Savage Enfield No4Mk1* .303B - new to me

[S12A]

Picked this one up from an older gentleman who is retiring from the iron sights game due to age/eyes,

It has been bedded / centre bedded, is a 2 groove bore which has some life left, probably a 6-7/10 .

The wood is really nice, park isn't bad but some marks of age, rust spotting etc.

Likely made between 1943-1945 as it isn't engraved with a date, something Savage stopped doing at some stage after '42.

It is "US Property" marked and then also has the New Zealand "NZ" and broad arrow on the LHS butt socket, not unusual quite a few went to NZ and saw service. A bunch turn up un-issued from there occasionally.

Fitted with a Mk3 sight, was most likely originally fitted with the 300/600 flip style sight originally or so I am told.

0 Bolt head which is always nice, action rails are nice with no gouges or chips, trigger is a little heavier than my SMLE but good enough.

 

[S12A]

The bedding:

 

[S12A]

Stamps/ Engraving:

 

[S12A]

Muzzle/ sights

 

[acudaowner]

nice get find or buy ,very cool .

 

[S12A]

It also came with a bayonet.

It's a No9Mk1 variant, and made by POF (Pakistan Ordnance Factory) in 1957 , very nice as far as i can tell, fits up well.
POF purchased the left over machinery from Royal Ordnance Factory Fazakerley in the late '50's for production of the No4Mk2, these bayonets suit those.

 

[Sirshredalot]

Im jealous. The enfields captivate me for some reason.
Nice looking piece.

Shred

 

[Lange Carabine]

Picked this one up from an older gentleman who is retiring from the iron sights game due to age/eyes,

It has been bedded / centre bedded, is a 2 groove bore which has some life left, probably a 6-7/10 .

The wood is really nice, park isn't bad but some marks of age, rust spotting etc.

Likely made between 1943-1945 as it isn't engraved with a date, something Savage stopped doing at some stage after '42.

It is "US Property" marked and then also has the New Zealand "NZ" and broad arrow on the LHS butt socket, not unusual quite a few went to NZ and saw service. A bunch turn up un-issued from there occasionally.

Fitted with a Mk3 sight, was most likely originally fitted with the 300/600 flip style sight originally or so I am told.

0 Bolt head which is always nice, action rails are nice with no gouges or chips, trigger is a little heavier than my SMLE but good enough.
View attachment 7393067

View attachment 7393068View attachment 7393069

Your rifle is the 524,537th one to roll off the assembly line in late April 1943.
I've had several Savage No.4's but this is my favorite, '42 No.4 Mk.1* T.

 

[S12A]

Thanks for the info mate, and wow that is a very nice Savage well done

Your rifle is the 524,537th one to roll off the assembly line in late April 1943.
I've had several Savage No.4's but this is my favorite, '42 No.4 Mk.1* T.

 

[crackerbrown]

Thanks for the info mate, and wow that is a very nice Savage well done

Very nice! And that wood is beautiful, anything in the but stock?

 

[S12A]

Very nice! And that wood is beautiful, anything in the but stock?

Thanks,
Pull through and an oiler, black plastic type.

 

[sandwarrior]

That is a very nice Savage S12A. And you as well Lange Carabine. I'm glad to see that some of these were able to stick around the world in places they served. I think mine had a "Not made in England" stamp on it. So, it was returned to the U.S. It was a '42, I believe.

It's one of those things that drives me nuts today in that my dad didn't like old rifles and collecting them. We hunted one time with a guy that worked for us and he had sporterized .303. We didn't even see a deer that trip. My dad told me not to go around getting cheap military rifles. They're just not as good as a Remington 700.

I eventually picked up the bug and had a lot of fun with a bunch of them. I regretted having to sell my Savage No. 4 Mk. 1*, but had to finance going to a job.

 

[S12A]

I thought you might like it mate,
I have another one coming I will post a thread on when i can pick it up , its an unissued Fazakerley No4Mk2..

I've had to sell rifles in the past for other priorities, i feel your pain there but i guess it all comes around in the end.

That is a very nice Savage S12A.

 

[Gustav7]

OP,

Whats something like that worth?

I also have a 1942 US Property No.4MK1*, however its not a savage.

Very similar condition to yours, no bayonet. I bought mine years ago at a trade show and honestly I just don't shoot it much.

 

[Lange Carabine]

OP,

Whats something like that worth?

I also have a 1942 US Property No.4MK1*, however its not a savage.

Very similar condition to yours, no bayonet. I bought mine years ago at a trade show and honestly I just don't shoot it much.

Not the OP obviously but.....
If it's a US Property marked Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.1 or 1*, and the US markings are on the reciever ledge on the left side, it's a Savage. No other US arms maker made LE No.4's.
Do you see a "square S" anywhere on the left reciever sidewall or on the left side of butt socket?
Only other explanation for a BSA, Faz, Maltby or Long Branch having US Property markings is somebody's been up to some fakery.
Can you post pics?

 

[Gustav7]

Not the OP obviously but.....
If it's a US Property marked Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.1 or 1*, and the US markings are on the reciever ledge on the left side, it's a Savage. No other US arms maker made LE No.4's.
Do you see a "square S" anywhere on the left reciever sidewall or on the left side of butt socket?
Only other explanation for a BSA, Faz, Maltby or Long Branch having US Property markings is somebody's been up to some fakery.
Can you post pics?

