The Lee-Enfield No.8 Rifle

The Lee-Enfield is probably the first weapon I ever got to use and is probably one of my favourites (apart from the fact my skinny little arms struggle to hold the thing). It was, in various marks and models, the British Army's standard bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle for over 60 years from (officially) 1895 until 1956, although it remained in British service well into the early 1960s and is still found in the armed forces of some Commonwealth nations. In its many versions, it was the standard army service rifle for the first half of the 20th century and was adopted by Britain's colonies and Commonwealth allies including: India, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

After WW1 numbers of rifles were converted to .22 calibre training rifles, in order to teach cadets and new recruits the various aspects of shooting, firearms safety and marksmanship. These rifles were designated Rifle No 2 Mk IV and were generally single shot affairs, although some were later modified with special adaptors to enable magazine loading. After WW1 the Rifle No.7, No.8 and No.9 all .22 rim fire trainers and/or target rifles, were adopted or in use with Cadet units and target shooters throughout the Commonwealth.

Sights

The rear sight consists of a leaf, adjusting screw and a slide with aperture. The leaf is graduated in 25, 50 and 100 metres. When the sight is folded down the battle sight presents itself and could be used for all targets up to and including 300 metres but this sight is not normally used.