Enfield Naval No9 .22 Trainer

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  • mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    -I'm used to long searches for the magic combination of example/price and this latest one was no exception. Everyone who's hung out on this forum for any period of time knows I'm a training rifle whore. And in that universe is a special place for British .22 trainers. The Royal Navy No9 had eluded me for decades, with me being out-bid numerous times, left to soldier on with the hope that I could pull off a score before retiring from collecting (close!).
    -This week a very nice collection of rare Enfield rifles came to auction with everything from early Long Lees to carbines. Within this catalog were not one but TWO No9 rifles. The first listed was a gem with a correct Navy SN and in near unissued condition. So the strategy was to bid aggressively on this first No9 with the second lot as a backup if out bid.
    -As it turned out when the dust settled I was the high bidder on my fav. lot and managed to get it for well under market price (No9s generally sell in the low to mid teens, $1100-1500 on avg). In fact, reviewing all of the Enfields sold that day this was by far the best bargain IMHO. The second No9, in lesser condition, sold for the same money as mine.
    -It'll be a couple of weeks before the BBT delivers it but the auction photos are spectacular and will do for now. The only thing missing is a photo of the muzzle where text "Parkerifled A.G.P." should reside. I was thrilled to see that it has a very rare Parker front sight cover, something as a longtime Enfield collector that I've never been able to find.
    -The No9 was a .22 conversion of the No4 performed for the British Royal Navy. Very similar to the Canadian No7, it's a conversion of a .303 No4 to .22. According to Skennerton all different MKs were employed but most appearing to be the later MK2. So this example might have the later MK2 receiver mounted trigger. As the original markings were scrubbed from the butt socket it's not possible to tell from the auction photos. Approx. 3,000 were converted between '56 and '60. The SN on this example falls well within that range. Parker sleeved the barrels, added a .22 bolt head w. appropriate extractor and floating firing pin. As with most British Enfield trainers the magazine is an empty shell with ".22" stamped as it's a single load design. The rear sight is the std Singer type with "25 yds" marked on the side. I squirreled away a fully adjustable Parker 4C target sight w. 6 position adjustable iris that will find a home on this one.
     

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    Vietnam1965

    Active Member
    Sep 26, 2021
    354
    That's a beauty congrats. Its a great feeling to finally add that elusive weapon to the collection! It looks like a lot of fun to shoot. Did the British produce any during WWII of did they rely on the US Mossberg 42MB?
     

    h2u

    Village Idiot
    Jul 8, 2007
    6,693
    South County
    “I’m a training rifle whore”.

    YOU said it!!…:D

    I think I’ll prefer your pics over the auction house. For me- It’s not yours until I see it in your photo box ;)
     

    joppaj

    Sheepdog
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Apr 11, 2008
    46,452
    MD
    You really are an authority on this niche of C&R. Beautiful rifle Sir.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    That's a beauty congrats. Its a great feeling to finally add that elusive weapon to the collection! It looks like a lot of fun to shoot. Did the British produce any during WWII of did they rely on the US Mossberg 42MB?

    The British used an array of different .22 trainers during WW2. The most common would be the SMLE No2 MKIV which is a .22 single loading version of the ubiquitous No1 MKIII. The vast majority of No2s were converted from worn out No1s like this early SMLE with volley sights. Check out the stamps on the knox form, they tell an interesting tale...

    EY - Emergency use. This was added when the rifle was rated worn but deemed to have a little life left in it.
    DP - Drill Parade. Now it's worn to the point where it's unsafe to fire using .303 HV ammo.
    PH - Parker Hale's mark added when they converted the rifle to a No2 MKIV* in .22 LR. Most likely done in the 30's.
     

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    303_enfield

    Ultimate Member
    May 30, 2007
    4,650
    DelMarVa
    Will the British No 7 mag work?


    Asking for a friend :)
     

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    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Will the British No 7 mag work?


    Asking for a friend :)

    -Sadly no. The British No7 is unique in that it used a BSA sporting rifle magazine inserted into a modified No4 magazine (The BSA is not an easy mag to find these days). To feed it required a barrel with an integrated feed ramp and that necessitated a shorter bolt. The shorter bolt made for very fast cycling. It also meant that an ejector was needed to throw the empty brass clear, something that the single shot trainers didn't need. The No7 had the ejector bolted to the left side of the receiver, through a slot machined in the wall.
    -The British No9 and the Canadian No7 were very much alike using a full length No4 bolt with modified two pc firing pin and rim fire bolt head with appropriate extractor. Easy to modify from a No4 or use new No4 parts when compared to the British No7 which was built from the ground up as a trainer.
     

    firemanyz

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 25, 2011
    519
    Eastern Shore
    The stamps are way cool on the story they tell. They say hey I’m not great but can still shoot, then I’m tired and worn out too hey we’re going to bring you back to life as a trainer.

    Super cool
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    The stamps are way cool on the story they tell. They say hey I’m not great but can still shoot, then I’m tired and worn out too hey we’re going to bring you back to life as a trainer.

    Super cool

    The British didn't throw anything away if it had any life left in it. They did the same with rifles for grenade launching. Early in WW1 the grenade in use was a rod grenade which tore up bores. So EY marked rifles were culled and modified by adding first cord (crazy rare as it wasn't used for long, too weak) then steel and finally copper wire bands to strengthen them against the high pressures generated in GL work. This is an early SMLE that was worn out then converted to a rod grenade launcher with steel wire bands. It was eventually transferred from British to Irish service so lots of SNs lined out.
     

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    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    -Well the No9 finally arrived this week. Even better than I hoped. The butt and fore stocks are SN number matching. The buttplate is the nicest I've ever seen on any Enfield but for those "Irish Contract" examples that were sold new in the wrap.
    -The PH front sight cover must have been built for the military contract as it doesn't have the PH trade mark. And the muzzle is indeed sporting the PH "Parkerfied" stamp. Tried to take a clear pic but it eluded me.
    -This is as close as I'll ever get to a NIB British trainer. Watched a proper British No7 with transit case sell recently for nearly $4k so to get this delivered for under $1K was a dream.
     

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    joppaj

    Sheepdog
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Apr 11, 2008
    46,452
    MD
    That is really a beautiful rifle Sir. Seriously, that's a unicorn.
     

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