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So, you now have that most precious piece of paper from your local Constabulary firmly in you hands - you finally have an FAC! And now you want to rush out and buy an Enfield...
Don’t do that! Talk to other shooters that already have one or two, or better still a whole collection, who will have lots of experience and helpful advice, and then decide what it is you want.
History? An old SMLE from 1916 is never going to be as accurate as a No:4 from the 1950’s (with some exceptions). It is cool to have one that still has it’s original woodwork with stamps all over it and all matching numbers and you can have hours of fun doing the research to find out what they all mean. But come competition time you will probably be a bit disappointed. Performance can possibly be improved, but that can take either a lot of money or a level of gunsmithing skill and knowledge that you probably won’t have.
Provenance is almost unheard of with Enfield rifles. They have been around for a long time, records were rarely if ever kept, and a rifle could have been all over the world - but proving it is almost impossible except in exceptional cases.
Accuracy? It rather goes without saying that you will want to be able to hit the target with it. But don’t think that just because you have found one that has a posh set of Parker Hale target sights on it or a Berlin Pecar scope that it is going to be accurate. Often shooters try adding such things to a rifle in the forlorn hope that it will improve its performance. They won't improve on the inherent accuracy of the rifle and when they don’t, the owner often gives up and trades the rifle in for something else. Which is how come it is sitting there in the window of your local gunshop at a tempting price.
Parker Hale sights and telescope sights are nice and can be effective, but they only work if they are mounted on a rifle that was already accurate in the first place. There are a whole host of things that can be done to improve the accuracy of a rifle and adding fancy sights is low down on the list. It is a bit pointless if you haven’t already done the basic stuff first.
Besides, the majority of the competitions you will want to enter will be for Service Rifle (a) which means “as issued” and without any add-ons.
Cost? Well compared to a new target rifle they are all pretty cheap, but if you go looking for the cheapest, you will get the cheapest. And there are no prizes for guessing what that means when you take it on the range. There are of course three primary parameters to consider when buying anything and rifles are no exception; Price – Quality – Availability.
Unless you are looking for something specific (an SMLE just like Granddad carried at Ypres, or a No:5 like Dad had in Malaya) then your best bet is going to be standard No:4; one that is not too cheap - but not unrealistically pricey; and one that hasn’t been messed around with by some amateur armourer and will need lots of putting right as a result.
A good question to ask is where did your fellow shooters find their rifles? This is a good place to start. The market for live firing Enfields is relatively small and so reputation is everything to a gun dealer. If your fellow shooters can recommend someone then go and see them first before you start looking at websites and in shop windows.
Ideally, you will be fortunate enough to belong to a club that has RFDs amongst the membership who will be willing to bring a selection of good quality guns along to a shoot for you to have a look at, shoot, and ask opinions of other club members.
When you think you have found something you like then there are a few things to look out for.
1. Do we even need to mention rust? No, not really, but if we don’t then some smart-arse will only complain, so here it is, don’t buy a rusty rifle.
2. Is the woodwork sound? Dents and scratches don’t mean a thing, all old rifles have them, they are all part of the rifles story. But if the woodwork is split then walk away.
3. Are there holes drilled in the receiver? This is usually the sign of someone trying to take a shortcut to better accuracy by fitting a scope and failing. Walk away.
4. Do all the numbers match? Not critical, but If they do then that is a real bonus and a good sign, it means that you may have all the original parts. However, if the bolt and receiver numbers don’t match then forget it.
5. What size is the foresight blade? If it is a zero then things are looking really good, but if it is a 0.090 or a -0.030 then maybe not so good. Not critical though.
6. How much movement is there at the muzzle? It should be in the centre of the woodwork with a tiny bit of play left and right and pushing down at the bottom so that it is contact with the wood, but you should be able to lift it upwards a few millimetres with your fingers. If so, good, but if not, then not so good; you may need to do some work on the woodwork and it might be better to get someone experienced to do it for you.
7. Is it in proof? It had better be, selling a rifle that isn’t is illegal. So how recent is the proof? If it has had a nice new barrel fitted then you will be able to see nice shiny proof marks on the underneath of the muzzle on a No:4 and on the Knox (the much wider section at the other end of the barrel) on a No:1. Having a reasonably new barrel is obviously a good point.
8. There are other things such as head space which should be checked, but these are beyond the ability of the average shooter, and require specialist tools.
