But when the Great War drew British troops to France, England dropped the. The Pattern 1914 Enfield was also British-designed. Remarkably, my old rifle would also feed empties! The stamped-steel box and follower looked cheap but open-mouthed cartridges snicked in and out as if on rails. I could cycle it at near-machine-gun cadence, matching the speed of my pal with his Model 94 Winchester.
I returned the rifle and dug twice as deep for another SMLE from a local gunshop. So I took his word that this was a lethal and inoperable condition. I was impressionable and had yet to discover headspace. āA swelled chamber,ā the local gun guru muttered sagely. New brass came out with a circumferential crack. But neither did I expect the split cases that emerged from its smoking chamber.
I had no illusions that my SMLE would look like a G&H sporter. Springfield and Mauser actions became works of art under skilled hands at Griffin & Howe. In those days, refitting battle rifles was a popular pastime-not just for the impoverished, but for anyone keen to unlock the beauty beneath silvered steel and scarred wood. I bought a semi-inletted stock from Herters for $7.50 and paid about that for Williams iron sights. At $15, the British infantry rifle more closely matched my means. Iād ogled at it for months in the brick-thick Sears catalogs that once carried surplus military hardware. My first hunting rifle was a Short Magazine Lee Enfield.