Bob: All I can tell you is sales hype from
the seller and from the brochure that came
with the rifle. It was sold to me as a new
rifle. It was made in 1967. It was made as
a 308 2A No1 MkIII SMLE in Ishapore. Gibbs,
or Navy Arms, replaced the wood with new
and (I am guessing at this) cut back the
bbl to 20.5". A flash suppressor from a
No5 Jungle Carbine was added to the bbl.
The metal has all been finished somehow, I
suspect some sort of black paint. It has
calibrated notch rear sights forward of the
bolt. $190 is MSRP, I paid less at a gunshow.
I think it shoots well, but can't be sure
because of the notch sights and my old eyes.
It is more of a carbine than a bench gun.
Just tonight I am wrestling with trying to
get one of the "no-gunsmith" scope mounts on
it, so I can try it scoped this weekend.
IMHO, it will be a long term keeper. Nothing
like a .308. Also, I have seen scope mounts
that replace the rear sight, for a LER scope.
Thus a cheap Scout Rifle in .308 if I ever
decide I need one of those.
As far as you looking for a cheap .308. Well
so was I. My reading overwhelmingly pointed
to the Lee-Enfield as a great cheap bolt.
As always, YMMV. Good luck in the search.
The nice thing about this one is that it was
originally built as a .308, not rechambered
from a .303. I have no interest in a .303.
DanM