Before and After pics--the Enfield Project is complete.

The #4 Enfield Long Branch project is finished.

In a few weeks, it's gone from this:

to this:

All it took was a new stock set and metal, a week's worth of linseed oil application, and a couple hours elbow grease with steel wool and oil on the metal, and a new magazine, and she's all ready to head off to France to refight the landing at Juno Beach, Normandy.

I kept the original buttstock as it was looking fairly decent and because, while I could and did get the stock bolt out courtesy of a new long screwdriver from NAPA, I could not get the buttplate screws out, and I was going nuts trying to sand down the mounting area of the new buttstock to get it to actually fit on the rifle. So I let it keep it's old stock, at least for now. It was definitely a chore to finish-inlet the forestock to get that to fit. OMFG was that a chore. It was too tight at the area where the receiver lugs sit in, and that's a critical-fit area for the #4 Enfield. Take off a bit too much wood and you ruin the fit and accuracy goes out the window.

But I got it finally, and it fits tight and looks good.

The rest of the metal ordered from Sarco wasn't in as good of shape as I would have liked, but then again, it's a closer match for the rest of the rifle's metal, so I won't bitch. I will, however, bitch about the British obsession with weird little screws and proprietary tools that you can't get today, like the one that holds the front sight blade on. There's a handguard band that had to go on just ahead of the receiver and it was originally put on at the factory before the front sight was as the band is a one-piece metal ring. Whoever bubba'd this rifle had cut the old one off, and the new one wouldn't clear the front sight post with the blade installed. Since I had to have it on, and since I could not remove the blade to get it on, I was stuck for a bit. Finally, I carefully bent the ring into an oval shape, allowing it to pass over the blade, and then re-bent it back to proper shape and slid it into place. Got lucky there as it worked perfectly.

It is missing a forward sling swivel, as I somehow managed to leave that off my order list. (Note: before calling a company to complain that they forgot to ship you a part, go back and look at the order form to make sure that you asked for it.) Fortunately I checked before calling Sarco and looking like an idiot. Fault was mine and a new swivel is on the way so that I can mount the new sling that I bought for this rifle. But lack of tat swivel won't keep me from shooting this rifle next Monday when I get some more range time. If she shoots as good as she looks, I'll be happy. For now though, once I quit playing with it, it's up to the Enfield rack in the gun room.

And she'll be in good company here.

From top to bottom: British-made at Royal Ordnance Factory, Maltby, 1941; The Canadian Long Branch, 1944; and a US-made Savage, 1944.