Gun experts wanted

[neanderpaul]

Can anybody tell if this is worth anything? A guy is offering it in trade for a so so guitar and a good amp. He called it a shirley. It is from 1906 and is stamped with SHT.L.E. Any help would be appreciated.

[SimonTuffGuy]

I'd suggest taking it to a local gunsmith first - he'd be the first to tell you if something were wrong with it.

[anomoly40]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee-Enfield

Thank God for Wiki and the internets.

Also take a qtip and some alcohol and clean your camera lens.

[neanderpaul]

Good job anomoly. And thanks. My lens on the camera has millions of tiny scratches. Thus the blur.

[Dave G]

I'm certainly no expert, but I think those Enfields are dead common. 'Course, that in no way distracts from the fact that they are neat old things :-). I'll bet you can find some Enfield nuts out on the web somewhere that could give you a really good idea of it's worth.

[25Horseplay]

I'm no expert, but I like shooting stuff!

[Festiva_tunner]

I'm no expert, but I like shooting stuff!

I agree

[festivaWES]

looks like its a MK II

[muscle_Car1]

I thought is was an enfield of the bat, got mine for $80. Nice gun but the .303 you wont want to shoot for fun that much.

[quaddawg]

It is marked as a Short Magazine Lee Enfield, or SMLE rifle, Mark I* called a Short Lee (not shirley, although there may be some local terminology I am not aware of)

BUT, it doesn't have the forearm configuration of a Mark I... hmmm... I bet it's been "Sporterized" but I am not sure...

I am no expert, so I am checking with my gun guy... will report back.

Here is an explanation of the markings


Crown= England of course

E.R is for Edwardius Rex, or more commonly know as King Edward the 7th, the reigning monarch during the year of manufacture

BSA Co = Birmingham Small Arms Co.

SHT LE = Short Lee Enfield

I = Mark I

[Rumnhammer]

correct

Above is correct, it is a sporterised SMLE, the normal enfields are pretty cheap, $80~$120 depending on condition.
The ones that are sporterised, are usually done so because refinishing of the rifle is usually part of the process. Sporteriesing the rifle increases its usefulness as a sporting/hunting/shooting piece and as long as the gunsmithing is done well, it can increase the value of a less then perfect rifle. Looking at that one as long as the work was well done, it probably has about $100 worth of work done to it, so value would be in the $180 or so range. probably not much more since it is a very common cheap surplus rifle to start. bore condition would probably be a big factor here, since who knows how long this rifle has been kicking around.
Chris Rummel

[neanderpaul]

Re: correct

Above is correct, it is a sporterised SMLE, the normal enfields are pretty cheap, $80~$120 depending on condition.
The ones that are sporterised, are usually done so because refinishing of the rifle is usually part of the process. Sporteriesing the rifle increases its usefulness as a sporting/hunting/shooting piece and as long as the gunsmithing is done well, it can increase the value of a less then perfect rifle. Looking at that one as long as the work was well done, it probably has about $100 worth of work done to it, so value would be in the $180 or so range. probably not much more since it is a very common cheap surplus rifle to start. bore condition would probably be a big factor here, since who knows how long this rifle has been kicking around.
Chris Rummel

It says SHT.LE. Instead of SMLE and it says 1906 so it's been kicking around 101 years! I am pretty much dragging my feet on the gun. I don't really want it. If I knew it was valuable I'd get it. Thanks all for the input.

[quaddawg]

SHT LE IS a SMLE

SHT LE stands for Short Lee Enfield, which is the way the SMLE 's were marked. There is NO doubt that the gun is a 1906 SMLE called a Smelly, or Short Lee, it refers to the short magazine Short Magazine Lee Enfield S M L E.

MILLIONS and MILLIONS were made.. used by many forces into the 50-60's and even beyond. MILLIONS were cut down, as this one was... called Sporterizing. Made them easier to use for hunting, etc...

The gun isn't worth much at all... probably only $100 TOPS.. I could find you plenty for that price. The question as Rum says is the barrel, the powder of the day was highly corrosive and tended to eat up bores after a while.. SO, if it has a GOOD barrel, the price is about $100, if not, it's a wall hanger, and worth $50.00 or so.

They are EVERYWHERE, especially in Europe, and just not worth much. If the gun was in great condition, and recently cut down, well, MAYBE $120-140.. but I highly doubt it.. bank on $80-100, and it won't go up in price anytime soon.

[neanderpaul]

Cool man. Thanks for the info. That's what I've been hearing from everyone.

[monkeyracing]

Cool! An Enfield was the first rifle I ever fired when I was an Army Cadet. We started with the older Enfields like that, but they'd been converted to .22 caliber. The we got to fire the 'real' Enfield. After that, it was 50's vintage FN-A1s, followed by old Browning sub=machine guns. All but the .22 had a tendency to knock me on my ass. I was a really small kid for my age. I'm not what happened, cuz I'm a kind sized lump of a man now.