I probably spoke too soon... IF thats the case then I guess it is a savage. Mine does not have the "S" where the OP's is. I'd have to go take a look to see if I can find an "S" some where else. Heres the photo I had in my phone

 

[Lange Carabine]

I probably spoke too soon... IF thats the case then I guess it is a savage. Mine does not have the "S" where the OP's is. I'd have to go take a look to see if I can find an "S" some where else. Heres the photo I had in my phone

View attachment 7401442

That is a Savage made No.4 Mk.1* no question about it. The square S Savage makers mark is likely on the butt socket.
I have a '42 15Cxxxx with the S on the buttsocket between the s/n and date stamp. Sometimes they are lightly struck and had to see.
IIRC Savage stopped stamping mfg dates in late '42 and that's also about the same time they moved the Savage S to the reciever sidewall. There, another bit of useless Enfield knowledge.

 

[Gustav7]

That is a Savage made No.4 Mk.1* no question about it. The square S Savage makers mark is likely on the butt socket.
I have a '42 15Cxxxx with the S on the buttsocket between the s/n and date stamp. Sometimes they are lightly struck and had to see.
IIRC Savage stopped stamping mfg dates in late '42 and that's also about the same time they moved the Savage S to the reciever sidewall. There, another bit of useless Enfield knowledge.

Nothing is useless my friend... just depends how few people it isn't useless to

Thanks for the info.

Whats a rough estimate of what these are worth?
Lets say pretty good shape. Mine has very few dings, and the bore is super clean. Honestly doesn't look like it could have seen too much action.

 

[Lange Carabine]

Nothing is useless my friend... just depends how few people it isn't useless to

Thanks for the info.

Whats a rough estimate of what these are worth?
Lets say pretty good shape. Mine has very few dings, and the bore is super clean. Honestly doesn't look like it could have seen too much action.

Honestly, I havent kept up with the milsurp side of things for several years now. Would also need lots more pics to get an idea as to its condition.
Value will depend on how correct and original it is, i.e. whether or now it's been FTR'd and refinished(looks like it still has the original dulite finish on the reciever to me) and is still in full military trim with all, or mostly all, Savage made parts. As I understand it, it's not uncommon to find an otherwise correct/original Savage with a Long Branch part or two and vice versa.
Best way to get an idea of value is to look at COMPLETED auctions on gunbroker.

 

[sandwarrior]

Don't forget the "C" in the serial number. That is Savage's code for production of these. Sometimes it's the only way to tell as mentioned above the nomenclature is either lightly struck or even scrubbed. (blasphemy!)

 

[sandwarrior]

OP,

Whats something like that worth?

I also have a 1942 US Property No.4MK1*, however its not a savage.

Very similar condition to yours, no bayonet. I bought mine years ago at a trade show and honestly I just don't shoot it much.

A lot more than I paid for mine in 2007, $79.00.

 

[Gustav7]

A lot more than I paid for mine in 2007, $79.00.

I sometimes regret how immature I was regarding firearms when I was 16-20yrs old. I bought stupid shit, and one of my good buddies, who was both introverted and OCD, studied firearm history and made some rather great firearm purchases lol .. I think he tripled his firearm value with like 4 or 5 well thought out purchases at the right time

 

[Lange Carabine]

Don't forget the "C" in the serial number. That is Savage's code for production of these. Sometimes it's the only way to tell as mentioned above the nomenclature is either lightly struck or even scrubbed. (blasphemy!)

Good point. FWIW, the "C" indicates it was made at the Chicopee Falls plant....reckon I spelled that right.

 

[S12A]

I'm the wrong person to ask for values unfortunately, I'm in Australia so our dollar is different and we do not have the same volume of rifles, so mine was a good deal at $800 Australian.

In the whole country if you checked all the online dealers at the moment there is less than 20 Savage No4Mk*s , even less Longbranch's or other makes. We get plenty of SMLE's here as we made them at Lithgow and they saw a long period of service.

 

[Old Soldier]

As to price. Not long ago, say 5 years, they were $250 or so. The supply kind of dried up recently, could pay slightly north of $450 or so for a nice one. Quite a bargain really.

 

[Gustav7]

I keep going back and forth on whether I should sell mine. I finally got rid of my Mosin a while back after I realized my collection of WWII guns wasn't really a collection and I kept putting money towards other categories lol...

 

[mgrs]

Nothing is useless my friend... just depends how few people it isn't useless to

Thanks for the info.

Whats a rough estimate of what these are worth?
Lets say pretty good shape. Mine has very few dings, and the bore is super clean. Honestly doesn't look like it could have seen too much action.

I have wanted one and have been trolling US Property Marked No4s for some time.

$550-650 forum sale. $500 would sell inside 24 hours.

$600+ on gunbroker, not sure of the upper limit there as final prices can vary widely based on seemingly nothing. A non-FTR'd Savage with flip sights went for $643 two days ago.

 

[Gustav7]

I have wanted one and have been trolling US Property Marked No4s for some time.

$550-650 forum sale. $500 would sell inside 24 hours.

$600+ on gunbroker, not sure of the upper limit there as final prices can vary widely based on seemingly nothing. A non-FTR'd Savage with flip sights went for $643 two days ago.

PM'ed