Here are some photos of a No.4 Lee-Enfield I just received from AIM.  The photos are big (except for the bore photo), so I’ve made them links instead of images.

In brief, it’s apparently a BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) made in 1942.  It was once covered in black paint, which is pretty much gone except for covered areas.  The underlying parkerized-type finish is very thin, and is totally gone in a couple of places.

It has one of those godawful looking stamped triggerguards (I hate those things, but I guess in 1942 the British had other things on their minds)!!

The receiver, bolt handle and the barrel have matching SN’s (cost me $10 extra for the bolt handle).  The magazine has both the rifle’s SN and a different crossed-out SN.  The forestock SN does not match and has not been crossed out.  

There’re no markings that I recognize as indicating the rifle was rebuilt in India.  The forestock does not have an “Ishy” screw.  However, the bolt head is marked “R.F.I. IN”, which certainly suggests this rifle was in India at some point.

Most of the wood is the somewhat light colored, non-porous wood often seen on Lee-Enfields (maybe coachwood?).  The toe and heel of the butt stock have been patched with a porous, reddish mahogany appearing wood.  The rear handguard is also made of this same wood, and both it and the two patches appear to have swollen substantially.  All of the wood is in surprising good shape, with just very light dings in it.  However, some parts of the wood are grease soaked.

The barrel bore is truly mirror bright.  Sadly, this appears to be the result of much use.  From the receiver end, the rifling is difficult to see (sorta like looking down a Glock barrel).  From the muzzle end, it’s sharp, but looks pretty shallow.  I guess rifling just gets worn on one edge, not both.

There is no evidence of any rust other than light pitting on the right side of the magazine.

Here are the photos:

Full rifle – right side: photos.ar15.com/WS_Content/ImageGallery/Attachments/DownloadAttach.asp?sAccountUnq=11633&iGalleryUnq=179&iImageUnq=27252
Full rifle – left side: photos.ar15.com/WS_Content/ImageGallery/Attachments/DownloadAttach.asp?sAccountUnq=11633&iGalleryUnq=179&iImageUnq=27250
Receiver: photos.ar15.com/WS_Content/ImageGallery/Attachments/DownloadAttach.asp?sAccountUnq=11633&iGalleryUnq=179&iImageUnq=27251
Bore (hard to photograph!!) – from muzzle and from receiver: photos.ar15.com/WS_Content/ImageGallery/Attachments/DownloadAttach.asp?sAccountUnq=11633&iGalleryUnq=179&iImageUnq=27253

My conclusion: Depends on how it does when I shoot it.  I’m very much afraid, given the barrel wear, that it may have a lot of throat erosion and thus may be really inaccurate.  Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with it.

That said, I do think these are overpriced a bit.

With everything (matching bolt SN, hand pick fee, and shipping) this thing cost me $172.  IMHO that’d be a decent price at a gun show where you could examine the rifle before buying.  For a C&R mail-order pig-in-a-poke arrangement, I think that’s maybe a little high.  Plus apparently all of these are from India – if so, I do think that should have been disclosed by the vendor.

I wouldn’t be surprised if these rifles go down in price in the next few months.

FWIW

Nice photos.  Actually that bore doesn't look too bad to me.  My #4 has a two-groove barrel, that's all.  Like you said, the Brits had other things on their minds.  Mine shoots fine, hopefully yours will too.  Let us know what happens.

Your rifle was most definately issued and probably FTR'd in India, all of this shipment were. Put it this way, the Brits would have been the only others to FTR this gun, and there's no way they would use RFI parts to rebuild it, so one Indian part=Indian gun.

I've talked to an importer who passed on this shipment of guns, btw. He said they came from Northern India.

The lack of black paint is probably from being power washed or scrubbed (by whom is anyone's guess) which knocked off the black paint the Indians slathered on their No4's. It's usually evenly gone, and that's the tip-off. If it were wear usage, it would look very different. The No1's I saw at AIM are in better shape, finish wise but are Ishapore guns through and through.

