.303 Lee Enfield (How Much)

Hello,

Semi-sporterized military rifles do not demand much in the way of cash in my area and you are right that you will never recover your costs regarding the scope mount and barrel. Also the caliber and type of rifle are not big sellers here. Usually around $50 for altered and $100 to $125 for original condition. Try to find someone that is interested in odd rifles or bite the bullet and get what you can and don't look back.

Mike Scio OR

There are an awful lot of No.4 rifles around, both as-issued and sporterized. You might get $75 for it in a private sale depending on the quality of the stock bobbing and refinishing. Might be better to put the iron sights back on it and keep it as a knock around rifle for use when the weather gets snotty. Good hunting, Trevor. Michael

A sporterized .303. Hmmm, it's an obsolete cartridge. The NRA used to sell those army surplus guns back in the fifties for nine or eighteen dollars a gun. It would be worth more if it was military strack. I'd guess it's in the $35.00 to $85.00 range. Don't be surprised if about a million people don't want it at

I totaly agree with you, I've killed my first moose this past season with a sporterize no 4 MK1* and I wouldn't call the .303 british obsolete for a long time at least in Canada.

I have to agree with you guys about the .303 NOT being obsolete. Performance is comparable to the 30-06. Ammo is readily available even in the U.S. and if you reload yourself, the load selections are as broad as most any sporting round.

I have an original issue Maltby No4 Mk1 in full military configuration and a chopped down No4Mk1 with metal in mint condition.

If the rifle in question were mine, I'd do as Trevor suggested and keep it for a knock about. Contrary to the 'obsolete' comment, these rifles have not only taken Elk, Moose, and other large N American game, but Tiger in India, Elephant and Cape Buffalo!

My sportorized gun will go places I wouln't think of taking my 700BDL. I is compact, handles nicely and was designed to take a lot of abuse.

My friends tell me the same about the .30-40 Krag I still use. If it shoots straight and the target falls down with little or no travel after being hit the word to describe the cartridge is either venerable or reliable....not obsolete!

So, you want to buy another? I didn't say it wasn't a good cartridge, it has shot down thousands of Fokker tri-plane fighters and Albatross scouts. I prefer it to the 308 Winchester, and apparently there's an unlimited supply of ammo in Canada, but the question was; How much is a sporterized .303 worth? You can give your answer in Canadian.

[snip] [snip]

Lock time?

I still have one from that $35 barrle at Ramsey Outdoor store in Paramus NJ. I picked it up in 1957, I reworked the fore end and stock. It took me a year to get it ready for my first deer season, had one of those flip up sight for anything over 100 yards. Well it did the job on a 4 point buck, made me and my Dad jump for joy. I have had a lot of other rifles, but my 303 is still here and will be pased on to my grandson. I hope he gets his first deer with it.

Hi! I got my Dad to mail order a .303 Lee Enfield from a catalog back in the 1960's. It was legal to do this back then. I think the price came to about $25.00 total. Dad still has it and it still works fine for the deer in Texas. Always, Gene Rector.

To help with the value issue:

I just picked up a minty Lee Enfield .303 No.1 MKIII* for $35 CDN which is sporterized. The gunsmith has given it the thumbs up and says he would have bought it himself for that kind of $$. Don't know if the $ varies that much between the No. 1 & No. 4.