Yesterday's Weapons Forums

Acquired a 1916 No1 Mk3* SMLE from a relative - it's in surprisingly good condition despite having been mildly "sporterised" many many long years ago. Thankfully although many "non-essential" metal bits were removed the barrel wasn't cut, original sights were left intact, and just the forearm/forestock was cut ahead of barrel band - so restoration won't be difficult "relatively affordable" to do.
So - to get this project started: does anyone "happen" to have a No1 Mk3* forearm/forestock just lying around gathering dust, that you'd like to part with?

id love to help but no , i dont have a forearm , ive a set of handguards here somewhere , and a few odd metal bits , need to see some photos tho ,

oh , and congrats on your find

Appreciate the comments guys, and +1 for the NUMRICH tip - between them and SPRINGFIELD SPORTERS I can get all of the missing metal bits. As I said the Mk3* wood seems to be the hardest to find - I may just get a Mk3 forearm and make a filler piece for the cutoff relief; the present stock appears to have had an arsenal repair/refit made to it in that exact same place.
I'd post pictures but don't have a way to do so on this forum.

Hoosier Gun Works



Always best to give them a call as they don't update that often

Might try a duffle cut repair.

..........." As I said the Mk3* wood seems to be the hardest to find - I may just get a Mk3 forearm and make a filler piece for the cutoff relief; the present stock appears to have had an arsenal repair/refit made to it in that exact same place." ...................

while ill not disagree that british furniture may be dificult to find , ill disagree with the idea that mkIII lumber is easier to find than mkIII* , if you have a source for mkIII forearms ill take some [but not indian please]

but more importantly , your 1916 mkIII* is a transitional rifle of the first order , it most likely had a stock originaly that was still cut for the cutoff and might even have been one with a volley sight flat without the dial fitted ,

i encourage you to grab a mkIII/III* forearm for this if you have the opportunity for wood that was never in india

OH , you havent told us the mfgr yet , markings on the right buttsocket will help with that , ive assumed [i know what that makes me ] it to be british mkIII* or perhaps a lithgow mkIII* ?

and if im in error and you are useing the nomenclature mk3* because that is how it appears on your rifle .......never mind , indian wood is correct ,

Definitely a Mk3* - after much more squinting through a magnifying glass the date is 1918, not 1916. On right side of buttsocket is a crown with two [?] letters under it - too worn to make out - under that is "ENFIELD", under that is 1918, under that is "SmLE", under that is "III*". The present "sporterised" forearm does not have relief cut for a magcutoff - after a thorough cleaning and re-linseed oiling it appears to be walnut wood and is quite different in color & grain from the buttstock, sure a shame it was cut.
The rifle has been completely detail stripped / cleaned, head space checked, forearm bedding adjusted, and is now ready for shooting. She's quite the "looker" for such an old gal!!

you are correct - definetly a mkIII* , sorry i questioned that at all ,

and now that you say the date is 1918 ill agree with you you need a later mkIII* forearm without the relief for the cutoff or the volley sight flat , by that date the expediant measures would have caught up with the old supply of timber ,

the two letters under the crown should be GR for king george ,

and the ENFIELD makes it british mfgr ,

congrats on a nice rifle , and good luck on the forearm search , it will be well worth the search , she will look even better back in military nick

Thanks very much for your input - much appreciated. I'll keep looking for a correct forearm, as I definitely want to "restore" this rifle to original configuration.

I believe I posted this elsewhere on the forum but try Sarko's in Sterling,New Jersey. I have dealt with them before and they have a heap of stuff!

I believe you mean "SARCO"? If so, they have some Mk4 No1 wood but no No1 Mk3 - good folks though, I've bought quite abit of Enfield and SKS stuff from them previously.

that would be no4 mkI wood if you want your nomenclature correct ,

eeeww , im starting to sound as curmudgeonly [sp] as john sukey arent i ? oh well , i could be in worse company , and ill proudly wear the curmudgeon lable , ive earned it after all ..........

Hmmm....................Brigadier General Mike Curmudgeon...........................has a nice ring to it

and nowhere to go from here but down

No Chit! I could spend all day there.......and if you ever have a chance to git in their warehouse......BOY HOWDY!!!!!

Just the variety alone up there is amazing.

One day I'll have to head back there & see what their new facility is like.