“Is my Lee Enfield sniper rifle a fake?”
By Terry Warner
In recent years collectors
have discovered the allure of collecting sniper rifles. Prices for good quality rifles have increased
dramatically and faked rifles are now appearing. This article is free advice to other
collectors to suggest what distinguishes a true Lee Enfield No.4(T) sniper
rifle from a fake.
The author owns a 1945 BSA
Shirley No.4 Mk1(T) rifle and has examined
other rifles, including a late war Canadian Long Branch No.4
Mk1*(T). In addition
he has gathered many of the best resource books, and he participates in
discussions on the subject on various Internet forums.
Gentlemen, start your
bookcases
All references (even this
internet page) contain errors. Collectors
need experience to judge between the facts & misconceptions. Here are the references for British and
Savage No.4 Mk1 and Canadian No.4
Mk1* sniper rifles:
Origins
Ask yourself, ‘What is it?’
when encountering a No.4(T) sniper rifle.
What does this rifle tell the collector by itself.
There are exceptions,
especially if the provenance is plausible and documented. Is the seller a man of his word, or is the
rifle presented with breathless prose that withers under questioning? Internet auctions are testosterone races, and
not designed for smart buying. More
often than not, a buyer cannot examine the rifle before committing to purchase
and the seller may not give a refund.
Fortunately, there are specialized discussion groups on the internet
where reasonably knowledgeable persons meet.
Their advice and insight could save a collector from an expensive
mistake.
The Latin saying, Caveat Emptor, has never been truer.
After spring year
2005, US-based collectors will encounter fake No.4(T) sniper rifles sold by
Century International Firearms in
“
In private email
correspondence, the company stated their products do not have the distinctive
“T” or “TR” markings which distinguish the genuine article from a fake. But they are marked as originating from
Century. Big deal. Century has handled millions of rifles in the
past, possibly including genuine No.4 Mk1(T)
sniper rifles. Century takes no
responsibility if someone else misrepresents its products as genuine sniper
rifles on the resale market. The author
and others have asked Century unsuccessfully, to mark their replicas to prevent
the opportunity of fraud in the future.
(The Lee Enfield collector can reflect warily at the spate of fake
Moisin Nagant, parts-built M1D Garand and modern reproduction Mauser K98 sniper
rifles.) Without a clear paper trail,
any so-called Lee Enfield sniper rifle offered for sale after Spring 2005,
which does not conform to the classic definition, must be considered a fake
until proven genuine. And, doubly so if
there is no No.32 scope.
The real deal
The collector must be smart
enough to understand the difference between the exception and the rule, and the
exceptions were extreme measures. A
rifle that does not meet the rule should not be assumed to be a rare experiment
or production line mistake. Canfield
articulates this point very well.
The discerning collector must
develop knowledge of No.4 rifles in general to understand the No.4(T) in
particular.
Caveat Emptor.
Canadian Long Branch rifles closely parallel
British production, with some specific deviations and much smaller
quantities. Rifles delivered before May
1944 were missing the characteristic ‘T’ stamp on the sidewall. In 1943
Law suggests
Once again, buy the rifle not
the story.
History is not always
favourable to researchers. The
Modern writers of No.4(T)
rifles have tried to understand and document the exceptions, including the very
early conversion period before the standards were formalized. After that, it would appear that
The craft and the tools
Sniper rifles were made for
serious men on a deadly mission. On the
advance, in contact, or in defence, the snipers aggressively pressed the battle
to the enemy. One man or a pair might
drop off a patrol, or creep forward to a hide, looking for targets. Troops relied on THEIR snipers to keep the
enemy and HIS snipers at a distance. No
commander had enough snipers, and the schools turned good patrollers and
shooters into efficient snipers. Any
rifle built in wartime was used hard. If
the sniper lost confidence in his rifle, the armourer had another. After the war ended, the lessons of battle
were adopted and taught to new snipers.
Who then used many of these same rifles every bit as hard as their
brother snipers before.
A mint condition sniper rifle
is an oxymoron. The reference books
describe a lifecycle of storage, issue, use, first, second and third line
repair, along with modification programs.
The conversion to 7.62 x 51 NATO, gave the British a way to extend the
life of their .303 sniper rifles. It is
very possible that a sniper rifle found in good condition today was rebuilt
more than once in its service life, and its unblemished finish covers the scars
and bumps of hard knocks, parachute jumps and long cold nights in a hide. The references, Laidler in particular,
suggest certain rifles were sorted out as not suitable for modification and
sold as surplus.
During and after the end of
the war sniper rifles were shipped to
Buy the rifle, not the
story.
Spotting a fake sniper
rifle
Besides looking for both ‘T’
and ‘TR’, one very simple test is to examine the screw heads on the pads. Staking the end of the slot with a pin punch
is an uncomplicated way to lock a screw head, and was listed in the armourer’s
orders in March 1946. More than one
stake per screw head, indicates the pad has been removed or replaced, either
for repair or overhaul. A single stake
mark suggests a rifle is newly converted, was not used very much, or left
British service prior to 1946. The front
pad takes the worst beating of the two.
To summarize Laidler, the
first guideline is to examine the left side of the receiver. Read the model number. All British and Savage-made sniper rifles
were built on No.4 Mk1 actions (“number
four mark one”). Only wartime dated Long
Branch No.4 Mk1* (“number four mark one
star”) receivers were converted to sniper rifles. If a rifle from two British plants was more
accurate than average, it was set aside for No.4(T) conversion. Birmingham Small Arms’ plant in Shirley
stamped their ‘M47C’ on the butt socket.
