Lee Enfield

blackpowder

hello i do drop in now and again to the vintage classic rifle association of ireland web page to see news up dates on classic shooting ect. i just noticed everyone seems to using a lee enfield 303 model one pic i,m sure is 303 jungle carbine ? why are the lee enfield so popular with irish shooters at the vcrai ?

tac foley

blackpowder wrote: »

hello i do drop in now and again to the vintage classic rifle association of ireland web page to see news up dates on classic shooting ect. i just noticed everyone seems to using a lee enfield 303 model one pic i,m sure is 303 jungle carbine ? why are the lee enfield so popular with irish shooters at the vcrai ?

Since well before Ireland gained its independence from the British, its sons had been carrying one version or the other of the Lee-Enfield rifle in various wars around the globe. Indeed, it was the rifle carried by those embroiled in the War of Independence [my dad had one] between 1916 and 1922, and afterwards in the Free State Army [he had one in that, too]. Until the adoption of the FAL in the early 1960's, the L-E was the rifle of the Irish Defence Forces, and many members of the VCRAI remember those days - some of the older members even carried them. Add to that that literally millions of them were made, and you can see that getting one of your own that reminds you of past-times, good or bad, is pretty easy to understand.

They are great fun to shoot, can be accurate within their limits, ammunition is readily available, and so far they are not on the 'Restricted' list. They are also fairly cheap, at least in standard format - the No5 versions are more expensive and the sniping versions of the No4 - the No4[T] are becoming ridiculous. World War 1 L-E sniping rfles need real provenance, BTW, and can fetch the price of a reasonably-priced family car.

One more thing - in competitions where time is important, AFAIK the L-E is the only bolt-action service rifle with a magazine capacity of ten rounds, apart from the unusual and unshootable Vetterli - they are also the fastest to operate of ANY BA rifle - in the early days of WW1 the Germans thought that the Army facing them was equipped with individual machine guns.

All these are good reasons to own one in my book.

tac

PS - Apologies for thread drift.

blackpowder

THAT seems really interesting tac and the fact that your old man took part in this part of the state most interesting period with with his trusty lee enfield is cool on that note i just have to ask do you still have it in the family as a heirloom ???
the lee enfield must have being a pretty fearsome weapon to come up against when it first made its appearance in 1914 in Europe , the british army recently recovered one in Afganistan being used by the taliban it had being left there by the British in 1919 and was still in a workable ,fireable and was still being used in combat condition with only rudimentaty care after 90 years almost, i found that story amazing

tac foley

Sir - To answer your post needs another thread.

tac

Cass

Posts regarding Lee Enfield moved to their own thread.

tac foley

THAT seems really interesting tac and the fact that your old man took part in this part of the state most interesting period with with his trusty lee enfield is cool on that note i just have to ask do you still have it in the family as a heirloom ???

You have to be joking. His L-E belonged to the FF, not him, so he had to give it back...sad, that.

the lee enfield must have being a pretty fearsome weapon to come up against when it first made its appearance in 1914 in Europe , the british army recently recovered one in Afganistan being used by the taliban it had being left there by the British in 1919 and was still in a workable ,fireable and was still being used in combat condition with only rudimentaty care after 90 years almost, i found that story amazing.

Yup, an amazingly robust design that can take a lot of punishment and still deliver the goods. One reason why they are such a good buy for the budding shooter in an organisation like the VCRAI. Last time I went to Bisley one dealer there had over 200 of them on his stand, from early Lee-Metfords and Lee-Speeds to the very last No4 ever made.

My late Uncle Geoffrey was a sniper in the Princess Patricia's in WW2. Not many stories from him tho'. He had preferred to forget about it all.

If such guns as these interest you, get along to the show at Birr this coming weekend - the lads on the VCRAI stand there will blind you with their combined knowledge!!!

tac

PS - tell them I sent you as a test.;)