Lee-Enfield Bayonet

[Mycroft]

I have been looking for a bayonet for my WWI, British Lee-Enfield Mark III, Number I, from 1917, and I can not find one from England, and that year. Does anyone know the type of bayonet, where to get one(preferably in USA, not Ebay), and general price range? Addtional information would be much apreciated. Thanks.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

SOG has them for $29.95 I know they handpick rifles, and I bet you could get one from 1917 if they have any with that datestamp.

http://www.southernohiogun.com/index.html

 

[Mycroft]

Thanks a million. It is Perfict.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I should probably even order one for myself. I have a No1 Mk III myself, but no bayonet for it. How do you like your rifle? Personally I think the No 1 MK III is probably the best bolt action combat rifle I have ever shot, only the K98 mauser or the Swiss K31 are in its league.

 

[Mycroft]

I should probably even order one for myself. I have a No1 Mk III myself, but no bayonet for it. How do you like your rifle? Personally I think the No 1 MK III is probably the best bolt action combat rifle I have ever shot, only the K98 mauser or the Swiss K31 are in its league.

I love it, I am planning to take it to the range, I have the stripper clips, and needing to find the ammo. It is my favorite rifle of all time. By the way, do you have a sling for yours or an oil tube? I am looking into buying those too. Is yours from World War I or what, and what year is it? My is World War I, 1917, Enfield Armory, and its British.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Mine is stashed at my parents home at the moment, because I don't have room in my apartment for all my rifles, so I can't check what armory it was made at.

I do know that it is a WWI production rifle, and that it has the magazine cutoff, which I believe makes it relatively early production. They discontinued the magazine cutoff after a while.

I don't have any accessories at all for it, really. So far I only have accessories for guns I use for reenacting, like my SVT-40, Mosin Nagant, and K98 because I use them in the field for cleaning, etc. I know at some point I will break down and put together a British WWI impression, and I will get the accessories at that time.

 

[TomMason]

Interesting comments on the Enfield. I have a collection of all of the WWII bolt rifles. The worst is the French MAS. The Enfield is a great gun - rapid fire - the Mauser action is the best and the Japanese Arasaka is the most underated. For pure accuracy thouigh you can't beat the '03 Springfield. This was not used by the majority of Americans.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I would say that the Mosin-Nagant m91/30 can be just as accurate as the '03 Springfield. The 7.62x54r cartridge is inherently very accurate, and the 91/30 is a very well-balanced weapon, and during the pre-war years, very well made and finished.

The sights are not quite as good as on some of the American rifles, but that is true pretty much of any European rifle. Americans just aren't used to European-type sights.

 

[jamespowers]

Oh, I hear a challenge here. If you two lived closer together and in an area close to me it would be one cool event at the local range. Five shots at 100 yards for the best two out of three. I would be willing to put my Garand up in that race as well. Then again, I would even try the SKS and the Brazilian Mauser with the 8mm cartridge.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

A good idea, unfortunately my personal 91/30 is a little the worse for wear after 71 years of service. I could probably borrow a good 91/30 ex-sniper from a friend though, and would put that up against an '03.

 

[jamespowers]

A good idea, unfortunately my personal 91/30 is a little the worse for wear after 71 years of service. I could probably borrow a good 91/30 ex-sniper from a friend though, and would put that up against an '03.

Wait a minute! If you get a sniper then so should he. The '03 sniper with the special scope should be equivalent. Good luck in finding one though. Those things are worth big bucks now and the owners won't let you touch them much less shoot them.
I know what you mean though. My Garand could probably use a new barrel now.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

It is not an actual sniper rifle, it is an ex-sniper retrofitted to m91/30 infantry rifle configuration. The problem with a lot of mosins is that the bores are pretty bad after years of being shot with corrosive ammunition.

 

[jamespowers]

Yeah there are quite a few out there with bad bores. There are, however, some suppliers that import good surplus long guns from the old eastern european bloc and South America that are in unissued condition. They look great and are still packaged as they were stored---with the paper still on them.
A friend of mine picked one up for less than $100 and in good shape. Those old work-a-day rifles really shot well too. You are looking at buying a gun that can shoot a group of five under two inches at 100 yards without any special tweaking. That is better than some of the guns they make today. Nothing like getting a NOS gun from yesteryear when quality really was job one.

Regards to all,

J

 

[TomMason]

Love this discussion. Someone mentioned a comepetition. There are such things just for old bolt rifles. I used to shoot in one up in Oregon. You would use the steel silhouette targets - lead bullets only - great fun. The one rifle we have not mentioned is the 1917 Enfield. I have seen these shoot great.