Les Jones

Guns > Lee-Enfield Goodness

Bought off of Gunbroker.com tonight: Lee-Enfield Butstock Cleaning Kit Original, Lee Enfield Mechanism- Colour Picture Book, and Lee-Enfield Bandoleer. When the cleaning kit and cleaning rope arrive I'll pack them into the stock's trapdoor using this article at Smelly SMLE Shooters as a guide.

I knew that SMLE stood for "Short Magazine Lee-Enfield," but I always thought the "short" meant a short magazine. Now thanks to a very nice Lee-Enfield history I've discovered it's actually the Rifle, "Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield" and is meant to be read backwards as the Lee-Enfield, Magazine, Short Rifle. So it's the rifle that's short (relative to its fencepost predecessors), not the magazine, which was quite large for the turn of the 20th century.

If you like the Lee-Enfield, you'll probably enjoy this article on extractor types at African-Hunter.com

First let's consider the umbiquitous Lee Enfield. The oldest of the designs still in widespread circulation and by far and away the best military bolt action produced.

It is probably still the most common rifle in Southern Africa apart from the AK47. The Lee action is not noted for its strength and only the Mk IV or V actions have the strength for a cartridge as “hot” as a .308. I dislike the safety, the comb is too low for comfortable use unless a cheekpeice is fitted etc, etc. On the plus side though I have never used any other bolt action rifle which could be fired as quickly, or reloaded as quickly as the Lee. There are two reasons for this phenomenal speed of fire (I have witnessed 10 shots in 10 seconds with all rounds hitting a man sized target at 100m). Most importantly is the fact that the bolt handle is located BEHIND the strong hand. As you take your finger off the trigger after firing you move your hand up and backwards, whilst on chambering the round the hand moves naturally from the bolt to the trigger. On almost all other rifles you have to move your hand forward from the trigger to reach the bolt handle. The other reason is that the Lee cocks on closing, significantly reducing the force needed to open the bolt. It must also be noted that despite all the arguments you might hear about the need for an accurate rifle to have a quick lock time, front locking lugs and a one piece stock, I have seen many more accurate target rifles built on Lee actions than I ever have on Mausers.

Given the right ammo (and/ or barrel) and a shootist who knows how to follow through during the (relatively) long striker fall, a Lee Enfield rifle will always outshoot a Mauser despite all the theoretical disadvantages. They are also one of the easiest rifles to keep clean, since the breech face is exposed. Not that they require cleaning to work, and will keep firing long after a Mauser or even an AK has clogged up. The main failure of the Lee action is its extractor. A small claw like affair, which always works unless you have a bulged cartridge or have broken the spring. Bulged or oversized factory rounds are a thing of the past, but go into any gun shop, however, and ask them what is the most common repair needed on a Lee, and they will tell you that it is a broken extractor spring, and that if you want one they are still awaiting the next shipment from South Africa. All in all the Lee Enfield is a fantastic action for a working man's plainsgame rifle. It may not be as "Strong" in terms of withstanding overloads as other designs, but it is easily the most rugged, and will withstand far more abuse/neglect than any other type.

Another, minor advantage of the Lee-Enfield is that because of the relationship of the bolt handle to the trigger it's possible to work the bolt with the thumb and forefinger and pull the trigger with the middle finger.

See also:
- Gun Links #37 - Lee-Enfield Edition
- Range Report: Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) No. 1 Mk III
- Buy a Gun Day Purchase - Lee-Enfield No. 5 Jungle Carbine
- History of the Enfield Rifle (external)