Yours may end up surprising you when you shoot it. I have some really questionable bores on my Ennies that still shoot 2moa with ease. Don't give up on 'er yet.

I agree tho that AIM and Centerfire should have been forthright about their history - and they both knew where these came from. They also should have priced them as such, but that's just my .02.

I got my No. 1 Mk 3 yesterday, took a few pictures but haven't had a chance to post them yet nor check out the markings.  Mine is soaked in cosmo, the wood is black with it but appears to be in pretty good shape, my metal seems to have a pretty good coating of paint, but its kind of hard to tell with all of the cosmo.  haven't checked out the bore yet. Now if i can just find that big honkin screwdriver i use to take the buttstocks off i'll try and get the metal cleaned up enough for pictures and ID.

At this point i'm thinking it looks pretty good, if it holds out i'll be happy.

I got my No. 4 from Centerifre today.  In the same condition.  Wood is in good shap but almost no metal finish.  The price seems a bit high for these.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys.  That bore does worry me, though it certainly is shiny.

I took the photos of the bore at a slight angle to bring out some shadows, and this actually made the rifling look a bit better than it is.  If you look exactly straight on from the receiver, it almost looks like a smoothbore shotgun barrel.  I continue to be amazed at the difference between looking at the bore from the muzzle versus from the receiver – they look like two absolutely different barrels.

Quoted: Your rifle was most definately issued and probably FTR'd in India, ...

No doubt in my mind either!!

I’m thinking it probably once had a forestock with an “Ishy screw”, but that fairly recently its present “Ishy screw-less” forestock was substituted.  However, the current stock has enough embedded crud matching the rest of the rifle to suggest that this wasn’t done by the importer.

Speaking of the importer, I forgot another peev!  Someone - no doubt the importer - hit the left side of the butt socket with a wire wheel (and hard!), obviously to make the SN easier to see. <sign>

The covered part of the barrel still has about 50 % of the black paint.  I’ve got to wonder if maybe most of the exposed paint just oxidized over time and fell off.  Power washing is certainly a possibility, though; the outside of the rifle was surprising clean while the inside was very heavily coated with cosmolene.

I just checked the headspace using the old – and not too accurate – tape on a cartridge head method.  I’m not happy.

The field headspace length for .303 British is .070”, mine mikes out to about .084”!!  Granted, the .070" is based on SAAMI specs, I have no idea what the British military specs are.  Anyway, I think there’s a new bolt head in my rifle’s future (if I can find one).

Thanks for the comments!  

Quoted: The field headspace length for .303 British is .070”, mine mikes out to about .084”!!  Granted, the .070" is based on SAAMI specs, I have no idea what the British military specs are.  Anyway, I think there’s a new bolt head in my rifle’s future (if I can find one). Thanks for the comments!

A new bolt head is not hard to find. Springfield Sporters or BDL will have them if Numrich doesn't. At least on the No4 it's an easy move up in numbers.

Oh, and the SAAMI specs are tighter than the Brit std's. The military spec was .070 for the no-go guage. If your specs are accurate, .084 is a bit generous but the Enfield design handles escaping gas very well, if you're not reloading for it it might not be much of an issue. Try a "remote" test on a few firings and examine your cases - I'd be surprised if you see any issues with fired ammo. Even if you do, another bolt head is an easy fix.\

Good luck.

UPDATE/WARNING

Arrgghh!!

Well, I kinda knew the headspace was excessive!  

I got nine rounds off in my new (to me!) No. 4.  The ninth one is in the left photo below (classic head separation).  

I also sectioned one of the other empties, which is in the right photo; you can see an incipient crack where the arrow is.  No doubt all of them are like that and, obviously, are unsuitable for reloading.



Strangely, all of the intact empties have also had the base angled a bit during firing; i.e., the base is no longer perpendicular to the round’s lengthwise axis.  This is barely visible in the right photo.

