.303 BSA Sporter/Lee-Speed

Son of Dorn

Castellan
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 27, 2019
2,665
3,276
I've actually had this for a few months now, as it was a birthday present to myself back in July. My camera crapped out and my phone won't take good enough photos, so these are the ones from the listing. They don't really do it, or the sling, justice, honestly.

1631229503327.png
1631229561625.png

1631229928861.png
1631229967621.png

1631230023680.png
1631230070866.png
 
Beautiful rifle. Worth every penny you paid, if the inside is as good as the outside. True hunting (as opposed to a carry it on the quad, long range, hope the carcass isn’t flyblown by the time you get there) rifle. More images, please.
 
Beautiful rifle. Worth every penny you paid, if the inside is as good as the outside. True hunting (as opposed to a carry it on the quad, long range, hope the carcass isn’t flyblown by the time you get there) rifle. More images, please.
Carry it on a horse, perhaps! The sights are a 100/200/300-yard express with a friction-ladder for 400-1000y, so in those days you'd be pretty up-close and personal for sure.

Best I can tell from the proof marks, it was made sometime between 1904 and 1925 (I think), but there's one marking I'm unsure about that looks like a U with a diamond inside it. It might be a "sold-out-of-service" marking, but if so, that makes me really want to know what British army officer was packing this rifle and against whom!

ETA photo of the proofs, BSA emblem, and the diamond/U marking.
KIMG0872.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ZG47A
Great rifle. I’m a sucker for Lee enfields. Now you just need to get it rebarreled to 303/25 and you will really have a rig. In all seriousness though, lovely example of a Lee spotter. Happy birthday!
 
A little bit of an update on this. It's not a Lee-Speed (alas), but a "lower-grade" BSA sporting rifle. "Lower-grade" here having the meaning of "damn fine rifle but not as pretty or finely-featured as the higher-grade models", because oldschool rifle craftsmanship was one hell of a thing.

The mysterious diamond-in-a-U marking is indeed a "sold out of service" marking, specifically for South Africa. So there's a story or two behind this rifle for sure.
 
@Son of Dorn You clearly have a nice, special rifle. If you want to know more about Lee Speed rifles, I suggest that you go to the Africa Hunting forum and look up von Gruff’s posts. You will appreciate the knowledge that he brings to the subject and the images of work that he has done on his rifles.
 
@Son of Dorn You clearly have a nice, special rifle. If you want to know more about Lee Speed rifles, I suggest that you go to the Africa Hunting forum and look up von Gruff’s posts. You will appreciate the knowledge that he brings to the subject and the images of work that he has done on his rifles.
I am already on the forum and am acquainted with Mr. Von Gruff! I've been rather remiss in not ordering a knife from him and I really need to fix that... He pointed me in the right direction and another member there is helping me figure out a few more details about this rifle, namely bullet weight and type.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZG47A
Gentlemen, I bring some news about this rifle. It's a Lee-Enfield (or Lee-Speed or Lee-Metford, all of them technically are correct even with the lack of L-S patent) No. 4 Sporting Carbine, near-identical to the one at the bottom of this advert page.
1632181549658.png


And most curiously, a brief google search turned up this rifle at auction. Mine of course lacks the Royal Navy markings and the magazine cutoff, has a shorter 5-round magazine, and the ladder sights are regulated for a bit shorter ranges, but otherwise the two rifles are a perfect match. Indeed, my serial number suggests mine was made before this one.

 
  • Like
Reactions: ZG47A
The U with arrow is South African property markings.
The rifle in its military configuration was once the property of the South African government.
The bolt is a carbine bolt, note the flat end of the bolt handle.
There are a number of variants as most were made up as almost a one of one from surplus rifles and parts.
I'll see if I can get to some of mine and send off a few pictures.
They seem to run from bloody awful to absolute beautiful works of workmanship and art.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZG47A