the rifle is made of steel and wood and nothing is flimsy or prone to breaking. A Lee Enfield No4 Mk1 outfitted with a scopeĪlso, the guns are very durable. Furthermore, the Enfield doesn’t require one purchase an optic before they can shoot it. This is significantly cheaper than the cheapest new bolt action on the market.
Even today, sporterized Lee Enfields cost right around 300 dollars. The No4 Mk1 comes with an excellent set of irons that can shoot way past what the shooter can do with iron sights.Īnother advantage is the price. However, manufacturing peep sights is expensive and as such they are relatively rare. Quality peep sights are the most accurate type of iron sights. Next, the iron sights on the No4 Mk1’s are very good, especially the sets made before 1942. It’s this speed that led to the creation of the Mad Minute. The real world implications are faster follow up shots for the shooter. This ensures the bolt has the momentum to quickly overcome the resistance of the striker. This is due to the cock on close design, in which the striker is cocked when the bolt is slamming home, not when the bolt handle is being lifted initially. First of all, the Enfield has an incredibly fast bolt. Many of the attributes that made the Lee Enfield exemplary in its service to the Commonwealth also serve it well in the field. The rifles weigh 9.6lbs and have 25.2 inch barrels. This makes a unique action that is different from hunting rifles designed today. Unlike most modern bolt guns, the locking lug is at the rear of the bolt. The action is a striker-fired cock on close design. The sights are adjustable out to an optimistic 1300 yards. The WW2 vintage rifles have a peep sight at the rear of the receiver.
They are typically chambered in the 303 British with a few variations in 308 Winchester. The gun can be fed by stripper clips, although most people will just push the rounds into the magazine through the top of the receiver. The standard bolt action Lee Enfield comes with a 10 round detachable box magazine.
In 2015 the Canadian Rangers retired their Lee Enfields, marking the end of the rifles military use in the Commonwealth. Many hunters bought the rifles and removed the military stocks to lighten them before repurposing them as hunting rifles. The used rifles sold at bargain basement prices in hardware stores across commonwealth countries. This left them with stockpiles of Lee Enfields that they no longer had a use for. The basic action remained a proven design that had served the Commonwealth through both world wars.Īfter the Second World War, the western countries started looking for an autoloading rifle. Other small changes include removal of the magazine cutoff and a different rear sight. The Lee Enfield No4 Mk1 was the standard issue rifle for the Commonwealth during the Second world war and is basically a No1 Mk3 modernized for easier production. The military arm that has by and away accounted for the most meat on Canadian tables is the Lee Enfield rifles. These old rifles carry their own brand of appeal. For years military surplus rifles have allowed hunters to get tough and accurate rifles for cheap. Sometimes the layers of scratches on a well worn stock are more impressive than a shiny finish or an intricate engraving. Hunting isn’t all about showing off a new state of the art rifle.
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