Home, Home On The (Rifle) Range

[Hopper]

Just back from Mississippi.
100 degree heat and 95% humidity.
But I got to see my 8 yr old daughter for the first time in 4 years (now that was emotional).

And I also found time to go to the rifle range with my ex-father in law, and got to shoot my 1917 issued .303 Short Magazine Lee Enfield!
According to the marks, it was made in Birmingham, UK, issued in 1917 and saw active duty, then made it to India for WWII and post WWII training, then to a gun show in Mississippi, where it was bought for me as a Christmas Present!
I tracked down a 1917 issue sword bayonet to go with it, and voila!

It is a beautiful piece of machinery, oiled and perfect. Very bloody accurate, and christ does it have a kick, as Chopper will tell you. I am amazed at how soldiers would have used them day in, day out, and still been functional... I'm still sore in the shoulder!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun with his arsenal - 44 magnum, 347 magnum, and especially the Ruger Mini 14 (5.56) which was a blast (pun intended!).

Anyhoo, enjoy!

[Hopper]

Oh, and excuse the beer gut lads!
*mental note, do more exercise and eat less shite!*

[wolforrest]

You lucky bar steward, great stuff.

[Thundershot]

Now, that looks like fun

[Quickfire]

...And that's just for the bayonet. Looks like you enjoyed yourself!

Can you fly to Donetsk from Manchester Airport? Asking for a tovarich who says it would be handy karma.

[Hopper]

Why thank you all!
Yeah, a great day was had by all.
And yeah, the bayonet is pretty bloody cool - you can see why they don't like it up 'em!

You can fly to Donetsk from Manchester, but with the information currently available it seems that it would not be a great idea - it's currently being shelled...

[Chopper]

Superb. They do kick a little in their standard guise, mine is pretty tame. Not a patch on the .300WM though. The reasoning is that back in the day the soldiers used to wear a ton of woollen clothing and webbing so the length of pull is not very good for the average hunter and the recoil a bit much for a tee shirt.

Has that .303 had work done on it during its stay in India? I didn't think early models had steel butt plates. Mine is 1942 vintage, Indian action, Aussie snipers barrel.

Looks like that target is pretty dead.

[Hopper]

Has that .303 had work done on it during its stay in India? I didn't think early models had steel butt plates. Mine is 1942 vintage, Indian action, Aussie snipers barrel.

Yeah, although it still has the little sprung opening for the oil bottle and cleaning kit (which I also bought, just to be accurate) the butt is stainless steel, not the original brass, and you can see where it has been knocked about during drill training.

There is no stock disc with an id number either, though by 1917 these were a rarity, apparently. I was going to restore it to factory settings, but decided against it as I like the idea that it has been on a journey, and is showing its 'scars' since leaving the Western Front. Would love to be able to get her back to England, but the paperwork is a nightmare and bloody expensive.

[Chopper]

Its quite possible it was used in WWII. Lithgow made the No1 right up till the mid 50's and Ishapor a bit longer IIRC. Quite a few were used by commonwealth forces right into Korea.

I'd leave it as is too, rite of passage.

[action-figure-supplies]

Very jealous, awesome stuff.