Lithgow 1918 SHTLE No1 Mk III* - Revisit-
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ธ.ค. 2019
- The upcoming movie “1917” will feature the Lee Enfield SMLE No. 1 quite prominently as shown in the trailers which made me think of breaking out my 1918 vintage Australian manufacture SHTLE No. 1 Mk III* and revisit.
The realistic looking snap caps used in this video can be ordered from realisticsnapcaps.com where discount code milsurpgarage will get you 10% off and as always, free shipping. *Note - These are a training aid and used for function testing and/or drilling, they are NOT real ammunition nor can they be altered to behave as real ammunition.....so there.
Have fun!
Many of the pristine looking Australian SMLEs were assembled from spare parts by a milsurp distributor based in New York in the late 20th century. Does your rifle have a "JJCO NY/NY" on it? Many times these markings are very small on the right side of the receiver.
Todd B John Jovino Co.
Wow, was just on a reading marathon....seems you have something there. I can see stamped into the R/S receiver bridge a “NY, NY” and a .30....an obvious import mark. I remember I saw this years ago and was trying to identify it , it seems you are correct. The JJ co part must have not been struck correctly.
That being said it does not have the beech stock these were known to have but it does have a “parkerized” type finish and serial numberless nose cap and bolt handle. The rifles serial number, however, does date correctly to 1917 to 1922.
Much more research is now needed plus a complete tear down again to check everything real good. Thanks for that info, it was spot on, I am just about 100% sure this rifle came through John Jovino & Co. in NYC....what is the oldest gun store in the USA.
@@MilsurpGarage Glad to help. I thought it looked like a JJCO refurbished rifle. These were assembled from spare parts in the US and rarely would they be sold as original rifles. They are Franken rifles and have little collector value. They are pretty shooters, that's about it unfortunately.
@Todd B No problem there, pretty shooters are what I look for. What exactly would be “unoriginal” about it? It is, from what I see, an all Aussie marked rifle....there are BA stamps on everything. I understand it might be put together from a bunch of Lithgow parts but what is the difference between that and the arsenal refurb it had in the mid 40’s? These are certainly not low quality builds and from what I read in the last hour or so, these were actually regarded back in the day as a “find” as they were very nicely finished and there weren’t many made.....less than a thousand. Collectibility is a very slippery thing.
Regardless, I think it needs a new video once the research is over! You should do it.....wanna guest star?
@@MilsurpGarage The parts kit rifles were mostly scrubbed of issue marks if they ever had them and they are all WW2 not WWW1 from what I have gathered. Yours has issued dist. marks, the numbers with the line through them. The unaltered number is the serial number. The magazine cutoff would have been most likely removed at time of barrel replacement if not before. If this is truly a No III* not No III, then no cutoff would have been on the original build. One of the changes to * is not adding the cutoff. It looks to be restored post ww2 and cutoff and vented nose cap put back on. I don't remember which year rear sight windage was discontinued. Nice rifle..!
Lovely-looking rifle. Strange for an Aussie seeing a rifle in the U.S that was made 140ks or so from where I live here in Sydney.
A book you may enjoy is "The completebook on Lee Enfield accurizing" by Roger Wadham from New Zealand,also in Australia we don't pronounce the W in Lithgow, more like lith-go.
Found a PDF read through online....interesting it is. My range visits are more like blasting away with tons of guns and barely changing a target! Thanks for the heads up though, it is an interesting read. Lots of useful info.
pronunciation corrected
Ian Skennerton: is also seen as THE SMLE authority,his books are informative although command a $$$$
I'm eyeing that $80 book on Amazon now.....
That has to be the cleanest one of those I've ever seen.
Great Job finding all the extras.
BTW I just watch that move last night.
intense in brutal. War is real.
Do some research on John Jovino gun shop in NYC. Very old gun shop where these were supposedly refurbed and sold post WWII. That would explain its beautiful condition but not it’s seemingly unaltered state. Would Jovino have left the magazine cut off in place?
Nice rifle, made back in the days when battle rifles were made of wood and men were made of iron!
Mine was made in 1917. Made from the same people. It has a few dent's but it looks great. Nice video.👍
Thanks 👍
That's a nice example you have there, well done on the find. A lot of the old Aussie made Lithgow rifles (pronounced Lith-Go) from that era were re-barreled here for WWII service. I have a 1915 Lithgow I bought in the early 80's that had been sporterised probably by a professional kangaroo shooter in the 1960's would be my guess. It had been re-barreled in the 1940's going by the proof marks and I have since re-barreled it myself about 25 years ago with a brand new barrel that they were practically giving away a the time, then fitted a central side mount and a 6X steel tube Weaver scope. I still love to shoot and reload for it to this day. It's still no target rifle but it is a lot of fun to shoot. Thanks for the video 👍
Thanks for watching! Yeah, the mispronunciation is chronic....can’t help calling it that no matter how many times I’m corrected, sorry. I love this rifle and on .303 day it is the one that gets the most attention.
20 some years ago I bought a still in the cosmoline Lee Enfield. What a mess to clean up. Sadly, I sold it before moving from Virginia to New Hampshire, wish I still had it! I sold it to a friend from that time, his firearms collection was HUGE, I hope he still has it.
Great war rifle, great vid.Thanks
I have the same Lithgow SHTLE MkIII* 1921 Beast
Unfortunately mine was sported up and no longer has bayonet lug, site protectors and front timber.
Your rifle looks as though it was old surplus. Great condition. Probably worth more in Australia.
Maybe this was mentioned already but Ian Skennerton is a name you should really get to know, he has produced a lot of books about not only enfields but many firearms. You can get some of his books or pamphlets for around $20 but some of his books are now out of print and are expensive. Has a youtube channel now as well.
