Dictator

Do dictators arrest their political opponents, rig elections, ban demonstrations against their rule, surveil their subjects and enrich themselves through corrupt grift and kickbacks while the people of their country grow steadily impoverished?

Sure they do, and here's Tucker:

Ep. 4 Wannabe Dictator pic.twitter.com/MDcs5g0gxB

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 15, 2023

I'd say he nails it but hey, slap a climate change rainbow sticker on the operation and everything's just fine. Until, of course, you get a 4 am visit from the Tolerance Stasi. As in, how dare you speak out at the local school board after protesting the murder of babies in the womb, you Nazi. Time for jail.

Here in the States we're protected from this, to an extent, by the 2nd Amendment and the Enemy knows this, which is why they're attempting to remove it. "Free men," runs the saying, "Can defend themselves. Slaves cannot."

must finish off the project, albeit from the bottom of Lake Whitney & thx RHT

Gentlemen and women, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves and do not give up all those guns you sadly lost when the canoe capsized. Just saying.

Your Old Pal,

LSP

Lee Speed

 

You may scoff and wag your heads saying "Lsp is a fool," and that's as maybe, but I do have a liking for Lee Enfield rifles. That's partly nostalgia, they were a part of my youth, and partly because they're cool, especially the early sporter Lee Speeds.

Safari sights, elegant wood, hand checkering, the redoubtable and smooth as silk Lee action all combine together to make a beautiful weapon at a fraction of the cost of an equivalent Mauser. And guess what, the rifle has that Edwardian awesomeness we all love. God save the Tzar King. Result.

That in mind, I put in a call to a pal, "Hey, you're kinda in the business. Can you find me a Lee Speed? It must work, not interested in a wall hanger." Which brings us back to art philosophy.

Guns are works of art, good or bad, the Lee Speed being good. But their potential, as such, is only realized in their use, fulfilling the end or τέλος for which they were designed. Parse that as you will.

OK, discussion of matter, potential and act over, I won't be shooting majestic Lions or furious Cape Buffalo with my Speed, more's the pity. But exercising ballistic Edwardiana against paper's no bad thing either, to say nothing of unexpected targets of opportunity.

Don't brake for Communists, readers, all two of you.

Gun rights,

LSP

Just Some Lees

Back in the olden days, Great Britain had a firearms industry and produced the redoubtable Lee Enfield. I used to train on them when I was a kid, from about the age of 12 up, and shot alright, "marksman" and all of that.

 1917 my friend

Of course you can't buy them in the UK now because they're far too dangerous, but you can in Texas and I did, some 10 years ago, a No. 4 Mk. 1 from the Gold Nugget pawn. I think it cost around $200 and I've had a lot of fun shooting it, in a nostalgic kind of way. It seems a heavy beast now, though I didn't notice all those years ago.

 note Chesterton's St. Francis, which is awesome

But a #4 wasn't enough, apparently. Suburban Bushwacker persuaded me to go out and get a "project Lee," idea being to turn it into... something. So I did, a 1917 BSA SMLE for 100 bucks at Ray's in Dallas. The metal was painted black, probably due to a parade square refit in the 1950s, the forestock had been chopped, badly, but the serials matched and the bore was bright. So I got the gun.

history in the stamps

Some months later I'd stripped and reblued the metal, along with its cacophany of stampings, neat history if you want to go down the Lee rabbit hole, and replaced the forestock while keeping the butt. Why? Because I liked the Edwardian aesthetics; elegant, though not helpful with optics because the buttstock's too low to achieve cheek weld with a scope. Wasn't designed for it, you see.

Speaking of which, after inletting the receiver/barrel I spent a vast amount of time shaping and polishing the wood (Boyd's walnut -- cheap, semi inlet). No kidding, if you decide to do this be prepared to be patient. It's perhaps worth it because you can create a thing of beauty, a good in itself. But remember, people charge a lot of money for a good wood finish for a very good reason.

Regardless, the rifle's done well enough despite it's, ahem, makeshift scope mount and's shot a bobcat, an auodad(!) and various varmints. No pigs though, annoyingly. I look at it and reflect; over a hundred years old and still going strong, maybe stronger even than it ever was.

 typical trigger scene

Well, you can't have too much of a good thing, so I went out and bought another Lee, an old sporterized #4, with a view to turning it into a scout rifle, Cooper style. And hey, it's got the components, 10 round magazine, bolt action, BUIS, tried and true rugged, etc. 

