Warbird Information Exchange

I have a Lithgow Lee Enfeild 303. I currently have it at a friends house who I am trying to get him to get it out so I can come over and get it. Actually the whole story is that his son got a DUI so all of his guns and mine went to his mothers house.

Anyway.....It's a Lithgow 1918 Lee Enfield model. It's my first rifle and has been my favorite. In fact the .303 rifles are my favorite. But, my rifle has the cut down stock aka "sporterized". I would hate to loose any originality of it if I got a new full stock on it. But I always wanted a full stock .303 and wanted feedback as to what you would do? The Lithgow .303 are Australian built .303's. IMHO, the best bolt action rifle ever made.

Thanks,
Nate

Pennsylvania .303 lover

1918 Lithgow. I'm assuming a MkIII* with no magazine cut out fitted?

Replacing the stock is a fairly straightforward operation. Just be sure not to lose the trigger pivot pin when removing the forestock, as it's only held in by the wood.

Stocks and fittings are readily available, but you may find it more economical to buy a complete rifle than to piece this one back together.

Great rifle, I have a 1916 dated one.

Scott

It has the 10 round mag.

They all have a 10rd magazine (except for hunting rifles blocked to 5rds for legal purposes)
The magazine cut off is a hinged piece fitted through a slot in the starboard side of the receiver that 'cut off' access to the magazine allowing (or requiring)the rifle to be loaded with single rounds from the top. Fitted to the MkIII, it was deleted on the MkIII*, although the slot may or may not be present.
The official nomenclature will be stamped on the side of the ring that forms the buttstock socket, beneath the bolt handle.
As I type I have one handy, also unfortunately sporterized, that is marked :

<crown>
GR
1918
Sht LE
III*

With a line striking out the "*" denoting that it was completed as a MkIII with the cutout

I also have a .22 trainer and a couple of MkV's - talk about opposite ends of the recoil spectrum. I think the .22 actually moves forward when fired, as the momentum of the striker overwhelms the recoil of the cartridge<G>

Nathan,

I've got a 1916 BSA No1 MkIII (not Mk III*). As for parts/stocks, etc., try either or both) Springfield Sporters
(http://www.ssporters.com) or Numrich Gun Parts Corp. (http://www.e-gunparts.com)

You also might want to look at this site: http://enfieldrifles.profusehost.net/

approx.20 yrs ago I bought a Lithgow enfieild that was basically N.O.S. (new old stock) it had a WWII build date on it.The paperwork that came with it said that the Lithgow factory was set up by Pratt and Whitney .It was beautiful and shot great. it went away like most of my toys did when the ex-old lady and kids came along.I still have a pile of surplus 303 ammo somewhere.wanna buy some? when I bought the ammo by mail order,they delivered it to my next door neighbor who was a gal about 80 yrs old.I can still see her lugging this wooden box with rope handles and lables saying"explosives' on it.she never looked at me the same ever again.thank god that this was way pre-9-11

Tim, did you get it at Turner's? The one I got was a No.4 Mk2 I think and it came with the bayonet. No ex-old lady so I still have mine!

G'day folks,

A 1918 Lithgow SMLE is a good weapon. As one who collects milsurps in general and Lee-Enfields in particular, I'll always enjoy the memories of my first, which was also a 1918 Lithgow.

As to returning them to military trim, stock sets can be found at Springfield Sporters or Numrich in the US (as Old SAR Pilot mentioned). These seem to be mainly ex-Indian drill-purpose wood, which is darker than the Queensland Maple used on 1918 Lithgows or the Coachwood used during/after WW2, in which many earlier rifles were restocked when going through the factory refurbishment program. So, it's certainly not difficult in the US to return such a rifle to military trim, but finding the correct Aussie wood will be a challenge. I'd still return it to military trim though, as incorrect wood is still better than the sporter condition.

Agent86, I'm willing to bet that your rifle was one of the John Jovino put-togethers, as evidenced by the P&W info on the paperwork. When the Australian government sold off the war reserve SMLEs in the eighties, they wouldn't sell them to anyone in Australia. The John Jovino Co of New York bought the rifles plus a large quantity of spares. These spares included enough components to assemble thousands of 'new' rifles, which were serialled in a new sequence. Good fun, but not much collector value these days.

If you have any more questions, please ask. I'm a big fan of these rifles and have a collection of all major variants from the black-powder Lee-Metford of 1888 (mine is 1889-dated) to the last of the No4 Mk2s of the late 50s.

Some videos which may be of interest;
http://www.youtube.com/user/Jollygreenslugg


Cheers,
Matt

Jollygreenslugg wrote:G'day folks,

A 1918 Lithgow SMLE is a good weapon. As one who collects milsurps in general and Lee-Enfields in particular, I'll always enjoy the memories of my first, which was also a 1918 Lithgow.

As to returning them to military trim, stock sets can be found at Springfield Sporters or Numrich in the US (as Old SAR Pilot mentioned). These seem to be mainly ex-Indian drill-purpose wood, which is darker than the Queensland Maple used on 1918 Lithgows or the Coachwood used during/after WW2, in which many earlier rifles were restocked when going through the factory refurbishment program. So, it's certainly not difficult in the US to return such a rifle to military trim, but finding the correct Aussie wood will be a challenge. I'd still return it to military trim though, as incorrect wood is still better than the sporter condition.

Agent86, I'm willing to bet that your rifle was one of the John Jovino put-togethers, as evidenced by the P&W info on the paperwork. When the Australian government sold off the war reserve SMLEs in the eighties, they wouldn't sell them to anyone in Australia. The John Jovino Co of New York bought the rifles plus a large quantity of spares. These spares included enough components to assemble thousands of 'new' rifles, which were serialled in a new sequence. Good fun, but not much collector value these days.

If you have any more questions, please ask. I'm a big fan of these rifles and have a collection of all major variants from the black-powder Lee-Metford of 1888 (mine is 1889-dated) to the last of the No4 Mk2s of the late 50s.

Some videos which may be of interest;
http://www.youtube.com/user/Jollygreenslugg


Cheers,
Matt

I have fired many Enfields and as they are famed for,they are the smoothest bolt action rifles ever,and the fact they hold 10 rounds make it the bolt rifle for me.but when push comes to shove,the M-1 Garand is my choice. but in WWI I'd pick the Enfield and wouldnt refuse the Enfield in WWII if there was no Garand. I can hit targets easily out too 500 yrds with my M-1,can do it also with my old Enfield but I'm a big fan of semi automatic