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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:20:41 PM EDT
I found a 1941 MA Lithgow made into a very nicely done sporter today. It was set-up with a Lyman 48 rear sight. I gave $200.00 for it but the Lyman is worth half that.
It's all matching and it looks professionally done. Nice shiny/strong bore. It looks like a E. C. Bishop walnut stock set was used along with a Pachmayr recoil pad. Deep black bluing, even the mag. It still has it's .mil two stage trigger but it's been worked on and breaks nicely at around 3.75#. Other than cleaning/inspection all I really need is another aperture as it's a bit too fine for a hunting rifle. I have a bunch so I'll dig one out and install it before I shoot it.  Attached File Attached FileI've seen that kind of work put into plenty of Mauser actions before but seldom see Enfields done up as well. You really have to sort of appreciate the work that went into making a 12# battle rifle into a well done 7.5-pound, 22" barreled, 10-shot sporter in a viable caliber. Lord knows what such a conversion would cost to have done today. This is what it would have looked like in AU .mil trim. 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:25:40 PM EDT
[#1]
You'll get a lot of hate over it, but I think it's nice.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:27:29 PM EDT
[#2]
I'll be that guy.
Polishing a turd. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:27:50 PM EDT
[#3]
Neat. I would have given $200 for that.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:28:53 PM EDT
[#4]
Cool find, op.
Sharp looking rifle. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:29:46 PM EDT
[#5]
Nice.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:29:47 PM EDT
[#6]
I need to get around to trimming some of my 303 brass to load up
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:29:55 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You'll get a lot of hate over it, but I think it's nice. It is what it is and likely done before I was born or not too long thereafter. If folks can't appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the conversion then fuck em as it's certainly not your usual hack job. 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:30:16 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'll be that guy. Polishing a turd. the 303 round has killed just about every game animal, including dangerous, on this planet |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:32:06 PM EDT
[#9]
I am not sure what is worse...
Sporterized milsurps, or cloning rifles you were never issued or carried. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:32:54 PM EDT
[#10]
I much prefer it like you found it than to be left to rust away. Nice find and I’m glad it is getting a new home!
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:34:16 PM EDT
[#11]
Quoted: You'll get a lot of hate over it, but I think it's nice. Me too. I love sporterized mil bolts with peeps. I had a 03 that was almost there. But someone d&t'd the holes cockeyed. So it was then d&t'd for scope bases. On top of that it was a early 03 that was in the danger zone of serial numbers. So I sold it. Also had a 98 in 7.62. No peep but was a dang handy rifle. Collectors give em alot of hate but IDGAF. To me it's utility at it's finest. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:36:58 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: the 303 round has killed just about every game animal, including dangerous, on this planet Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I'll be that guy. Polishing a turd. the 303 round has killed just about every game animal, including dangerous, on this planet And it killed a lot of airplanes too. The Enfield had a great action. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:47:08 PM EDT
[#13]
Damn that looks great. Wish I could find a stock set like that.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:48:06 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I am not sure what is worse... Sporterized milsurps, or cloning rifles you were never issued or carried.  That's has to be the most ignorant statement I've heard for a spell and that does not speak very well of you considering this is GD.  Were it not for clones a lot of folks would never enjoy shooting the black powder rifles/handguns from our past history not to mention M1As, and to a lesser extent even M1911s. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:57:46 PM EDT
[#15]
Nice rifle. I'd love to have that buttstock on my .45-70 conversion.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:57:50 PM EDT
[#16]
Nice rifle.
Rule .303! |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 3:59:55 PM EDT
[#17]
That ain't no way for an old soldier to die.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:03:38 PM EDT
[#18]
Nice.
I have zero qualms about these kinds of conversions, because they were done at a time when literally train cars full of these rifles were being turned into scrap. My main deer rifle is a converted 1917 in 30-06 that is a laser. I have lighter rifles, but the 06 was my grandad's and then my dad's. It also inspired me to get an unconverted 1917, which I did (a lend-lease rifle).  Thanks for sharing OP, I love to see your finds. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:08:28 PM EDT
[#19]
That is a nicely done one. I've been looking for good one for a while but most are hacked-up cold blue specials.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:12:05 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That's has to be the most ignorant statement I've heard for a spell and that does not speak very well of you considering this is GD. Were it not for clones a lot of folks would never enjoy shooting the black powder rifles/handguns from our past history not to mention M1As, and to a lesser extent even M1911s. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I am not sure what is worse... Sporterized milsurps, or cloning rifles you were never issued or carried. That's has to be the most ignorant statement I've heard for a spell and that does not speak very well of you considering this is GD. Were it not for clones a lot of folks would never enjoy shooting the black powder rifles/handguns from our past history not to mention M1As, and to a lesser extent even M1911s. 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:12:09 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That ain't no way for an old soldier to die. I can't say but I suspect most would rather be put to use in a hunting capacity than to have this inglorious ending at the hands of the AU gun grabbers.  