The rounds were fairly new, commercial UMC yellow box ammo.

I knew things were going wrong almost immediately.  Nearly all the primers backed out considerably, two of them were pierced, and one of them required two hits.

Plus, each time I fired, the bolt partially unlocked.  I thought at first maybe it was just bouncing from the recoil, so I tried holding the bolt handle down with my thumb while I fired a round.  This resulted in my thumb getting rather stoutly whacked!

When I fired the ninth round (the one that disassembled on me) I didn’t immediately notice anything unusual.  Then I saw that the bolt had almost completely unlocked.  I don’t quite understand this tendency to unlock, but I assume it’s a result of the excess headspace.

I then noticed that my safety glasses were covered with soot.  Later when I washed up, I found soot and a few powder flakes on my face.

This rifle is going to have a big “Out of Service” sign on it until I get a chance to rethink things.

Wear your eye protection guys!!

Glad you're ok.  Hope you get your rifle fixed soon.

Wow, so the question of the day is, who has bolt faces for No. 4 Enfields?  Numrich?

Numrich doesn't list any parts for the #4

Quoted: Wow, so the question of the day is, who has bolt faces for No. 4 Enfields?  Numrich?

Doesn’t look like it.  They’ve just got the lower numbers, which I believe are shorter.

I saw some on e-bay a few months ago, but they were being offered by some guy in Australia!!

There’s a parts place in Canada that might have the one I need – only I’m quite not sure yet what I’m looking for.

And I sincerely hope I’m not looking at setting that barrel back - after being on the receiver for 62 years, it’s certainly not going to come off easily.  Plus the barrel is notched for the extractor.

I was looking in the wrong spot:

#4 Parts

Quoted: I was looking in the wrong spot: #4 Parts

Yeah!

I had the same problem!  I looked under everything but SMLE!

For about a hundred more this guy has some nice enfields www.bdlltd.com/mil_sale.htm

Alot of people are really PO'd with AIM over the condition of the rifles and the fact they didn't describe them as Ishapore refurb's. The No 4's are way overpriced for condition and the No 1 Mk III* are alittle on the high end. I have a No1 on order from AIM and didn't cancel it in time so I'll find out next week how bad it is....

My .02 is these rifles came from the Springfield Sporters auction, SS had alot of Ishapore No4's and No1's and these were the bottom of the barrel leftover's.......

Springfield Sporters is back in the parts business, they are not closed. They simply stopped selling rifles last year.

Here is their site:

www.ssporters.com

Brian Dick at BDL will have the boltheads I'm sure too:

www.bdlltd.com

Quoted: My .02 is these rifles came from the Springfield Sporters auction, SS had alot of Ishapore No4's and No1's and these were the bottom of the barrel leftover's.......

These were not Springfield Sporters guns. Century bought all those last year.

This batch came from Northern India. They have been known about by the importers for a good while, but up till now apparently no one wanted them. Gee, wonder why!?

Quoted: Springfield Sporters is back in the parts business, they are not closed. They simply stopped selling rifles last year. Here is their site: www.ssporters.com Brian Dick at BDL will have the boltheads I'm sure too: www.bdlltd.com

Right on swingset.  Springfield and BDL are excellent resource for parts, as is, I've been told, SARCO.  

Additionally, regarding people's opinions of the value of rifles offered by Brian at Brian Dick Ltd., one should check a few threads over at the ParallaxBill's Curio and Relic Lee-Enfield forum, particularly this thread, as well as this thread at the Curios and Relics Forum for alternative views to obershutze916's previous.

O'DubhGhaill, out
Force Recon Association regular member #2259
LECS Member No. 03C1035

Quoted: I was at the Springfield sporters auction. Everything went.  Someone must have bought a bunch of their stuff and opend up a new place by that name.