Yeah, I keep my eye out for any of his hardcovers but they are always very expensive.
Per Todd B comments...
The parts kit rifles that came into USA were mostly scrubbed of issue marks if they ever had them and were mostly WW2 not WWW1 from what I have gathered. Yours has issued dist. marks, the numbers with the line through them. The unaltered number is the serial number. The magazine cutoff would have been most likely removed at time of barrel replacement if not before. If this is truly a No III* not No III, then no cutoff would have been on the original build. One of the changes to * is not adding the cutoff. It looks to be restored not rearsenaled but restored to pre 1920 configuration post WW2 and cutoff and vented nose cap put back on. I don't remember which year rear sight windage was discontinued. Somebody will correct me if I made a mistake here. Nice rifle..!
Saw 1917 last night. Incredible movie. The No 1 Mk III is prominently featured. I takes out a couple of Huns.
Really nice stock
Greetings from Australia. I have a 1941 Lithgow. By the way, it's pronounced "Lith-go"! We made SMLEs right through up until the 1950s without changing them, unlike the Brits and Canadians.
Gotta remember that pronunciation.....hard to not say it like the actor John Lithgow. I like the non British non Canadian heritage....pretty cool.
By the way.....didn’t they melt all your guns down a while ago?
@@MilsurpGarage Haha, a common misconception. It's obviously a political issue, which many will disagree with, but basically, after a particularly horrendous mass-shooting, the firearms laws in Australia were tightened, and a firearms amnesty/buyback was introduced, which is where all the melted down vision came from. However, during this, it was decided to severely limit access to military calibre self-loading rifles, so licensing for them is very stringent. Aside from that, Australia has a strong target-shooting and hunting following, and an interest in collecting historic military firearms. There is a procedure that we have to go through to buy firearms, and their storage is monitored, and can be inspected. I'm a target shooter, and have a 1911 BSA .310 Cadet, given to me on my 11th birthday, my 1941 Lithgow SMLE, and a 1941 Fazakerley No4 Mk1 (T) Sniper clone.
I just got one given to me by my father, but the muzzle guards and the muzzle cap were both missing. I would like the bayonet too...
I have the same rifle passed down from my grandfather, it was altered into a hunting rifle unfortunately, I would like to use it do you think it would be safe to shoot modern 303?
just a comment on the correct name of your rifle - technically it's a ' rifle No 1 Mk III star, strikeout three" meaning it was made without the magazine cutoff in 1918 as a MkIII*, but later was reverse converted to a MkIII with the magazine cutoff. This wasn't uncommon between WWI and WW2. Pretty cool gun.
Interesting, thanks for the info. With these particular rifles, there is a LOT in the name!
If it was made without the cutoff in 1918, who added it back, why, and when?
What are these worth i have one but with a longer barrel
Beautiful rifle! Did you restore it or was it purchased in this condition?
gbuko2391 Purchased looking this good, check the other comments for some interesting info.
@@MilsurpGarage I took a look at them, great info! I just acquired a 1917 No.1 Mk3* and have no idea where to start on markings. Just admiring your stock, as mine has been a nightmare of a project to get the old stock oil/grime out and refinishing. The stock was nearly black but 5 hours later with soap/water and acetone and I can finally start to see the original finish. Reblued all of the metal as well but nowhere near as clean as yours!
I've never seen an #nfield III so clean before, refinished/restored?
Yes, I would say restored at some point by a previous owner….check the comments here, lots of knowledgeable opinions.
Top wood don't fit right either , nose cap a repro?
Top wood seems ok......nose cap seems legit.
Do want another great mk 3
I have a SHT LE mk iii and it was sadly sporterized Around 1950 do you have any suggestions where I can send it to be restored?
Depending on what was modified during the “sporterizarion” you might be better off looking for another one in the condition you desire.
If it was just the stock that was modified you can replace it on your own. If the barrel was cut or serious modifications were done it will be cost prohibitive to restore…..and will still be a non original rebuild at that.
The Sporterized guns have a collector market all their own, you can even sell it to fund the switch.
@@MilsurpGarage the barrel was cut down to 20 inches and the stock was modified so I think it can be restored
@@dutchvanderlinde7531 How are you going to restore the cut down barrel?
@@MilsurpGarage I can get a barrel from a parts kit but the thing that hurts is all the components are original to the gun
@@dutchvanderlinde7531 Well, that was my point earlier. Maybe finding a nice unaltered original in the condition you want would be a better (and cheaper) choice.
nice nik gat mate
I inherited one that is a 1918 shtle III, is this the same,?
I think so.....does it look identical?
@@MilsurpGarage pretty much, just some small different details
Doesn't look like the original woodwork. No markings on the stock. Usually have the serial number and dates. Plus the butt plate doesn't fit flush with the stock. Modern day wood I would say.
Not modern day wood but definitely refinished. What are ya gonna do?
about to say that stock No way it's from 1918 it's way to pretty , you mentioned it's from 1940s makes sense now . it's a beautiful stock with a healthy load of oil in it I can tell .
It is a sweet looking stock. Thanks for tuning in.
What is this worth?
One of the most common questions but like any collectible, there is no “price” other than what people are paying for them right now. Check Gunbroker “recently sold items” for the answer.
Thanks for tuning in!
Mine is stamped 19 19 smle Enfield
Sounds like a home field made in England Enfield
A good film involving Lee Enfield rifles is Nine Men.
Old bolt on it, mayby off a medford.
Pretty sure the bolt is the correct bolt for the rifle
It’s called the early type pinch bolt replaced in 1946
Odd. Having the. Cut. Off still on..
That is odd
Odd. But. Cool. To. Have. ..