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

Clean Up That Mess.

One of the things I like to do on Thursday after saying Mass is clean guns on the porch. It's relaxing and you know what they say, "A clean gun is a happy gun." As opposed to a gopping, miserable piece of non-working liability.

With that in mind, I snaked out my old SMLE Mk.III sporter and felt good about it. That rifle's proved itself handy in the field and at the range and I'm proud of an amateur 'smithing project that went right.

Speaking of guns, I just read The Red Circle by Brandon Webb, in which Webb describes his time in the SEALs and, especially, his work as a SEAL sniper. It's an easy read and when I put it down I thought, "LSP, this guy's forgotten more about shooting than you're likely to ever know."

Humbling and at the same time an incitement to learn more. Excellence in all things, not least shooting, being the catchphrase.

Mind how you wave that saber.

LSP

Hunt Safari Style, in Texas

It was the final full day of The Dream and we had a several objectives, Viz. Shoot large hogs, a friend to shoot his first Auodad, and for everyone to catch fish. We were partly successful.

Just Where Are The Pigs?

Our shooting party drove out at first light(ish) to find the ancient enemy, Tuskers. Sure enough, we did. There they were! On a far away hill, maybe 800 yards off. Everyone dismounted and moved forward, chambering rounds and glassing the distant hogs. A long shot for sure, and we were hoping for closer contact, so we moved on, guns at the ready and adrenaline flowing. Nothing. 

Maybe The Pigs Are Here

Philisophically inclined GWB decided to take a shot... missed, and the pigs ran. Never to be seen again. Still, fair play to the shooter, off-hand 600-800 yard shots aren't the easiest of things, even if your target is a massive, predatory porcuswine.

Fish

Fresh from the pigs, the team got down to fishing and did alright, 5 Bass (I think) and some Sunfish. Lots of fun and a fried chicken lunch came in tasty too. Then, after a refreshing cold one by the pool, remember, this is the Dream, it was time to hunt North African mountain goats.

Oryx

We set off in search of one or more of the several herds. Spotted! Dismount, chamber a round, safety on, stalk. We got close, but they ran; time to drive on. After several false starts we found a couple of stragglers, mixed in with a small gang of Oryx. Now, it was near dusk and probably the last opportunity for our friend, CB, to get his kill. If he wanted the goat he had to take this shot, but it was a challenge because the animal was mixed in with the exotic Oryx and we weren't able to shot them. A challenge shot, for sure. CB decided to take it.

Good Shot, CB

We got into position, moving stealthily with the wind through the brush and as close to the animals as possible, to within about 80 yards. CB hunkered down, rested my Lee Enfield sporter on some sticks and scoped out the goat. Minutes passed. Then the Oryx parted, and the shot was clear. Cross hairs on, breathe, squeeze the trigger, shoot! The goat went down, shot by CB (well done) and the mighty .303 Brit.

Random Truck Gun

We finished off with war stories around the lodge's outdoor fire. The larger logs, and they were large, were named after ships, HMS Nelson for example, or politics, Old Tory etc. GWB shot a bobcat across the river with the .303. Project gun? Vindicated.

Old Tory

But I won't bang on. A more than good time was had by all. Huge thanks to MM for the party and congrats to CB and DV on their shots. Excellent result.

God bless,

LSP

Owl Guide

I headed south after Mass on Sunday with a truckload of guns and a simple mission; meet up with the team at a friend's ranch and Live The Dream.

Just Livin' The Dream

"So just what is this 'dream', so-called LSP," I hear you ask, testily. Well I'll tell you this, it involves hunting, fishing, some shooting and also, apparently, owls. I'll explain. On day one of the adventure, we clambered up some bluffs to look at pictographs; it's a spectral thing, a scene that's barely changed in maybe several thousand years. Who was the person that drew on the rock, and why? We don't know, but we did discover this.

The Shaman

If you edge around the side of the cliff, slow and careful, you'll find a nest of owls. I looked at them and they looked at me, eyes aglow and round. They're fierce though; one of them swooped down on GWB, hissing like an offended cliff spirit.

The Owls

I glassed a herd of exotics at around 75 yards from the top of a ravine later that day, but didn't shoot. I'm saving that for another day.

So far the score (not by me, grrr) is 6 hogs, 3 rabbits, 6(+?) Bass. More on that as the adventure unfolds.

God bless,

LSP