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:14:24 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That ain't no way for an old soldier to die. Yep. 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:17:14 PM EDT
[#23]
LOL....I just noticed you changed your avatar but hey, just because you changed your avatar does not make you any less ignorant you know.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:18:19 PM EDT
[#24]
I would have paid $200 for that. It was already converted you just gave it a good home. Enjoy.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:19:37 PM EDT
[#25]
Some sporterizations are done better than others, in this case it looks well done, but in the end all sporterizations are abominations.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:22:44 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: LOL....I just noticed you changed your avatar but hey, just because you changed your avatar does not make you any less ignorant you know. Quote HistoryQuoted: LOL....I just noticed you changed your avatar but hey, just because you changed your avatar does not make you any less ignorant you know. Good luck haggling for those K-Mart shotguns you hunt for at yard sales, polish up, then always put on those 4"x4"s in your backyard to take pictures of. I'm sure you have quite a wide variety of old, insignificant guns that one day will be sold at an estate sale for even less than you paid for them. ETA- I apologize. Those might be 6"x6"s. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:31:23 PM EDT
[#27]
If I crossed paths with that I'd snatch it up at $200.
It is nicely done and was probably a great hunting rifle. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:34:10 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Some sporterizations are done better than others, in this case it looks well done, but in the end all sporterizations are abominations. There is certainty some truth in that to a collector like myself but at the same time if you know your way around mil-surp history you understand that even the sporters are solid rifles and were sold by the millions by Sears, Monkey-Wards, Western Auto, not to mention every A&N and hardware store in the land to hunters all over America. Local gun smiths were kept in business putting better sights or scope mounts on them. As a kid I hunted with many folks that were using cut-down mil-surps of various flavors as deer rifles who could not afford a factory made deer rifle. Of course as they got better heeled the cut-up mil-surps disappeared into gun cabinets/closets but it did not make them any less viable as a rifle to put a deer or three in the freezer every year. back then they were simply tools, not collector items.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:40:25 PM EDT
[#29]
I have this exact rifle, given to me by my uncle. He bought it back in the 1960's.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:41:20 PM EDT
[#30]
Quoted: You really have to sort of appreciate the work that went into making a 12# battle rifle into a well done 7.5-pound, 22" barreled, 10-shot sporter in a viable caliber. Lord knows what such a conversion would cost to have done today. This is what it would have looked like in AU .mil trim. https://image.invaluable.com/housePhotos/CenturionAuctions/81/611081/H5403-L124370494.jpg 12 pound? My Lithgow No 1 Mk III* just weighed in at 9.25 lbs. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:42:55 PM EDT
[#31]
I would have bought that, and I hate sporters.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:43:39 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I am not sure what is worse... Sporterized milsurps, or cloning rifles you were never issued or carried.  another great find OP |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:50:35 PM EDT
[#33]
For some reason lots of Lithgows are sporterized, many badly. These often show up in movies (including Crocodile Dundee).
My No 1 Mk III* Lithgow was obtained around '80 from a pawn shop for $65. Awful sporter job, but the metal was unmolested. In 2014 I was able to restore it (using Indian DP wood) almost perfectly. The one remaining piece of original wood is the rear upper handguard that snaps off. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:53:14 PM EDT
[#34]
LOL, half the guys in this thread would pass on a Remington Model 30 because they thought is was a chopped up 1917 Enfield.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:53:44 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted: get both https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/132928/m16cloneand_bubba1917_JPG-1322953.jpg another great find OP Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I am not sure what is worse... Sporterized milsurps, or cloning rifles you were never issued or carried. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/132928/m16cloneand_bubba1917_JPG-1322953.jpg another great find OP Man, on the one hand I love the M1917/P14 and it hurts a little to see one that's been messed-with...On the other hand, if it was done Back When, and included milling off the rear sight base, there's not much "saving" it can have anymore except to be rebuilt as a rifle befitting the quality of that cock-on-close, controlled-feed, large ring Mauser long action. So, I like it and I'd like to have one kinda like it...but I'll look for one that's already sporterized to do it with. ETA: or, as pointed out above, a Remington Model 30, since those were originally made as sporting rifles from M1917 receivers and bolts. |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 4:56:19 PM EDT
[#36]
Guy should have done it up this way.
