Well–you guys wanna see my P-64 again? It was the official military sidearm in Poland until recently…. ;-). Or maybe my Nagant 1895? Commissars were apparently still using them to shoot deserters with in WWII…
“In the Red Army it takes a very brave man to be a coward.”
— Marshal Georgy Zhukov
oh, man, priceless!
“Enemy at the Gates” came to mind.
Great movie!
Yes, that’s what came to mind… 😉 But also, my translation of the Russian manual for the use of the Nagant indicated that the commands when practicing were something like: “Draw weapon!” “Aim!” “At the deserter, fire!” It kind of caught my eye…
The ultimate bolt-action service rifle. Everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t.
The Springfield is a target rifle. The Mauser is a hunting rifle. The Lee-Enfield is a BATTLE rifle.
If the enemy is a target to be dispatched efficiently, use the ’03. If you think of the enemy as quarry to be hunted, use the Mauser. If you’re a Brit hooligan looking to mix it up up-close and personal, use the Enfield and bayonet.
All great Weapons of War, all limited by low ammunition capacity and slow rate of fire. Great trench weapons, not so much for the assault, hence the bayonet.
As a Brit I will take that as a compliment.
Technically, when speaking of a rifle with nothing it doesn’t need, I think a Mosin edges out the Enfield.
Having used Lee-Enfields, Mausers, and Mosin-Nagants in service rifle competition (with rapid and snap courses), it is Lee-Enfield first.
Try a 50 second 10-round rapid on a Figure 11 or 12 @ 200m or the dreaded Figure 13
@ 300m and you see the difference.
While the Finnish MNs are considered the best of the Mosins, they are never used in matches where scores are important for grading.
Sights. The LE’s peep sight is a hands-down winner over the open sights of the other two.
Trigger. The LE’s two-stage trigger, while not target rifle perfect, is great for a service rifle. The Mauser is a close second. The Russian Mosin trigger? Creepy, spongy, and with a mushy let off. I’ve had better triggers on a water pistol.
Reloading. I’ll admit the Mauser is best because of the rimless cartridges. The LE clip reload is quick and easy once mastered. The MN? IF you have brass clips, acceptable, but you risk taking skin off your thumb in the process.
Cycling? The LE is the clear winner with the slick, smooth bolt making 10 rounds in 50 seconds with time to spare. The Mauser isn’t as good but will finish the course even after losing 5 seconds with a reload. Note where the bolt handle is on a LE and Mauser. Right above the firing hand. The MN is a distant third in this race. Clunky bolt action with the handle way forward of the firing hand really slows the rate down. Add the awful clip loading and you will be lucky to complete the course in the time allowed.
The aim of the No4 Lee-Enfield was to not only improve on the already excellent and highly regarded SMLE, but to make it quicker and cheaper too. The No4 Mk2 was a further improvement on the trigger and other minor details with peacetime manufacturing standards.
My comments are based on over 20 years of service rifle competition on REAL ranges (ie NO bench rest) out to 400 metres with iron sights. Anyone can shoot fine off a bench rest in their own time. Service shooting is learning to shoot when you’re not ready. In that the Lee-Enfield excels.
Well, if you bring accuracy and effectiveness into it, yes. I was just talking about which rifle is the most bare bones of them. Sorry, wasn’t on the same page.
As an owner of several examples of all 3, I’m inclined to mildly disagree.
I had a L-E decades before my Mausers and M-Ns. That said, doing the ‘mad-minute’ is about the same with my M-Ns as my L-Es. Don’t get me wrong, my Lee Enfields are slick, but so are my (early) Mosins. Either one I can do 25-30 RPMs with about the same accuracy. My Mausers are just good to longer ranges.
Mine is a #3* from the Lithgow Armory; great gun.
j.
I got a couple of WW1 bayonets.
Now that’s a real weapon of war. I love the No. 4. Last Lee Enfields I had were the Ishapore 2a’s. No where as nice as the No. 4 even with the upgrade to 7.62.
Love my No.4 MkI* but I’m running out of safe space, so mine’s up on Gunbroker right now.
Wonderful, the last rifle of empire!
The AR15 is just a snot noised brat compared to the Lee Enfield.
The British Empire ruled a 1/4 of the world with it, and won two world wars. In the process just about every animal on this planet that you can shoot has been shot by one.
Nobody needs one of these…..until after I get mine.
