1916 Lithgow No.1 Mark III Qs??

1

1/2 Brit

Inactive
Hello,

I have a concern about a 1916 Lithgow No.1 Mark III that I'm considering buying. It is being sold as a shooter and I've even shot it myself, it seems fine.

I wrote down the various markings and have done some research but still have many questions. Here are some markings I have questions about:

A) >S<: Sale or disposal to public, weapon serviceable = good.

B) FTR ( no year given): Factory Thorough Repair = good.

C) DP: Drill purpose, mixed reviews about Aussie LEs being decommissioned = bad?

D) JJCO NYNY import stamp: mixed reviews about them = bad?

A and C seem to contradict each other. None of the serial numbers match throughout the rest of the rifle. I really like it but I'm concerned....confused.

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

1/2 Brit
 
I am certainly no expert, but here is what I do know. JJCO NYNY, is John Jovino Co. who was the importer.

My personal experience is that a lot of the rifles that were marked DP were otherwise good rifles unless the were demilled by milling holes in the receiver and barrel. I have had a few of these heavily demilled rifles and there is no way you could shoot one safely.

If the headspace checks out and the barrel is good, it is probably a good rifle.
 
"...DP: Drill purpose..." Indicates not for use as a shooter. Mind you, rifles got DP'd for a myriad of reasons. Not all of 'em due to being unsafe. Sometimes it was just because somebody needed one and there was a spare rifle in to be FTR'd. However, generally speaking, DP rifles are not considered safe to shoot. And actually shooting it doesn't tell you anything except that something bad didn't happen, that time.
A rifle in for FTRing would be an ideal candidate because the cost of doing the FTR(that doesn't necessarily mean 'good' or safe to shoot either.) went away.
"...A) >S<:..." Does not indicate the rifle is safe to shoot, serviceable or good. It only means it was 'sold out of service' as in "We don't want this one anymore." Has nothing whatever to do with "Sale or disposal to public" either. Nearly all of that kind of stuff went to civilian milsurp dealers, who may or may not have been in the firearms business(might have been scrap metal dealers), not directly to the public.
"...import stamp..." That is a U.S. government required thing. Only matters to collectors. It doesn't mean 'bad'. Mind you, some importers are well known for assembling rifles out of parts bins with ZERO QC. Not even checking the headspace to ensure the rifle was safe to shoot at all.
 
I have a No1 Mk III marked DP, and the only thing done to it to de-mil it was cut a slo in the chamber area of the barrel and remove the firing pin tip. Nothing else much wrong with it, all the parts are there, it's just not in firing condition as it sits. But if I had a hankering, I could put it back into shooting condition. It would cost way more than the rifle is worth to most people, although I recently rebuilt a No1 Mk III for a customer for a neat $1000.
 
Thank you all, I guess I'll keep looking for a nice Lee Enfield No. 1 Mark III, or maybe a Mauser, Mosin, or a newer M1A SOCOM.
 
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