[cjleete]

Thanks for that informative post. So is there any way of distinguishing markings that will signify when it was made? I also found a couple more things on it, upon closer inspection. One is R7 and the other says SURREY

If the receiver is marked "Long Branch", it is made in Canada likely during WW2.
I think the (F) engraved on the left side of the receiver means it was inspected and maybe repaired by Fazakerley Royal Arsenal before being stored postwar. A lot of those were sold back this way through Interarms and other importers.

 

[cjleete]

At one time it looked like this.


View attachment 177537
View attachment 177538
View attachment 177539
Enfield ~ No. 4 MK 1 ~ .303 British for sale (gunsinternational.com)

They were sporterized like the one above by cutting back the long stock and sold en mass. in the US and Canada. I bought my first deer rifle for $20, my pick out of a barrel with about a dozen in it. Killed 3 deer in 3 shots, so the do work. Probably the most common surplus rifle in Canada and close to the most common in the US for many years. Some were made in the US for the British under the land lease act, usually by Savage company. Since they were the common battle rifle of the British commonwealth they are found all over the world, many large animals including elephant and rhino were routinely killed with them. About the same power as the .308 rifle, slightly less. I carried mine as a young man in Grizzly country many times, and never had a need.

A point of interest. I am retired military and worked in intel and related fields. During the days when Russia attacked Afghanistan and the long war persisted, US trainers advised the nomadic tribes of the mountain regions. You may recall the movie Lone Survivor, that was the terrain. The nomatic tribes routinely carried the Birtish 303 rifle. It was common on a Sunday for the tribes to kill a goat and have a feast. When Sunday came, the goat was tied about a half mile to a mile away and the tribesmen would take turns shooting until the goat was killed. Using the elevated sights, and owning only one gun, they had the ability to judge range and dial in the elevation after only a few rounds. It would take only 5-6 rounds before the goat was killed and ready for butcher. The Russian Army was frequent to report that often a lone soldier would fall to his death from a snipers single round from the mountain above. After a long pause they would hear the sound of the gunshot, having no clue where it came from. This was the gun that created
that fear.


This from Wicki:
As documented by the National Security Archive, "the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) played a significant role in asserting U.S. influence in Afghanistan by funding military operations designed to frustrate the Soviet invasion of that country. CIA covert action worked through Pakistani intelligence services to reach Afghan rebel groups."[75]
Soviet–Afghan War - Wikipedia


There in an Enfield society or forum out there if you Google. Welcome to G and G.

The rifle in the last photo is like the one I grew up shooting. My dad's SMLE, he fixed a guy's car while we were travelling the ALCAN up to Alaska in 1970, and the fellow gave it to him for payment. Long Branch arsenal, 1943, sporterized in that same fashion, along with thousands of others no doubt.