Breech loading SMLE?

[jacobtowne]

@George_Eller

IIRC, the early models of SMLE even had a single shot feature. A plate that hinged at the side of the receiver that could be slid over the magazine through a slot in the receiver wall. Cartridges were loaded and fired one round at a time with ten rounds held in reserve in the magazine for emergencies. I think the feature was eliminated during the First World War in order to simplify and speed up production.

It’s a magazine cutoff, and was discontinued during WWI, as you say, for production reasons. It was reintroduced after the war. The rifle in my earlier post was made at B.S.A. in 1927, and has the cutoff.
JT

[pdf27]

George Eller:

1. The record at Hythe ranges is 38 rounds in a minute, not 28 - scored as number of shots hitting the target, rather than number fired.
2. Mod request - please shrink your sig. For those of us on smaller screens, the width of it is distorting the thread and making it hard to read. It is also rather tall.

[George_Eller]

@jacobtowne

It’s a magazine cutoff, and was discontinued during WWI, as you say, for production reasons. It was reintroduced after the war. The rifle in my earlier post was made at B.S.A. in 1927, and has the cutoff.
JT

Thanks JT, I have a couple Lee-Enfields myself - pictures are further below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SMLEAction.jpg
The Receiver and Action of a 1908 RSAF Enfield .303 Calibre Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III rifle, clearly showing the Magazine Cut-Off. Photograph taken by Coggansfield, 2006, and used with permission.

I have two Lee-Enfield rifles:
SMLE No 1 Mk III* made at a BSA (Birmingham Small Arms, Co.) controlled company near Birmingham in Shirley, England in 1940. (however mine does not have a magazine cut-off).
and No 4 Mk I* made at the Long Branch Arsenal near Toronto, Canada in 1942
Both have issue slings and bayonets.

Same as above with slightly different lighting:

@pdf27

George Eller:

1. The record at Hythe ranges is 38 rounds in a minute, not 28 - scored as number of shots hitting the target, rather than number fired.

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

The current world record for aimed bolt-action fire was set in 1914 by a musketry instructor in the British Army — Sergeant Instructor Snoxall — who placed 38 rounds into a 12" target at 300 yards in one minute.

Pretty amazing feat

I’ll work on shrinking my sig tonight.