Royal Ordnance Factory in Maltby stamped ‘ROFM’ ‘RM’ or ‘M’ on the
sidewall or on the butt socket. The
serial number ranges are listed in Stratton.
There was a continual
reduction of sniper rifles in British service after 1945 until the 1960’s. Those unsuited for upgrade programs or
surplus were sold off. Remaining rifles
were converted to L42 rifles in 7.62 NATO.
Therefore, a British rifle has a storybook of markings establishing its
history. Canadian issued rifles usually
do not have the characteristic British speckling of stamps and punches. The collector must educate himself on the
nuances of each stamp and punch. They
are not random, but tell a lengthy and detailed story beyond the intent of this
article.
Still following Laidler, the
second guideline is to look for a large ‘TR’ stamped on the left of the butt
socket and a letter ‘T’ on the flat of the left receiver sidewall after the
model number. The fonts are
distinctive. The ‘TR’ was applied by
inspectors at the plant to indicate the rifle grouped better than others. It was segregated and shipped to
The third guideline is to look
for a ¼ inch ‘S51’ stamped on the bottom of the handgrip of the butt
stock. This is unique to
Look at the stock, look for a
screw from one side of the wood to the other just in front of the receiver
ring. This is the dreaded Ishapore
screw. The Indians modified every No.4
rifle they found with this strengthening screw.
Nobody else worried about such things.
Although,
Look on the front right side
of the receiver just behind the receiver ring.
A genuine Holland and Holland conversion will have a 1/8 inch letter ‘S’
close to the wood line. I cannot comment
if
If there is an angular sling
swivel on the takedown screw in front of the magazine, this is a sign, A) the
rifle was either produced after September 1944, B) it left British military
sometime near then, or C) someone has ‘improved’ the rifle. A considerable number of civilian Parker Hale
target shooting swivels change hands on the internet, regardless of
appropriateness for the year of No.4(T) production.
Look at the sights. Are both surfaces on the front sight blade,
which face the shooter, undercut?
Apparently some snipers found the normal slope reflected back on their
eyes. I wouldn’t worry if it is not
there. It may be a peculiarity of
British unit-level conversions. The back
sight should be the machined early Mk.I style, without the 90 degree battle
sight. It should be completely black
with no exposed metal surfaces. One sign
the rifle has been used by someone knowledgeable will be if the underside is
rounded out. Smart armourers made this
modification (without permission) so their sniper comrades could remove the
rifle bolt without removing the scope and flipping up the back sight.
The next to last item(s) are
the accessories according to the equipment checklists. Every well-dressed No.4(T) has: a No.15
wooden transport chest; a No.8 scope case and leather strap or No.8 MK.2
rubberized canvas sleeve; a canvas protective case that is too small for a
rifle with scope; a Scout Regiment ‘pirate-style’ draw tube telescope; a small
tin cleaning kit; and a World War I dated American M1907 leather sling. Each item is a study in itself. Generally speaking, collectors look for
matching numbers to their rifle and telescope, and for example, a Broad Arrow
on the sling. Any No.8 case or sleeve,
and surprisingly the can’s strap, are highly sought after, followed by the
No.15 chest. The Canadian C No.7 .22
rifle chest is similar, but not tall enough by 2 inches.
The final item from Laidler’s
books is the No.32 telescope and mounting bracket or base. If the rifle offered does not have a No.32
scope, be skeptical. Remember, the
Century rifles are sold without brackets or scopes. If there is a scope, compare its number to
the stamped number on the butt and the rifle number to the one on the
bracket. If they match, Bingo! We have a winner. If not, don’t despair. Most No.4(T)s sold for surplus in
In broad terms, a 1941, ‘42
or ‘43 rifle should have a MK1 scope; rifles made in ’43 and ‘44 should have a
MK2 scope, and rifles made in ‘45 a MK3 or C No.67 scope (also known as a
Mk4). Canadian-made REL scopes restart
serial numbers with each mark change.
Only a few hundred REL scopes of each mark were ever produced, so
overall they are exceedingly scarce. An
REL scope on a British rifle or a
There are a number of replica
scope brackets on the market. US
companies like SARCO and The Sportsman’s Guide sell fake sniper rifle
mounts. It has an obvious two-faceted
rear face. The author succumbed to a
testosterone race and bought a not-so-cleared explained replica bracket for 50%
more than the retailer was asking. On
the other extreme are brackets made in the
The flat side will be flat,
not sharply angled. Look for a round
radius on the rear “arm” of the bracket and a short vertical rise from the rear
finger knob. The originals were cast
iron, with limited machining for the scope contact surfaces, the ring halves,
and the bearing surfaces at the pads.
Postwar, the British rifles stamped the rifle serial number on the rear
leg.
Canadian knobs have a small
depression in their centre. The British
knobs are smooth surfaced inside. There
are two styles of split washers which are not interchangeable.
Laidler suggests if the pads
have tiny Broad Arrow marks, they are replacement parts from authorized
sources. However, there are replica
No.4(T) parts kits on the market. One
internet seller includes drills, taps and screws with a set of pads. Hardware is one thing, talent is
another. The key ingredient in the