r/canadaguns • u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist • Apr 18 '26

Milsurps / Prohib Let's Talk Lee-Enfield's

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The Lee Enfield, a rifle that everyone is familiar with and many seem to own, yet somehow I never ended up adding one to the collection.

I'm playing catchup now and would like to pick up a Lee Enfield, the question is which one?

From my understanding there are 5-6 models of the rifle that evolved over it's ~60 years of military service.

For someone looking to buy their first, which examples should I be looking out for? Any to avoid? No.1? No.4? SMLE? Jungle carbine? Long Branch (Made in Canada?).

Also, there were a couple misconceptions surrounding this rifle that I had been told for years, the first was that these were $300-$400 rifles, that only appears to be the case for sporterized examples. Clean unbastardized examples seem to be going for $1,200-$1,800 at retailers today.

The second being that .303 ammo was "expensive" and hard to come by. Neither of these seem to be true as it’s priced comparable to 308 and I am seeing a ton in stock (PPU, S&B etc).

Edit: I think I have decided on a No.4 Mk 2 Long Branch.

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34

u/blogginsgod Apr 18 '26

A few years ago they were $300 rifles. With the bans on most rifles the demand is higher so prices have gone up on pretty much everything left. Also the ammunition is crazy expensive as the military surplus has all been fired...

9

u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 18 '26

The surplus may be gone but I'm seeing plenty of what I would consider cheap modern .303 from European brands. Not significantly different than 308, 6.5x55 etc.

28

u/YYCWood Apr 18 '26

A lot of people see $2/rd as way too expensive, and miss the good old days of $0.20/rd.

The catch is that most people here are only just realizing that their wages aren’t keeping up with the inflation that has hit everything, and are only now just realizing it has hit their hobby - that later stage capitalism means their pay gets them less and less every day, and that wages have been detached from productivity for fifty years.

6

u/blogginsgod Apr 18 '26

I'm lucky to live in a low cost of living area now with a pretty good gun community. The range though seams to be controlled by a few retirees who can complain. Although they also have valid points as i have watched younger shooters like myself purposely blow apart the target frames.

5

u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 18 '26

Yeah that’s fair. I have a bit of a warped sense of ammunition costs as most of my favourite calibers cost me $5 to $20 per round.

$2 I can live with and plink all day long.

3

u/Q-Ball7 In the end, it's taxes all the way down Apr 18 '26

Note also that some of this is warped by local gun store prices and the 2020 Uncommon Cold; soft-point .303 will run you between 60-80 dollars there per box of 20 (and that's generally all they stock).

Honestly, PPU tends to be the MVP for older military calibers since they still make basically everything. Not really a surprise considering who's in the neighborhood buying from them (for whom ordering several million rounds of 7.5 French to keep a group of AA-52s running would be realistic) but still.

3

u/mischling2543 Apr 18 '26

$20 a round? Are you shooting .338 Lapua? And if so why are you hesitating about the cost of a Lee Enfield?

3

u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 18 '26

Not hesitating, just surprised.

458 WinMag, 416 Rigby etc.

1

u/IGnuGnat Apr 18 '26

This is exactly why one should collect military surplus: to protect ones net worth from inflation. That's right: buy old guns, in order to GROW your worth. This works better when the Liberals don't ban them. However, the more they ban, the more valuable my collection tends to become.

If you don't buy guns that the Liberals tend to ban, the Liberals have actually made you wealthier by making your guns worth more.

Thanks Trudeau. Thanks Gary! Thanks, Nathalie! The more you flap your lips the wealthier I get

I maintain that this is your fault: https://imgur.com/a/russian-contract-smith-wesson-no-3-second-model-revolver-2y496nG

better than CAD in the bank that's for sure

5

u/Strong_Mayhem Apr 18 '26

I guess the term "cheap" in this case is relative. The surplus stuff was significantly cheaper than modern stuff, so that is what most people are comparing to.

1

u/blogginsgod Apr 18 '26

Cheapest I'm finding is about $2.50 a round for rifle line at a local sports store. Canadian tire has same listed for about $4 a round. I also live in northern ontario so shipping here is sometimes hard depending where I am. Got a set of reloders sent up though and trying to find someone to teach me!

3

u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 18 '26

I’m seeing $1.76 a round at Tenda for S&B.

3

u/Q-Ball7 In the end, it's taxes all the way down Apr 18 '26

As a benchmark, the bill of materials to reload 1 round of .303 (ignoring the cost of brass) is currently about $1.40.

This is about as good as it gets.

1

u/Accomplished-Beat779 Apr 18 '26

Yes i juts got 10 boxes there, sadly that is the best deal I can find.

1

u/Infinite_Price_3550 Apr 18 '26

If you are in the GTA you can get bulk .303 from G4C for $2 a round

2

u/blogginsgod Apr 18 '26

Yeah I might later this year but I live 16-18 hours from the gta. Also canada post has left ammunition on my porch and I'm in a sketchy area with lots of wandering crackhead porch pirates. Was lucky my old nosey neighbor saw it and grabbed it for me!

2

u/mischling2543 Apr 18 '26

Thunder Bay then?

1

u/Infinite_Price_3550 Apr 18 '26

Ouch that is a bit of a drive haha. Well if you end up making a trip down here from reason check it out. And ya having ammo left on the first steps is not good. I had it happen with a firearm once. Thank god the wife was home to grab it.