S&T Lee Enfield No.1 MkIII* SMLE Spring Rifle (Real Wood)

S&T Lee Enfield No.1 MkIII* SMLE Spring Rifle (Real Wood)

The Lee-Enfield SMLE entered into frontline service with the British & Commonwealth forces in 1904, exactly 10 years before the beginning of World War I. With its cock on closing mechanism and short length of pull the SMLE could be fired extremely quickly by a trained rifleman and this dramatically improved the firepower available to infantry units at the time. Indeed, it was whilst armed with the Lee-Enfield SMLE that the first British troops to encounter the German Army in WWI made the Germans believe they were under machine gun and not rifle fire because the incoming volume of rounds were so intense. 

If you check on the SMLE on Wikipedia you will see that the rifle has the in-service date of 1904 - Today, that is because this rifle is still used around the world by various forces including the Taliban & Indian Police units. The SMLE was used by Commonwealth forces such as Australia and New Zealand in WWII and beyond because they did not move production over to the cheaper and easier to produce No.4 MK1 as the British had done. The SMLE is regarded as one of the best bolt action battle rifles in history. 

This S&T reproduction is a fantastic replica of the famous SMLE, with a real wood stock, Iron Cylinder and almost full metal construction this rifle comes in at 3.5kg, that is less than 500grams lighter than the real rifle. S&T have decided to go with the slightly later square cocking piece which is most commonly seen on SMLE rifles. The neck has realistic markings with a Crown, G.R (Georgius Rex, Latin for King George), S&T have decided to add no makers mark which can also be found on real steel SMLE rifles which denotes that the rifle is produced using subcontracted parts at the Enfield Lock National Small Arms Factory in London. The Model stamp shows Sht LE MKIII * which on real rifles shows that the rifle has been updated from MKIII to MKIII* configuration which allows for the use of BNP marked barrel / Smokeless Powder Ammunition. The markings are realistic and well pronounced. The chamber also has a serial number engraved which helps to add to the detail of the rifle. 

Overall the screws used are correct to period and are flat head design only, philips head of course not being invented until the 1930s. Threre are some small screws around the airsoft rifle that cannot be found on the real rifle and the fitment of the nose cap differs but overall the attention to detail is very good. The hop adjustment is cleverly tucked away under the rear sight protector wooden handguard which makes it easy to get to without ruining the overall look of the rifle. 

The wood has a lovely dark, grainy finish which lends itself to allowing the rifle to show some age and the metal is finished with a brushed black oxide that also provents the rifle from looking like a brand new toy. The rear sight is very close to the real steel, however, it has a black and not polished top, the rear sight is adjustable for windage by losening and tightening the screw to move the V notch left and right, windage is adjusted via the quick slider which is easy to access. This rifle does not feature volley sights as can be found on earlier model SMLE rifles. 

The magazine is of course a detachable box type made of steel it is released via a magazine release catch inside of the trigger guard. The butt pad is made to appear as though it were brass and with some weathering could be made to look realistic. Real Brass butt pads can be purchased easily from Ebay and no doubt fitted with relative ease. The brass butt pad features a trap door which enables the stock to be used for storage, in the real world this would be a cleaning kit, for airsoft this can be used for sweeties, BBs and anything else you cant live without. 

Features

• SMLE Replica 
• Realistic Markings 
• 3.5kg 
• Real Wood Stock 
• Iron Bolt 
• Square Style Operational Cocking Piece 
• Detachable Box Magazine 
• Windage and Elevation Adjustable Real Sight with V Notch 
• Adjustable Hop Unit 
• Period Correct Finish 
• Period Correct Screws 
• 2 x Sling Swivel & 1 x Piling Swivel (Used for Stacking 3 Rifles together stood upwards, yes that was actually a thing)
• Fixed Front Sight Post 
• Safety Catch 
• Excellent Quality Replica with Great Attention to Detail