It lacks the common ladder sights of the period. However, that does bring me to one of the quirks of this rifle. I say this with a relative level of humility given that I know a reasonably well-trained British infantryman could easily shoot the pants off me on the range. On more than a few occasions, I’ve managed to cycle through the 10-round magazine in under a minute while maintaining reasonable groupings at 50 yards. The rough milling is a tell-tale sign of the demands for production needs during the war. (Photo: Paul Peterson/) The tooling is rough, the bayonet is little more than a hardened spike, and nearly every corner has been cut to streamline the manufacturing process. This “last-ditch” SMLE was manufactured in 1943, and it has all the signs of a wartime firearm made in the throws of desperation. More than 17 million rifles were made in this pattern, including some attempts at semi-auto conversions.īut it is one of the final variations that we have here. It’s not uncommon to find them among Afghan fighters even today. Until very recently, they were still on patrol in the Great North with Canada's Rangers. Sticking around with the "Territorials" of the Falkland Islands Defence Force, they were on hand for the Argentine invasion of that colony in 1982. After World War II, it was exported around the world as surplus to equip British allies and nearly anyone willing to raise a fist against the Soviet Bloc. It was only supplanted by the 7.62 NATO chambering adopted by the West during the Cold War.īritain’s SMLE rifle was a standby for more than a generation, and it saw Britain through two world wars. 303 was a staple for over 50 years in the British military. With the revolutionary advent of smokeless powder – truly one of the greatest developments in firearms history – the cartridge was updated to meet the higher pressures of the new powder. 303 British round was first developed as a black powder chambering. Standard stripper clips allowed for five rounds, making it easy to keep the SMLE rifles ready to fight. (Photo: Paul Peterson/ )
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