I just got off the telephone with Russel Rodgers, President of Springfield Sporters -- new command structure, no rifles for sale after the auction, but now going and still in-the-family.  This is from their web-site updated 05 May 2004:


From the President of Springfield Sporters, Inc:

To our loyal customers,

I want to thank you for your interest in Springfield Sporters over the past year since we closed. We have been in the process of making many decisions and changes in order to re-establish ourselves into the type of business we want to be. Although there have been some changes, we will still continue in the tradition that my father, William H. Rodgers, started in 1961. We will continue to be one of the best suppliers of obsolete military parts and accessories that you can find, many which are scarce and difficult to obtain.

Until we finalize our updated listing of parts, those of you who still have our last catalog may use it as a reference for ordering. Please note that many of the prices have changed, so please call to confirm. These catalogs are available, free of charge, for a limited time for those who are interested. Please call, write, fax or email to request a copy while they are available.

The Springfield Sporters, Inc. website will be continually getting larger, becoming the expert source of knowledge and information that you are looking for. As we expand our website we will be adding a complete listing of available parts and accessories. Please be patient and check back often - there are thousands of parts to be listed!

We will also be working on setting up on-line ordering for 24 hour shopping convenience. Orders currently are being taken by either phone, fax or mail. MasterCard and Visa are accepted, and C.O.D's are available.

We are pleased to continue to offer a wide selection of parts and accessories for your consideration.

Russell J. Rodgers
President

Please note that I have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever to this or any other such enterprise; just providing as accurate as information as I find.

I stand by my statement.  Postwar beat up Enfields are not worth that kind of $.  Just because they are happy with what they have does not mean that they are worth that.

Really?  Isn't that what constitutes the very meaning and measure of "worth" to the new owner?  As the usual aesthetic-value-argument goes, they may "not be worth that kind of $" to you or other interested purchasers, but such is the nature and reality of a market....

I would not even conside any rifle in the condition most of those were in, esecially for post war and that price. $187 is the most I have ever paid for a mint Enfield, and I get to inspect them in person all the same.

I am curious, when, where, and what did you find at that price!?!?  Regardless, you are stating your personal standard on the topic and it is precisely my point that one is certainly right to hold such for themselves -- stand by it as you will.  I posted the links to the threads to illustrate, however, many contrasting differences of opinion and personal Enfield-purchasing-standards to yours, as well as several good reasons supporting such.  I, for one, appreciate/value a variety of information and input on a topic and think others might too.

O'DubhGhaill, out
Force Recon Association regular member #2259
LECS Member No. 03C1035

Quoted: First, I am glad that Springfield Sporters looks to be back in business.  I hope they grow back into what they once were. Second, yes, that is my opinion.  Don't like it, tough.

You seem to be taking my input personally; that's regrettable.  I never said I liked it or didn't.  I actually welcomed it with others...perhaps you need to re-read my post.

I don't buy shit rifles.  I remember a guy who bought a 91/30 once that was solid rust and was happy that he paid $30 and for a bayonet.  He shot it once and it damn near took his head off.  Really glad he was happy with his rifle.  I could only laugh at him when he threw a fit about it.  I warned him, as did many others.

Interesting to read how you found humour in a such a fellow enthusiast's life-threatening misfortune.

People ask for opinions, that is what this place is here for.  I collect top of the line rifles.  I give my opinion based on that.  Others are free to give their opinions based on their standards.   Based on this information from across the spectrum, people can make up their minds.

Once again, that is precisely the reason for and the contents of my previous posts to this thread.

As to where I find the rifles.  I'll let you in on a little secret.  I work with a dealer.  Most dealers know each other.  Most of the best buys are between dealers before a gun show even opens. You don't always get discounts, especially on nice rifles, but you get first pick.

That is quite good for you, but not so good for the majority of others.

Also, look around for a while.  Sooner or later a good rifle will still be left out.  It just takes time.  As I said, that was the most I ever paid.

Another good point that I believe one or more of the posters to the threads I linked dealt with in recommending BDL Ltd., posters who do not seem to enjoy your connections and available time, at least from what I read.  