Lee Speed Sporter.  |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:03:37 PM EDT
[#37]
I'd have bought it, but for $150 or $175. I'd like a nice sporter in .303 British.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:05:00 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: LOL, half the guys in this thread would pass on a Remington Model 30 because they thought is was a chopped up 1917 Enfield. https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGGArLv8CLc/VU9taDzv75I/AAAAAAAACgI/k6s8wn3iNDo/s1600/_DSC0019.JPG Amen to that. I hate to admit it, but I had a Model 720, and didn't know it was really anything special until it was long gone. Happened look it up one day, and immediately thought "yep, that was stupid!" 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:08:21 PM EDT
[#39]
I normally dislike seeing sporterized Enfields, but that one was done nicely, and WWII Lithgow Mk. III* rifles aren't really rare.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:10:48 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Guy should have done it up this way. Lee Speed Sporter. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EIkq_UfXYAAB-8D.jpg DROOL 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:15:14 PM EDT
[#41]
Nice find for $200.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:18:29 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Man, on the one hand I love the M1917/P14 and it hurts a little to see one that's been messed-with...On the other hand, if it was done Back When, and included milling off the rear sight base, there's not much "saving" it can have anymore except to be rebuilt as a rifle befitting the quality of that cock-on-close, controlled-feed, large ring Mauser long action. So, I like it and I'd like to have one kinda like it...but I'll look for one that's already sporterized to do it with. ETA: or, as pointed out above, a Remington Model 30, since those were originally made as sporting rifles from M1917 receivers and bolts. to me it's an interesting artifact of the time |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:23:46 PM EDT
[#43]
I will hate you just because you find too many cool toys! I like a well done shorter, and this one looks really well done. Hope you get to shoot the heck out of it!
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:47:30 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'd have bought it, but for $150 or $175. I'd like a nice sporter in .303 British. I figure there were at least $300.00+ worth of parts on it so I would have not lost any money even if it turned out to be a dog. I suspect that you would have parted with a couple Benjamins too when you saw how nicely it was done, never mind the value of the sum of it's parts. That and a handy 10-shot well sighted center-fire rifle without a squared edge box magazine poking at you when slung makes a lot of sense. LOL....I just noticed that the fixed sling swivels are OEM Winchester Model 70 Sling Swivels. 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:59:50 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Nice. time when literally train cars full of these rifles were being turned into scrap. . Or simply dumped in the ocean literally by the boatloads..... |
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Posted: 4/16/2020 5:59:54 PM EDT
[#46]
Is there a reason why the Lyman sight is mounted on the right side of the action instead of the left? Is there something on the left side of that rifle that would not allow left side mounting as on most rifles? It looks like you could smash your fingers into the sight if you were cycling that bolt fast and not paying attention.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 6:12:07 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Is there a reason why the Lyman sight is mounted on the right side of the action instead of the left? Is there something on the left side of that rifle that would not allow left side mounting as on most rifles? It looks like you could smash your fingers into the sight if you were cycling that bolt fast and not paying attention. The typical Lyman 48 (and later the 57 SME) were made for Springfields, Mausers, and Enfields. The ejector box on the left side of a "Mauser based" rifle necessitated it being mounted on the right side. It may have been the only sight the guy had laying around. Proper English made target sights for the No.4MK1 weren't very common in the US back in the day. 
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Posted: 4/16/2020 6:17:38 PM EDT
[#48]
I love it. Got a range report?
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Posted: 4/16/2020 6:36:07 PM EDT
[#49]
I've got a K98 sporterized I bought years ago. Fun to shoot. Kicks like a mule.
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Posted: 4/16/2020 6:55:56 PM EDT
[#50]
I'd rock a custom rifle from a Lee Enfield action... but I'm weird.
I love shooting bolt actions, and while there are a lot of good actions, there is just something about how the Lee Enfield feels while working it. |
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