Yesterday's Weapons Forums

my referances are not here right now , i think the handguards have been fixed in FR or FTR , the 'leggs' are gone from the front one [not an uncommen fix for broken ones] and the crosscut relieved a crack in the rear ,
the basics are there - the rear sight[third variation] looks correct - it should be marked on under side with the serial number tho , the backsight protector is fourth variation,

the markings on the knox form are a question to me as well - but all are - too many to remember , i always look them up , they look somewhat midle-eastern ? ill see if i can find anything but i suspect someone else might jump in with a quick answer - we have a couple well versed in these rifles here ,
the serial number is not inconsistant with what id expect for a 1918 BSA , but i cant swear to the "J" as ive never seen that letter - im thinking its OK , my rifle is 1915 and most ive seen are 16-17 vintages , so my memory is not trustworthy here ,

tomarrow ill have my books - ill look , someone else may be better equiped tonight

good - its a nice rifle , ill look into more tomarrow - i did print off a few photos to help inj my comparisons , congrats - i think his is a nice one

bruce , i think the reciever ring is where we were looking , i think from bottom up[closest to the bolt] its a letter- [f ?] / crossed pennants / GR / crown , but theres something else there and i cant discern it , it may just be the proof and inspector marks running into it ,

after looking im convinced its the inspector marks and proofs running together , the markings there are worn a bit and probably werent clearly stamped to start with ,
the letter 'f' is actualy "P" , i could recall there was another choice but couldnt recall what it was--its an "N" for those destined for naval service ,

the "J" sereial number is 1918 vintage , there were 345,732 made that year , they used prefixes H,I,J,& K , so i think yours would be mid-to-later that year ,

The first picture of the rearhandguard has cross cut wood inserts that are known as "Kerf" repairs done by armorers to prevent further splitting.

The second picture of the right butt socket markings is read as follows:

GR = Georgius Rex (King George V)
BSA Co = Birmingham Small Arms Company
1918 = year of manufacture
SHT L.E. = Short (Magazine) Lee Enfield
III* = Mark 3* (wasn't known as a No.1 until 1926)

Rear Sight picture is normal indicating yardage adjustments from 200 to 2000 yards

I see three markings in the next picture:

Marking 1 on the barrel is a broad arrow indicating British Government Ownership. there is also the hint of the top of a 1 and an 8 suggesting that the barrel was installed in 1918 on the receiver.

Marking 2 is the crown over "GR", over crossed pennants over the letter "P". This is an ordnance proof mark used during 1910 to 1936.

Marking 3 is an inspectors view mark and consists of a crown over an inspectors number over a stylized "B" The stylized "B" indicated a BSA inspector.

The next picture appears to show the rear sight protector installed the wrong way around. The perpendicular edge should face the rear of the rifle.

The next picture showing the serial number also has an interesting commercial proofmark from the London proof house. I suspect this weapon was sold out of service and by law had to be proofed again for the public market and hence the commercail proof.

Hope that helps

i was looking for you last night ....

just found that 'stylized B' marking in my book - the regular "B" is for rsaf sparkbrook , thats why i thought there was some odd scripty stuff there ,

good catch on the rear sight protector - it has the one side offset because in its earlier use there was the windage screw head there that needed clearance ,

id noticed the broadarrow , but without the canceling arrow i wasnt sure the barrel was on the receiver when the reciever was proofed at sold out of service , im not seeing the 18 on the barrel , but like i said my eyes arent as good as they used to be ,

That's it - its on its side and consists of a crown over the letters "C" and "P" - which are superimposed on each other.

no .... thats good - it means it passed, and is OK to sell to the public -you

there are however some marks that are considered bad, for shooting anyway . i think amatikulu is more up on the marks than i and can perhaps post a few, but ill look some up and post later if required.

its like the hole that was drilled thru your DP P14 it was intended to let you know