In case you really would like to know, for the rifle mentioned, it was about a year ago at a show at Bowling Green ohio.

That's about what I expected; naturally, prices change in a year's time, particularly for Enfields and especially for so-called "mint" examples.

. . .

Obviously you are mad because my opinion is different than yours, grow up, get over it.

Not so obvious to me.  I find it amusing that you have chosen to find anger in my posts when such an emotion was completely absent as I wrote them?  "[g]row up, get over it;"  you never read such a personal comment directed to you in my posts -- who is really the angry one here?  The entire point of my posts was that more information, more opinions, and more reasons for them are valuable.  You seem to have chosen to read your own personal emotions into my posts.
 

The variey you seek so dearly is here, just look around.  Don't get so pissy when someone has a difference in standards than you.

"Pissy?"  Perhaps you should practice what you choose to preach; see my previous comment.  

If you are happy with overpriced beat up rifles, hey, I am glad for you, enjoy them as much as you can.  I will never criticize that.

O.K.

Just don't show a link from some place showing that a guy was happy with his rifle as "proof" that your opinion is gold.

Firstly, is that what you think I did?  I do not recall ever suggesting that the posts in the threads I provided were offered as "proof" of anything; my "opinion" was that more opinions are a good thing -- you can certainly opine that such an opinion is gold if you will, I didn't.  Secondly, are you telling me that I should submit the text of my messages I propose to post, including links I intend to include for the purpose of demonstating alternative views to yours, before I post here to AR15.com?  Before you issue such misplaced commands as that above, perhaps you should have a drink of water, take a few deep breaths, and then re-read my posts, but that is just my opinion.

Yours is no more or less valid than anyone elses.

Never said it was -- it's too bad that you did.  

O'DubhGhaill, out
Force Recon Association regular member #2259
LECS Member No. 03C1035

Quoted: I am glad your stupid pride has ruined this informative thread.  Go pound on your chest.  You da' man. Edited because I can't spell  for crap today. Edit, Check IM.

IM back at you obershutze916.

Say 199, your warning about your AIM Enfield should be well-heeded; I have read on other sites of these Centerfire and AIM rifles posing various, serious safety concerns for a shooter.  I would be very interested to know if Centerfire and AIM are aware of some of these problems and what they are doing to warn consumers.  I have not read their disclaimers, but there seem to be serious patterns rising out of this bunch.  On a similar note, apparently, Centerfire has posted a comprehensive listing of the rifles from this lot now available, although they still do not disclose any detailed info about their origins.  Shoot safe.

O'DubhGhaill, out
Force Recon Association regular member #2259
LECS Member No. 03C1035

Anyone know were I can get the stuff to headspace my Enfield?

Quoted: Anyone know were I can get the stuff to headspace my Enfield?

I got my gauge from brownells.  if its off you'll need to replace the bolt head.

<sign>

Well, I had put this aside for a while, but I guess I’m going to have to start thinking about it again.

First, I’m obviously a bit miffed at AIM.

Granted, the absence of any description of condition or origin of the rifles in their advertisement was a pretty clear clue of what these rifles were.  I can’t complain there.

But selling a rifle as far out of spec as the one I got is inexcusable.  I could easily see some young firearm novice getting hurt with this thing.  Plus, the problem isn’t some esoteric, hard to determine issue like heat treatment or such.  Proper headspace is a pretty basic concept, which can be very easily measured.

I’m waffling over simply returning this rifle to AIM, which is no doubt exactly what I should do.

Info I’ve been able get so far:

.303 British headspace specs – SAMMI:
go:  .064
no-go:  .067
field:  .070

I found  - and have already lost - the British military headspace specs (I gotta get organized!).  However, I pretty clearly remember that the field gauge is .074.

Brownells has SAMMI spec gauges, about the only place I can find the British military spec gauges is some place in Australia (lost the name, too!).

