Number four mark one question 303 rifle

[Blr243]

Dogmatixzs topic prompted me to solve this issue I have with my smle. When I bought it 30 years ago it was a brand spanker ex war stocks bar one problem......somebody before me stole the genuine flip sight Of it and replaced it with a s**ty one. It has a big peep in the folded down position and when I flip it up it has a sliding scale for various distances , if I remember correctly 1200 or 1600 m max. It was sloppy in the housing and drifted left and right , heaps......I made up a steel washer 2 mm thick to solve the problem but The reality it’s Non genuine and it sux. Was my rifle originally fitted with one type or more ? Can u please post up pics of rear sights on your number four mk 1 rifles ?

[No1Mk3]

G'day blr243,
There were 4 different sights fitted to the No4 rifle, the Mk1 (Singer) sight with wind up button, Mk2 300/600 yard flip over, a wartime expediency that was replaced on most rifles post war, Mk3 (with Mk II leaf) with a small peep and straight spring lever adjustment and Mk4 (with Mk III leaf) with a large peep and curved spring lever. Any one of these may have been original to your rifle. I would fit a Singer due to them being more accurately adjustable, Cheers.

[Blr243]

Thanks for that. I never did understand the terminology of the different numbers. Are u suggesting that my no4 mark 1 is actually a no4 with a mark 1 sight? And that the mark part of a rifles description relates to the type of sight fitted ?

[No1Mk3]

Here are the rear sights but without a Mk2 as I don't have a spare at the moment, plus a variation of the Mk3

IMG_8052.JPG (450.15 KiB) Viewed 3659 times

IMG_8051.JPG (428.36 KiB) Viewed 3659 times

The Mk 1, 2,and 4 have 22mm wide bases, whereas the Mk 3, which it sounds like yours is, has a 20mm wide base and a 3mm spacer. the 1st Singer is off aNo5 calibrated to 800 yards and the 2nd is off a No8 calibrated to 100 yards.

[Blr243]

Thanks for the pics. And the details. Your right. Definitely sounds like mine is the number 3 with the spacer missing so I just added a custom spacer. So if I have a mark 3 sight , why is my rifle stamped no4 mk 1 ?

[No1Mk3]

G'day Blr243,
British numbering is far from straightforward, the rifles are described by the action type, so your rifle has the Mk1 action which were made in UK, US & Canada, pre-war a Mk1 Singer sight, wartime a Mk2 probably fitted, mid war a Mk3 or Mk4 sight, post war FTR and new production were retro fitted a Mk1 Singer. The same applies to the 4 Mk's of front sight. In Canada and the US a streamlined form of action was developed from 1942 and produced as the Mk2 body and the rifle became the Mk1*, later the trigger mount was moved from the guard to the action body which became the Mk3 body, and the rifle became the Mk2, later the body was streamlined again to become the Mk4, and used on Mk2 rifles from 1955 to 1956. Then we have the No5 Carbine!! I won't muddy the waters further, Cheers.

[bladeracer]

The "mark" of the rifle and the "mark" of the sight are two different things.

[in2anity]

They are quite common. Not so expensive to find a replacement, outside of normal retail paths.

[Blr243]

Thanks very much guyS but it seem s I better really get right into it to understand it , or just leave it alone ...but it Nice to have a bit of an idea anyway

[dogmatix]

My No4Mk1* came with the 300/600 flip sight.
I've since acquired the stamped steel Mk3 and the Mk1 Singer, which I've fitted, as I use my No4 for service rifle shooting.

[Blr243]

That’s an awesome pic of the rear sight over looking the bush

[in2anity]

I did a season with the mk1 on a no4 - you can sure shoot good groups with em, shot plenty of 80s. It’s just a little tricky on the prone line without windage adjustment - ye olde Kentucky windage only gets you so far. I run a Central now, and possibles are well, possible

[Blr243]

Did any 303 Rear sights have wind age adjustment built in ? I never did enjoy drifting front blades over

[dogmatix]

The SHTLE III (aka No1Mk3) had adjustable rear windage. You can find them and fit them to your No1Mk3*.

[Gun-nut]

Did any 303 Rear sights have wind age adjustment built in ? I never did enjoy drifting front blades over

The original mk3 SMLE did have a windage rear sight, but this was deleted during ww1 on the mk* for wartime expediency. On the no4 however there was no windage rear sights developed. There are however after market target sights for both rifles that are windage adjustable but can also be quite expensive depending on make and model.

[No1Mk3]

G'day Blr243,
No windage adjustable Service sight for the No4 was issued, but Parker Hale did make a replacement for the standard sight that had windage adjustment and could mount eyepieces called the Model 4. It is a direct replacement using the same pivot pin and plunger to fold down like the Singer. The only other option would be an actual target sight like the Parker Hale 5C, Cheers.

[Blr243]

Thanks for the info , I will look into the options. I’m not in a hurry.

[Blr243]

I found this freaky little number on the net this arv

[Blr243]

Somebody obviously got jack of drifting back and forth with a hammer

[in2anity]

Yes I have one of those also. The problem is, particularly during a service match, or deliberate, you don’t have time to be stuffing around with one of those tools. There’s a helluva difference between coming out of the sling to fiddle with the muzzle, vs a simple click or two on the rear sight. So you tend not to use it and just rely on the corners of the blade to Kentucky it. Also, they aren’t accurate in the sense that there’s no distinct “click” representing part or whole of a minute. But yeah, a good tool for initially zeroing your windage , or if you have plenty of time to fiddle.

[No1Mk3]

I found this freaky little number on the net this arv

Don't forget, if you get one of these, to check whether you have the Mk1 or Mk2 block band and undo the foresight blade lock screw on the Mk1 foresight block, Cheers.

[Blr243]

Good tip no 1. I would make one of those gadgets before I bought one but a good reminder about the lock screw. It’s been 30 years at least sinc I touched the front blade