Yoko, Paglia, Schori, Lee Enfield

The news is coming in fast and, well, furious. Texan school kids are getting in trouble for not carrying about microchip i.d. cards, the FAA tells us that the Land of the Free and the Brave will soon have 30,000, yes, 30,000 drones patrolling its airspace, Yoko Ono's awarded her fellow Illuminati, Lady GaGa, with a peace prize and famed Madonna fan and lesbyterian Camille Paglia has given up on Obama. 

Smile, Yoko.

Oh, and there's that rogue monkey "copping an attitude" somewhere in Florida, to say nothing of impending fiscal doom and another war in the Middle East.

Mistress Chronos Has Frowned On Camille

I'm worried about all these things and more, such as Jefferts Schori's potemkin diocese suing my diocese for all our buildings and assets. Who knows, if the courts go their way I'll be handily out of a parsonage, Lonestar or otherwise.

Boy Bishop Litigator

But in all of this, one question looms large. What to do with the 2nd Lee Enfield sporter. It's a No. 4 Mk.1 that was, I think, a bring-back from WWII and then sportered. The bore's good, it shoots well enough, though a little low -- just compensate, LSP -- and the furniture's O.K., typical post-war sporter. I think the forestock's a little shrunken, but usable.

I could leave it "as is" and keep it as a hi-power truck gun. I could get the barrel shortened an inch or two and re-crowned, put a synth stock on it and have a handy knock-about brush gun carbine. I could do the same but with wood instead of synth, and so on. The variation's are pretty endless.

So I'm open to advice; if you had a No. 4 sporter that needed fixing up, where would you take it, on a simple country parson's stipend?

Shoot straight,

LSP

Sporterizing the Lee Enfield -- Update

Mk. III 

I'm re-sporterizing several Lee Enfields, a No. 4 Mk. 1 and a III, to go along with an original, 'mil-spec' No. 4. I see three gun Enfield shoots on the horizon. But why go to all the effort of fixing up these old guns.

No. 4 Mk. 1 Sporter

Well, there's that old Lee Enfield magic, which every Lee enthusiast knows only too well. Also, I figured that for the price of a Walmart synth stock 30-06 I could have several custom, accurate, rifles with some history. But there's another reason. The project's a challenge, issued by my pal and yours, the Suburban Bushwacker. SBW got right down to it, "If anyone should be required, by law, to have a sporterized Lee Enfield, it's you, LSP."

Sand, Sand, Sand

I couldn't let that pass and the rest's history. Two Enfields later I'm about half way through the first. Metal's polished, military butt's rubbed and a new forestock's ordered (Boyds, walnut). Next step is inletting the barreled receiver, rust bluing the metal (I can do it "on porch" and want to learn the skill), re-crown muzzle, get new iron sights + optic mount and.. shoot the thing. I'm aiming for a classic, Lee Speed, type of thing. safari rifle on a budget.

WWI Carbine Mod

But what about the #4? I'm tempted towards a short barrel, WWI style carbine mod. It'd be easy to recreate and serve as a useful brush gun. Ten shots of hog-slaying ultra power, or whatever.

So. Next step in the project's finishing off the III.

Stay tuned and shoot straight.

LSP

More Guns Please

New School of Old School?

It's no easy task to brave I 35 for several hours but it was worth it to see Tom and collect a sporterized No.4 Mk.1. The next step is get the barrel crowned, trimmed and refinished/blued; express sights would be neat too. Restocking is another matter again. 

WW2 Bringback

Maybe get something from Boyd's and rework it to shape? It'd be an interesting project and not too expensive.

Pistol

Rumours of an old British battle rifle being test fired in the early hours are completely without foundation. Thanks, Tom, for the hospitality and the rifle.

Shoot straight,

LSP

For The Bushwacker

SBW

Despite the often frivolous content of this blog, with its emphasis on the ridiculous ACoC, fighting apes and come as you may horse riding, I do take some things pretty seriously. Namely, admonitions from the Suburban Bushwacker - who by sheer creative energy went "from fat boy to elk hunter" in one fell swoop of finger to keyboard.

SBW had this to say:

"Very pleased to hear about further riflery. If anyone should by law be

required to be in possession of a sporterised 303 it's you (LSP). chop chop,

get on with the first one."

BSA Lee Speed

Bushwacker was and is right. I have no choice but to get on with the first one. That means getting a Lee that's already been sporterised, because I'm not about to desecrate a rifle in original condition. It means bluing the barreled action, upgrading the wood - Black Walnut with plenty of checkering. The barrel will have to be trimmed and crowned; it'll have to be optics ready and in possession of a new front sight. It must, of course, reflect its owner - a Brit in Texas.

That's the project and thanks to Tom a start's been made, a No. 4 Mk. 1 sporter at a very reasonable price. I'm looking forward to collecting that in a week or so and getting right down to it.

Thanks, SBW, for the mandate and serious attention to detail.

Good shooting,

LSP