Outdoor Canada’s gun guy appraises your vintage firearms

What can you tell me about this older rifle (above)?

RICHARD BISSONNETTE

POINTE-CLAIRE, QUEBEC

I believe your rifle is a .303 Lee-Metford, made at England’s Enfield factory in 1888 and introduced as a British service rifle. The barrel was made with a rifling pattern designed by William Metford, which featured seven fairly shallow, polygonal grooves. This style was considered slower to foul and easier to clean when using black-powder cartridges, which were still in use at the time.

While it worked fine with black powder, the Metford rifling had a short lifespan when used with smokeless powder. In 1895, the Lee-Metford was replaced by the Lee-Enfield, which featured five-groove rifling of the square Enfield pattern. Lee-Metfords continued to see limited use in the British military, with some rifles provided to other countries. Australian and New Zealand soldiers fighting in Gallipoli, for example, referred to it as the “Long Tom” due to its overall length of more than 50 inches.

These rifles have become highly collectible

Though it proved reliable in battle, the rifle’s length made it unwieldy for use in close combat, especially with a fixed bayonet. It was gradually replaced by the shorter Lee-Enfield as it became available. Lee-Metfords used by the British army after 1900 usually had the barrels replaced with new ones using the Enfield rifling.

These rifles have become highly collectible. From what I can see in the photos, your rifle is in very good condition. If you decide to sell it, I’m sure it would attract considerable interest at a gun auction. I can’t find information on recent sales of similar rifles in Canada, but I see Lee-Metfords with asking prices of US$2,000 to US$3,000 on U.S. sites. Don’t expect the equivalent in Canadian dollars, however, if the rifle is sold at a Canadian auction. Prices tend to be lower here, as there are far fewer collectors, especially wealthy ones.