Old Rifle Converted to a shotgun(help!)

A friend from my rifle club has a .410 shotgun which used to be a .303 rifle but we don't know of wchich model. It's deffinately pre-1916 becuase it has a magazine cut-off plate. The bolt feels like an Lee-Enfield and the magazine, chamber, trigger guard, trigger, and magazine catch look like enfield parts so see if u guys can name it thanks

 

It's a Mk III SMLE Enfield. It has be converted to a .410 shotgun because of some sort of quirky British law. I don't remember all the details of it but there are a lot of these around (or used to be).

The wrist socket (the metal part between the butt and trigger guard) will have some markings. These will tell you who made the rifle and when. It looks some like this:

Crown over GR (or something like that)
Makers initials (BSA, LSA, RSA, etc)
date (1916, etc)

 

k thanks, to me the rear section of the bolt looked diferent but that might just me being stupid again.

 

smle

The 'quirky law' you refer to was simply that it was quite easy in the UK
post WW2 t0 obtain a 'shotgun licence' but far more difficult to obtain a 'firearms certificate'. thousends of enfields were converted and many were sold in the US still rifled and sold through gun dealers as hunting rifles. I had two smoothbores, one dated 1916 and the other dated 1943.
I have also seen them sleeved down to .22 for cadet ranges.

 

Ah, I thought it was something like that. I see a few of the .410ga ones around. Not very popular here in the US since we can get the real rifles for about $100 or so.

 

Re: smle

shotgun licenses are still easerier to obtain than FACs. i recon the .303 in .410 r still very nice guns. but thanks for saying about the .22 cadet rifles i never heard of that before

 

Some were apparently also modified to take an air-cartridge system something along the lines of the modern Brococks. These still crop up occasionally and are relatively inexpensive (As a bonus because they're sub-12ft/lbs there's no requirement for an FAC).

 

i always thought it was 11ft/lbs? i might be haveing another stupid momnet so corect me if im wrong

 

It's been years since I read an air-rifle magazine, you're probably right.

 

New news on the shotgun after reseaching it i've found out that it is a Lee-Enfield Mk.1 dated 1905. I forgot to include a picture of the bolt here so sorry but by looking at the bolt and other Mk.1 is was clear that it was a 1905 Mk.1 enfield and not an SMLE but thanks alot for the help guys.

 

Cool. I bet it would have been a nice collector's item if it had not been stupidfied- I mean modified.

 

Man you guys are so lucky........In Singapore,we'll hang you for owning a firearm

 

Cadts here use enfield rechambered for 22 ammo