Are Lee Enfield rifles good?

For service use, it was robust, reliable, and effective. Its bolt action was quick and smooth, allowing a soldier to make fast followup shots. Its 10-shot magazine had twice the capacity of its contemporaries, enabling small units to lay down an impressive rate of fire and keep it up longer.

Why is there no 303 British ammo?

Anyway, war came too early. The lee enfield had failed against the Boer’s in South Africa, but Britain had dragged its feet. The new round was not ready! Its new rifle was rechambered for the old 303 cartridge, the US 30:06 (m17) and manufactured as a stopgap until SMLE production could catch up.

What kind of cartridge does a Lee Enfield use?

Standard Mk VII.303-inch cartridge for Lee–Enfield rifle The Lee–Enfield was adapted to fire the.303 British service cartridge, a rimmed, high-powered rifle round.

Is the Lee Enfield still used in Afghanistan?

As of 2012, Lee–Enfield rifles are still being used by the Taliban insurgents against NATO/Allied forces in Afghanistan. [83] During the recent civil war in Nepal , the government troops were issued Lee–Enfield rifles to fight the Maoist rebels, and the Maoists were also armed with SMLE rifles, amongst other weapons.

What was the WWI version of the Lee Enfield?

The WWI versions are often referred to as the “SMLE”, which is short for the common “Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield” variant. A redesign of the Lee–Metford (adopted by the British Army in 1888), the Lee–Enfield superseded the earlier Martini–Henry, Martini–Enfield, and Lee-Metford rifles.

When did the Lee Enfield Short Magazine come out?

A shorter and lighter version of the original MLE—the Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield or SMLE (sometimes spoken as “Smelly”, rather than S, M, L, E) —was introduced on 1 January 1904. The barrel was now halfway in length between the original long rifle and the carbine, at 25.2 inches (640 mm).