Well–you guys wanna see my P-64 again? It was the official military sidearm in Poland until recently…. ;-). Or maybe my Nagant 1895? Commissars were apparently still using them to shoot deserters with in WWII…
“In the Red Army it takes a very brave man to be a coward.”
— Marshal Georgy Zhukov
oh, man, priceless!
“Enemy at the Gates” came to mind.
Great movie!
Yes, that’s what came to mind… 😉 But also, my translation of the Russian manual for the use of the Nagant indicated that the commands when practicing were something like: “Draw weapon!” “Aim!” “At the deserter, fire!” It kind of caught my eye…
The ultimate bolt-action service rifle. Everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t.
The Springfield is a target rifle. The Mauser is a hunting rifle. The Lee-Enfield is a BATTLE rifle.
If the enemy is a target to be dispatched efficiently, use the ’03. If you think of the enemy as quarry to be hunted, use the Mauser. If you’re a Brit hooligan looking to mix it up up-close and personal, use the Enfield and bayonet.
All great Weapons of War, all limited by low ammunition capacity and slow rate of fire. Great trench weapons, not so much for the assault, hence the bayonet.
As a Brit I will take that as a compliment.
Technically, when speaking of a rifle with nothing it doesn’t need, I think a Mosin edges out the Enfield.
Having used Lee-Enfields, Mausers, and Mosin-Nagants in service rifle competition (with rapid and snap courses), it is Lee-Enfield first.
Try a 50 second 10-round rapid on a Figure 11 or 12 @ 200m or the dreaded Figure 13
@ 300m and you see the difference.
While the Finnish MNs are considered the best of the Mosins, they are never used in matches where scores are important for grading.
Sights. The LE’s peep sight is a hands-down winner over the open sights of the other two.
Trigger. The LE’s two-stage trigger, while not target rifle perfect, is great for a service rifle. The Mauser is a close second. The Russian Mosin trigger? Creepy, spongy, and with a mushy let off. I’ve had better triggers on a water pistol.
Reloading. I’ll admit the Mauser is best because of the rimless cartridges. The LE clip reload is quick and easy once mastered. The MN? IF you have brass clips, acceptable, but you risk taking skin off your thumb in the process.
Cycling? The LE is the clear winner with the slick, smooth bolt making 10 rounds in 50 seconds with time to spare. The Mauser isn’t as good but will finish the course even after losing 5 seconds with a reload. Note where the bolt handle is on a LE and Mauser. Right above the firing hand. The MN is a distant third in this race. Clunky bolt action with the handle way forward of the firing hand really slows the rate down. Add the awful clip loading and you will be lucky to complete the course in the time allowed.
The aim of the No4 Lee-Enfield was to not only improve on the already excellent and highly regarded SMLE, but to make it quicker and cheaper too. The No4 Mk2 was a further improvement on the trigger and other minor details with peacetime manufacturing standards.
My comments are based on over 20 years of service rifle competition on REAL ranges (ie NO bench rest) out to 400 metres with iron sights. Anyone can shoot fine off a bench rest in their own time. Service shooting is learning to shoot when you’re not ready. In that the Lee-Enfield excels.
Well, if you bring accuracy and effectiveness into it, yes. I was just talking about which rifle is the most bare bones of them. Sorry, wasn’t on the same page.
As an owner of several examples of all 3, I’m inclined to mildly disagree.
I had a L-E decades before my Mausers and M-Ns. That said, doing the ‘mad-minute’ is about the same with my M-Ns as my L-Es. Don’t get me wrong, my Lee Enfields are slick, but so are my (early) Mosins. Either one I can do 25-30 RPMs with about the same accuracy. My Mausers are just good to longer ranges.
Mine is a #3* from the Lithgow Armory; great gun.
j.
I got a couple of WW1 bayonets.
Now that’s a real weapon of war. I love the No. 4. Last Lee Enfields I had were the Ishapore 2a’s. No where as nice as the No. 4 even with the upgrade to 7.62.
Love my No.4 MkI* but I’m running out of safe space, so mine’s up on Gunbroker right now.
Wonderful, the last rifle of empire!
The AR15 is just a snot noised brat compared to the Lee Enfield.
The British Empire ruled a 1/4 of the world with it, and won two world wars. In the process just about every animal on this planet that you can shoot has been shot by one.
Nobody needs one of these…..until after I get mine.
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