Hi guys, thanks for tuning in to another video on ForgottenWeapons.com.
I'm Ian McCollum, and I am here today at the Rock Island
Auction Company where we are taking a look at the last
version of Lee-Enfield rifle to be introduced
into modern active combat service.
This is an L42A1 sniper rifle.
And these were introduced in 1970, but most of them were actually manufactured in the 1940s.
And the reason for that is that they were all actually converted from pre-existing
Number 4 Mark I (T) World War Two ... pattern Lee-Enfield sniper rifles.
So, the British adopted the FAL, or as they would call it the SLR,
the Self-Loading Rifle, in 7.62 NATO.
But the FAL wasn't really that good of a sniper rifle.
You would expect when the British Army adopts a new rifle,
they are going to make a marksman's version of it.
Well, nobody, not the British or anyone else,
really succeeded in making a good marksman or sniper rifle out of the FAL.
It just didn't have the mechanical accuracy for it.
So the British Military kept its Lee-Enfield old-fashioned sniper rifles.
And interestingly it actually kept them in .303, even though
when 7.62 NATO was adopted things like ... all the Bren guns were converted into 7.62.
The .303 Vickers guns were replaced with 7.62, I believe FN MAG, machine guns.
But the Lee-Enfield sniper just kind of soldiered on in .303 until 1970.
And that's when this was adopted.
Now you might find it curious that the British didn't ever actually convert
their existing stocks of Number 4 Enfield rifles to .308.
We know the Indian government, the Indian military, did
convert their production in fact of SMLEs over to .308 (or 7.62 NATO).
The British never did. They did tinker with it, they experimented.
They were unable to get any really successful conversion process.
Apparently there were problems with private companies coming up with ideas,
and then patenting some of the aspects of those conversions.
And that led to some ... potential legal problems with conversions.
... The early attempts to make a 7.62 sniper rifle out of the Lee-Enfield
didn't fare very well in official government testing.
They were actually kind of out-shot by open-sighted .303 rifles.
Their scoped .308s were less accurate than the open-sighted .303s in some cases.
At any rate, it just really never worked out.
And what's kind of cool is in this situation it was actually the civilian shooters in Great Britain
that were pivotally responsible for the development of this rifle.
There were some competition shooters who also of course had this not particularly creative idea
to "Let's use an Enfield action and make a .308 rifle out of it."
But they figured out how to do it right.
They ... cut down the stocks, they put heavy barrels on them, they tuned them up,
and they made fantastically excellent competition rifles out of them.
And the military took note. And the military, actually in co-operation with the British NRA,
which I should point out is not the same as the American NRA.
They are both the National Rifle Associations, but the two organisations are
very much different from each other, and not connected.
At any rate, the British NRA was actually essential in the process of developing this rifle.
So in 1970 the British would finish up some of their testing,
and they would adopt this as the L42A1.
So let's take a look at what they changed,
because a lot of the stuff on here is still World War Two era.
So things that were changed on the rifle.
First off, the action was converted from the rimmed .303 cartridge
to the rimless .308, or 7.62 NATO cartridge.
So the magazine profile and shape changed, and that's pretty distinctive down there.
And there were some minor other changes,
like the extractor and the ejector were changed just to suit the new cartridge.
So, for example, ... if we can see it through there, nah, you can't see it through there,
but for example, there used to be an ... ejector screw on the outside of the receiver.
That's no longer in place on the L42 because in 7.62 NATO it doesn't need it.
The cheek riser of the original Number 4 (T) was kept.
The stock and the handguard were both cut down, and these are actually free-floated on the barrel.
And a heavy barrel has been fitted.
So this is a 27.5 inch heavy barrel.
It brings the rifle weight up to 12.5 pounds, which about a pound heavier
than the Number 4 sniper rifle, about a half a kilo heavier than the Number 4.
Kind of interestingly, the original Number 4 front sight and front sight protector wings were actually kept.
In fact they had to turn down the very end of the barrel,
you see this is a little smaller diameter than this.
They had to turn down the barrel so that they could fit ... that front sight assembly
onto what was a much heavier barrel than the original rifles had used.
And the nomenclature changed, so these are now marked L42A1.
And D71, I believe that is a 1971 manufacture date on this one.
However, because these were converted from existing sniper rifles,
you'll also find all the markings that would have originally been on a Number 4 Mark I (T).
For example, we have the "TR" stamp right here,
which goes all the way back to when this was a standard Number 4 rifle
and was found to be of particularly good accuracy, and thus
eligible to be converted into a sniper rifle.
We have "M 47 C", which is (still) the manufacturing code for BSA.
And then a 1945 production date there.
And the original rifle serial number: R39800.
If you watched the Number 4 sniper video, you'll know that that "T" stamp
(which is only about half surviving there), next to what used to be the ejector screw,
that T stamp was the final approval stamp for the Number 4 Mark I (T).
Now this scope base has been reused, so it had a serial number that has been lined out,
and replaced with the serial number of the rifle that it is currently on.
And we have the numbering of the actual scope rings.
So, as with the Number 4, these numbers don't indicate anything,
except you want, in this case, A295 to match 295, A296 to match 296.
So that ... if you take this all apart, you know which ring went on the rear and which went on the front.
The scopes remained the same, they continued to use Number 32 Mark III telescopic sights.
And you can see that designation right here.
It's a little tough to read because it's also been lined out.
The serial number and the production date of the scope do survive,
so serial number 28111, made in 1945.
And they have re-marked it here on the opposite side of the scope with its new designation
because they made a couple of little changes to the scopes.
So they improved the waterproofing seals.
And they also changed the range adjustment from yards to metres.
And after doing that they redesignated the new scope L1A1, right there.
So the serial number is actually stamped twice, because the original serial number was kept.
They just put a new designation and catalogue number.
Take a look at the elevation adjustment dial and you will notice a nice big "M".
That is to remind you, in case you forget, that this has been changed from yards to metres.
However, the adjustments remain the same: so 50 metre increments from 0 out to 1,000 metres.
The windage dial also remained the same, it remains one minute of angle clicks left and right.
In total, 1,080 of these rifles were converted over to the L42A1 pattern.
And they would serve in the British Army until 1992, when they were replaced with the L96A1,
which was a bolt-action sniper rifle made by Accuracy International.
A proper modern sniper rifle, with all the modern accoutrements that you would expect.
However, that leaves the L42 as one of the longest serving military sniper rifles.
I mean the Lee-Enfield system was first introduced by the British before 1900,
and here it is not fully declared obsolete until 1992.
It's not the longest serving example, but I think it's one of the best examples of
an early bolt-action system remaining in front line major military use for, basically, 100 years.
What's kind of cool is when these were declared obsolete,
... a lot of them were sold on the commercial market.
And in fact, a huge batch of them, well, relatively speaking, I think about 600 or 700,
were purchased by Navy Arms, a guy named Val Forgett.
And a lot of those came into the United States.
So, ... while these aren't common rifles, they are not incredibly difficult to find rifles.
Now this is a particularly nice example
that shows all the really cool World War Two to modern day progression.
And if you'd like to see more information on this,
specifically Rock Island's detailed pictures, their description, their value estimate,
a lot of people are interested in those.
You can take a look at their catalogue page for the rifle.
You can get there by way of Forgotten Weapons, linked in the description text below.
And that should probably provide you with any other information you would like to have.
Thanks for watching.