Firearm of the Day.

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by AFJuvat

Bite me.

Now you sound like the other Mike.

[AFJuvat]

Originally Posted by Caleb

Now you sound like the other Mike.

[Caleb]

Monday’s Firearm of the Day is............

The Lee Enfield no4 mk1:

The Lee–Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle that was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century. It was the British Army's standard rifle from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957.[3][4] It is often referred to as the "SMLE," which is short for the common "Short Magazine Lee-Enfield" variant.

A redesign of the Lee–Metford (adopted by the British Army in 1888), the Lee–Enfield superseded the earlier Martini–Henry, Martini–Enfield, and Lee–Metford rifles. It featured a ten-round box magazine which was loaded with the .303 British cartridge manually from the top, either one round at a time or by means of five-round chargers. The Lee–Enfield was the standard issue weapon to rifle companies of the British Army and other Commonwealth nations in both the First and Second World Wars (these Commonwealth nations included Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa, among others).[5] Although officially replaced in the UK with the L1A1 SLR in 1957, it remained in widespread British service until the early/mid-1960s and the 7.62 mm L42 sniper variant remained in service until the 1990s. As a standard-issue infantry rifle, it is still found in service in the armed forces of some Commonwealth nations,[6] notably with the Bangladesh Police, which makes it the second longest-serving military bolt-action rifle still in official service, after the Mosin–Nagant.[7] The Canadian Rangers unit still use Enfield rifles, with plans to replace the weapons sometime in 2017–2018 with the new Sako-designed Colt C-19.[8] Total production of all Lee–Enfields is estimated at over 17 million rifles.[1]

The Lee–Enfield takes its name from the designer of the rifle's bolt system—James Paris Lee—and the factory in which it was designed—the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield. In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Southern Africa and India the rifle became known simply as the "three-oh-three"[9]

By the late 1930s, the need for new rifles grew and the Rifle, No. 4 Mk I was officially adopted in 1941.[32] The No. 4 action was similar to the Mk VI, but stronger and most importantly, easier to mass-produce.[33] Unlike the SMLE, that had a nose cap, the No 4 Lee–Enfield barrel protruded from the end of the forestock. The charger bridge was no longer rounded for easier machining. The iron sight line was redesigned and featured a rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for 300 yd (274 m) with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and was calibrated for 200–1,300 yd (183–1,189 m) in 100 yd (91 m) increments. This sight line like other aperture sight lines proved to be faster and more accurate than the typical mid-barrel rear sight elements sight lines offered by Mauser, previous Lee–Enfields or the Buffington battle sight of the 1903 Springfield.

The No. 4 rifle was heavier than the No. 1 Mk. III, largely due to its heavier barrel and a new bayonet was designed to go with the rifle: a spike bayonet, which was essentially a steel rod with a sharp point and was nicknamed "sticker" by soldiers.[33] Towards the end of the Second World War, a bladed bayonet was developed, originally intended for use with the Sten gun—but sharing the same mount as the No. 4's spike bayonet—and subsequently the No. 7 and No. 9 blade bayonets were issued for use with the No. 4 rifle as well.[34] However, in McAuslan in the Rough, George MacDonald Fraser alleges that the Pattern 1907 bladed bayonet used with the SMLE was also compatible with the No. 4 rifle.[35]

During the course of the Second World War, the No. 4 rifle was further simplified for mass-production with the creation of the No. 4 Mk I* in 1942, with the bolt release catch replaced by a simpler notch on the bolt track of the rifle's receiver.[36] It was produced only in North America, by Long Branch Arsenal in Canada and Savage-ns Firearms in the USA.[36] The No.4 Mk I rifle was primarily produced for the United Kingdom.[37]

