Enfield range report 6/29/14

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The recent thread about buying Enfields put the bug in me.. that and the fact that I missed a golden opportunity to get the war collection out for the D-Day anniversary earlier in the month..

I haven't had any center-fire out in a LOOONG time, so this was very overdue... an added bonus was that I became the benefactor of a friend who was recently.. um... shall we say "Temporarily removed from his 2A rights" and had a good stash of 303 ammo to dispose of.

For this trip I chose my favorite mohaska... my '44 Lithgow SMLE "Sheila", and my never-before-fired-by-me '42 Long Branch No4 MkI* "Bullwinkle".

Ammo on-hand was some Privi PPU 174gr BT FMJ, Sellier & Bellot 180gr FMJ, and a mystery surplus cartridge head-stamped "FNB 81". I've since deciphered that it is of Belgian manufacture..

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Being a bit rusty and wanting to compare cartridges, I set up at 25 yards, seated and elbow-rested on the bench. First up was the SMLE. This is the gun I use for milsurp postal matches and to embarrass friends with. We have a special relationship...

10-round strings were shot with all:

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LEFT: Privi PPU
RIGHT: S&B

I'd say it's pretty obvious Sheila likes the heavier S&B ball a lot better. The Privi round matches the weight and velocity of the surplus Mk7 ball more closely, but is a boat-tail ball. I've read accounts of some Enfields not doing well with that. The S&B ammo is a bit heavier than surplus, not sure on velocity.. and I couldn't find anything to tell me if the ball is BT or flat, or ??? But, the target seems to speak for itself.


Next up was the '42 Long Branch Mk1* ... in the No4's the "*" denotes the rifle was "war expedited".. in this case it has only 2 grooves in the barrel, a 300/600 peep flip sight, and instead of the usual No4 rifle press-thingy to remove the bolt, there's a notch cut out of the receiver just as you would open the action, were the bolt head can be swiveled up. It wasn't a great idea.. I've seen lots of these bent / broken. Care is needed when cycling..

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Left: Privi 174gr FMJ
Right: "FNB 81" surplus.

Surprisingly, there's not much of a difference that I can tell. Disclaimer: this was my first ever time firing a milsurp with a peep sight. Well, I wouldn't call that huge hole a "peep" really.. more like a gaping orifice that you can see the entire sight post and side guards through. I found it rather difficult to figure out when the sight post was "center" in the pee.. er, gaping orifice and what proper "sight picture" is supposed to be. I was really surprised I did even this good.

By this time, my hour was up, and my shoulder was DONE.

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got a real good bruise coming out today.

I got some Federal and Winchester SP too, but both are very light compared to the "proper" Mk7 ball.. next time!

bonus Enfield Pr0n:

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g

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Tally ho!

PS - comments / tips / ridicule of my marksmanship is welcome. Always looking to do better..
Brian in StL

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Re: Enfield range report 6/29/14

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Very enjoyable report. I like taking out rifles who've stayed too long in my safe.

I have one of those recoil pads I wear. Works great--I run out of ammo before I run out of shoulder.

Thanks for posting your range report.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Enfield range report 6/29/14

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spara wrote:No Mad Minute? ;)

I was looking at a friend's Enfield this weekend and working the action, just amazed how fast it is.
I'm quite certain that if I ever attempted that, I would be thrown out and banned for life. It's a Missouri Dept of Conservation run range.. no rapid fire.. 3 seconds between shots.. not 2 seconds, not even 2.8 seconds. THREE SECONDS. and you WILL be called out.

Also you can only post a target that conforms to the size you see in my pics.. only one at a time - upper pad for standing, lower for sitting.. no prone or kneeling.

But hey - 3 bucks an hour!
Brian in StL

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Re: Enfield range report 6/29/14

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2ndusss wrote:I have one of those in .22Cal it was a practice rifle. I was told they had 90 depots and there were 6 of these practice rifles at each depot. The serial number on mine is A270
Like this, eh?

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They were trainers. I'm sure there's tons out there but many are apparently still in use. The Canadian marksmanship teams used the No7's up to the late 90's I'm told.
Brian in StL

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