Have I done anything with it? No, I haven't, shamefacedly. But when I do... it'll be along the lines of shortening the barrel, a new front site, a forward mounted optic and new wood, obviously. I say wood instead of plastic because this is a Lee.

look, put the safety on, so-called "LSP"

And Lees are all about wood and steel.

Shoot straight,

LSP

The March of the Lees

What do you do, on a chill November night in rain drenched Texas, where we're badly losing the War on Weather? Start on a new Lee Enfield project, of course.

For me, that means coming to grips with an old No. 4 Mk.1, which started off life as a battle rifle in 1943 and was brought back to the US, where it was sporterized. I bought it from a friend a few years ago and haven't used it much. So what's going to happen to this gun? First things first, take off the wood.

Then admire your rifle as it sits on the bench, complete with 10 round magazine, rear micro sight and silky smooth action. All the better for rapid firing the venerable .303 Brit. Next step, get a new stock, perhaps from Boyd's, shorten and re-crown the barrel, then fit a forward mounted rail. The idea being to create a handy truck/scout rifle.

Typical Texas Scene, Apart From Absence of Lee Enfields

Now some people are critical of Jeff Cooper's concept and with good reason, but if you have an old rifle sitting around that could meet the criteria, well, why not put it to good use? 

Shoot the Lee,

LSP

Lee Enfield Rising

So, LSP, what's up with the Lee Enfields? I hear you ask in that bated breath kind of way. I'll tell you, not much, that is until today. Here's the backstory.

After more sanding than I care to mention, I'd refinished and restocked a 1917 Mk. III. Being a cheapskate, I put an ATI rail over the action to mount an optic. Being a double cheapskate, I bought a second-hand Burris Fullfield for fifty bucks and put it on the rail. After 60 rounds or so the scope wouldn't adjust for windage and I thought it was broken, like the Church of England but less expensive. The scope lived on my mantlepiece for a year, looking outwardly sleek and deadly, but inwardly I knew it was dead. Until the other day that is, when I decided to drag it off its perch and give it a second chance in life.

I looked at the windage dial, which was absurdly adjusted full right. I winded it back to a place that intuitively felt right, maybe 150 clicks left, not that I was counting, and as I did, I noticed the reticle moving left. Windage worked, obviously. I boresighted, using a King James Bible as a rest, and sure enough, my instinct was right, the scope was pretty much on. Result. 

Turkey

Took the rifle to the range this morning and it shot well enough, achieving 1- 3" groups at 100 yards from the bench, using 180 grain Privy Partizan, which had an easy time of slicing through steel turkey. Not bad for a firearm that's almost 100 years old and certainly good enough for minute of hog. 

Shoot on,

LSP

Ancient & Modern

New Skool, Old Skool

I bit the not so proverbial bullet and went out for a well needed shoot; just a bit of ranging about with one of the Lees and an AR. I say "just" as though it wasn't any great deal. Not so fast; with the cost of ammo being Homeland Security IRS pricey, you've got to make every shot count, before you go broke. Like the economy.

Bore Sight!

And the question in my shooter's mind was, "Is the cheap 2nd hand Burris Fullfield, 50 buck wonder, scope broken?" Would it dial in? Last time I tried I wasn't so sure.

Getting there

It did OK. I bore-sighted the old-skool way by peering  at the target with the bolt out, then gazing like a Chaldee through the scope. Were both sight pictures the same? Adjust accordingly. After things were appx. sorted out at 25 yards I moved out to 50 and called EndEx when the rounds were impacting 1" above the X Ring.

Rule Britannia, DIY

Good result. A $150 rifle, with 1917 history, that I'd refinished and restocked myself coming in as a contender in the "kill the evil hog at 100 yards" stakes. Or whatever. To be honest, I think I'll lose the scope and get a 'smith to fit iron (express) sights. 2 folding leaf would be neat and not too expensive. Authentic(ish) too.

.303 Brit

Shot off a couple of mags of 5.56 afterwards to clear the head. Did best off-hand, oddly. Pathetically inaccurate kneeling and prone. Must have lost concentration in the later evolutions.

Go home and eat ribs

A good and well needed days shooting over, I headed for home and BBQ Country Style Ribs. Result. 

Shoot straight and remember, there'll always be an England, until, of course, that there's not.

God bless,

LSP