In the years after the Second World War, the British produced the No. 4 Mk 2 (Arabic numerals replaced Roman numerals for official designations in 1944) rifle, a refined and improved No. 4 rifle with the trigger hung forward from the butt collar and not from the trigger guard, beech wood stocks (with the original reinforcing strap and centre piece of wood in the rear of the forestock on the No.4 Mk I/Mk I* being removed in favour of a tie screw and nut) and brass buttplates (during World War II, the British replaced the brass buttplates on the No.4 rifles with zinc alloy (Zamak) ones to reduce costs and to speed up rifle production).[38] With the introduction of the No. 4 Mk 2 rifle, the British refurbished many of their existing stocks of No. 4 rifles and brought them up to the same standard as the No. 4 Mk 2.[39] No. 4 Mk 1 rifles so upgraded were re-designated No. 4 Mk I/2, whilst No. 4 Mk I* rifles that were brought up to Mk 2 standard were re-designated No. 4 Mk I/3.[36]


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[sdmc530]

Very cool. That thing looks like a monster

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by sdmc530

Very cool. That thing looks like a monster

You will know you are shooting a .30! Don’t know if it kicks harder than a 30-06 but, definitely makes the .308 seem weak.

[Caleb]

Today’s Firearm of the Day...

Hungarian M44 Mosin Nagant:

While the Hungarian PU Mosin Nagant Sniper Rifle is commonly known, the Hungarians also undertook production of the M44 Carbine and their version of the standard M91/30 rifle at FEG in Budapest. Production ran from 1952-1955; however, the total amount of carbines/rifles manufactured is unknown.

These firearms will be marked with a 02 on the barrel shank and also have the Hungarian crest. The 02 is the Eastern Bloc country code for Hungary and the crest is a star , hammer, with a bar running under. While this crest looks a bit like the Soviet Izhevsk proof, they are clearly different. The stocks of these rifles will have a 02 and a B ( Budapest Arsenal ) marking in almost every case. The various parts used in the Mosin Nagants will also bear Hungarian proof markings with the 02 proofs commonly encountered on the bolt parts.

Another noticeable difference in the Soviet and Hungarian M44's are the numerous inspector proofs that appear on the Hungarian bayonet housing. As with the Romanian and East German proofed M44's and M91/30's, the Hungarian models are often sold and marked as Soviet ( Russian ).

The overall quality of the Hungarian manufactured Mosin Nagants are much the same as their Soviet and Eastern European counterparts. In short they are well made and dependable. The wood is a local type and like the examples from Romania shows little grain pattern in many cases. The stocks also have a similar overall heavy varnish type finish seen on the Romanian manufactured firearms. While these can be found in very good overall condition, the Hungarian firearms tend to show a bit more use than the Polish or Romanian examples, and are much more in line with the M44's that came out of the DDR when comparing condition. It should be noted that many of these carbines seem to have parts from Romania mixed in. It is unknown why this was done as there could be a number of reasons. I do think it clear this happened in Europe and was more than likely done in the nation of Romania as this is where many of these carbines were stored. This appears to be the same location of many Polish, Romanian, and Russian carbines as well.

While the Hungarian M44's seem to be a bit more common than the Romanian and Polish models, they are still a desirable Cold War collectable. The M91/30's produced in Hungary are even more collectable as they are not commonly seen on the market. It is unknown if they are truly a rare rifle or if they are just misidentified as Soviet rifles. The truth, as it does in most cases, is probably somewhere in the middle. If a collector runs across a Hungarian M91/30, it should be snapped up instantly as one never knows when or if they will see another. These rifles are showing up in decent numbers in Europe but still would have to be considered rare.

As with all the Eastern European Mosin Nagants, the Hungarian examples are interesting parts of Cold War history. They deserve a section in any Mosin Nagant collection.






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[sdmc530]

Nice write up.....

[AFJuvat]

Nice!

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by sdmc530

Nice write up.....

Thanks

Originally Posted by AFJuvat

Nice!

You will like the next one.

[Gatorade]

Any chance to get a pic with the bayonet extended? That bayonet looks like it would add another two feet to it!