r/canadaguns • u/BlandRusk06 • Apr 10 '26
Milsurps / Prohib Thoughts on restoring (un-sporterizing) a Lee Enfield?
I would love to have a Lee Enfield 303 British in original military configuration, but unfortunately those cost close to a grand right now, if not more. And I am not ready to fork that out at the moment. I could get a sporter for $300-400, and then buy an original stock and handgrips and put them back on. But I don't know how easy this is, and I have never done serious gun modifications before. I also don't know if any special parts are needed. Does someone have insight into this? Thank you for the answers.
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u/Successful_Swim6332 Apr 10 '26
A replacement stock set for any enfield is pretty expensive and hard to find. The stock should be a drop in assuming you buy the right stock for the right model. Could be a fun project.
Personally I would just buy a correct enfield in the original configuration.
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u/BlandRusk06 Apr 10 '26
I wouldn't buy a new stock set. I would look for an original manufacturer's stock that someone else removed and doesn't want.
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u/Q-Ball7 In the end, it's taxes all the way down Apr 10 '26
It would still need to be fit to the gun. These things were put together under severe time constraints and bad QC- they're even worse than the SKS in that regard (but that fact is covered up by it being easy to mount a scope and generally better ammunition quality). It's even worse with the No. 1 because unlike post-WW1 rifles, fitment is actually important to how well it shoots- their barrels need upward pressure at the muzzle to function properly.
Enfields are pretty thoroughly obsolete at this point- the Savage Axis is better in literally every way and costs about as much as a sporter does, and its ammunition costs half as much too.
You need to accept that this isn't the 1970s any more: you're buying a historical artifact that happens to be a gun rather than the other way around. That's in part why the prices are the way they are despite being the objectively worst possible option for a rifle in every price range at which they are found.
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u/Milkbagistani Apr 10 '26
No 1 Mk 3 or No 4 Mk 1?
Watch out that a lot of sporters have had the barrels shortened so the wooden forestocks and handguards won't fit. Also check when selecting a sporter whether or not the front foreguard band is still present. I may have the wrong term but on a No1Mk3 there is a ring around the barrel with a screw hole in it in front of the rear sight that the forestock is screwed in to. If that ring was removed during sporterization, it can be replaced but you will have to remove the front sight (easy in theory, almost impossible in practice without a full suite of tools) to do so.
I have remilitarized a couple of No1's and, while new wood is available for them, I was able to purchase two deactivated DP Ishapores for less than the cost of one complete new set; they transferred easily to the sporter. Prestige Stocks in Canada has very good stock sets available but the associated hardware (bands, screws, caps, etc) can get very expensive very quickly.
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u/Brandon_awarea Apr 10 '26
I’ve done a couple. Buy a DP enfield and buy the absolute cheapest sporter that comes with a bolt, mag, and an unaltered barrel (no replacement front sight or cut barrel). Some are easier to mate than others. Mine was a 1916 with the mag cutoff so I had to notch the wood to fit.
The mags that come with DPs are usually pretty shitty so I’d try to find a rifle that comes with an original mag (aftermarket ones are usually pretty crap). Also under no circumstances should you re use the bolt, receiver, or barrel. They are permanently demilled and the heat treatment is ruined. Unsafe to use
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u/BlandRusk06 Apr 12 '26
So if I don’t re-use the bolt, barrel, and receiver, and I remove the spotter stock, there is nothing left but the bands and magazine. Sorry, but what you say doesn’t make sense.
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u/Brandon_awarea Apr 13 '26
You are buying the stock and its furniture. Remove the stock from the DP rifle and put it on the sporter. this is a post I made on the project. Maybe it will clear up what I’m saying
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u/gugz92 Apr 10 '26
Im in the process of restoring a Long branch 1945 mk1* right now! (Will upload the final product in a few months). It would be cheaper and easier to just pick up one in good condition. I've had to source a lot of the parts from the UK and spent a pretty penny getting someone to redo the metal work and blueing. Bedding the rifle in a new wood stock is a real pain and a lot of trial and error. I'm doing it for sentimental reasons otherwise I'd have bought a good condition one from the get go.
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u/Eisenbahn-de-order Apr 10 '26
If you keep your eyes open there are examples for sale in the $6-700 range. Considering the parts needed for restoration themselves can amount to a few hundred $ you are better off just catching a good deal on originals. Not to mention they might be matching or partially matching.
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u/Infinite_Price_3550 Apr 10 '26
Be sure to post this in the r/leeenfield Reddit. Lots of people there that can help with this
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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '26
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