Bolt heads come in #0, #1, #2, and #3.  (I have an old recollection of once seeing a reference to an extra long #5 head, but I can’t find any recent reference to it).  The longer bolt heads seem almost unobtainable.

Plus my current bolt head is a #2, so a new bolt head isn’t going to do it anyway.

I had initially contemplated setting the barrel back.  However, it occurs to me that doing that would cause major problems with correctly aligning the front sight, which slips onto a pair of integral barrel lugs.  Plus, the bayonet lugs would wind up being being tilted.

Or maybe I could convert it to a half-assed Jungle Carbine?

I can’t quite figure why this thing is so far out of spec.  The receiver and matching SN bolt body are worn, but not that worn.  I’m sorta wondering if the barrel is also worn to the point of the letting the cartridge rim go too far forward.

As luck would have it, I have an unused Lee-Enfield barrel (made by BSA no less, who also made my rifle).  I just don’t know if fitting it would solve the problem.

I’ve still also got the problem of the action partially unlocking when I fire the rifle, which I’m now starting to think is a result of a too long firing pin (another story unto itself).

Why is nothing ever easy for me!!

O_DubhGhaill  Aim attaches a tag to the rifle saying it must be inspected by a gunsmith before firing.  In my admittedly jaundiced view, that does not excuse them selling a firearm that they know or could easily have determined to be unsafe.

Quoted: Quoted: Anyone know were I can get the stuff to headspace my Enfield? I got my gauge from brownells.  if its off you'll need to replace the bolt head.

Can I just get use the no-go and field to check for excessive headspace?  

The Foster Gauges seems to be less than the Clymer.  Are they crap or OK?

I hate to see this happen to anybody, but I was >this< close to ordering one of the #1's when this thread came up.

Sorry you got a bad rifle dude, but you probably saved a lot of folks some grief.

Bravo!

Have you contacted AIM and included some of the photos?  I'm new to C&R and have had pretty good luck with AIM (knocking on wood),  of course I don't know shit about Enfields either.

199, you must get a return authorization number from AIM and return that rifle to them ASAP; they do state on their site that they guarantee your complete satisfaction.

I have read of rifles having some of the problems you described, but not all of these.  I checked AIM's web-site and they are describing the No.4s as:  "Condition: Solid Rifles having little finish on steel parts; wood shows minor handling & storage wear. Nice, Clean Bores!"  What you have described is far from "solid."

As far their disclaimer goes, it does shift the burden to the consumer to have the rifle inspected by a gunsmith as a means of determining whether the rifle is unsafe for actual use as opposed to its intended use for purchase as a collector piece (requiring, as the AIM site states, a ""Collector[/] of Curio & Relic" license granted by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms to an Individual that allows them to purchase approved firearms for collecting purposes.").  As such, they are not making any claims of fitness for a particular purpose, but rather generally fit for the ordinary purpose of collecting.  They provide the gunsmith warning because they expect that some collectors might purchase these rifles for more than just collecting purposes and might intend to actually use them as a serviceable firearm (as for myself, I don't own now nor am I considering ever owning a collectible rifle purchased with my C&R that is not fit for firing, as each and every one of my "collector pieces" experiences significant range time -- for me, that's what "collecting" them is all about, BATF meaning of C&R notwithstanding: BATF states, per 27 CFR 178.11, that "curios and relics include firearms which are of special interest to collectors by reason of some quality other than is associated with firearms intended for sporting use or as offensive or defensive weapons.").  Nonetheless, I would say that the "solid" description is troubling, as that descriptor could serve different expectations/assumptions of different consumers, including one that might mean, safe to fire.  Certainly, however, at a minimum, your rifle does not seem fit for collecting purposes in its described condition and is, therefore, not "solid" by any interpretation.  I'd return it in a hearbeat!

Here's a link to Jay Currah's site, an incredibly informative site about Enfields with a outstanding "Links" page.  You can find headspacing specs., as well as places to purchase the gauges (I had great success with Alaskan Enfield Headquarters, although he is closing shop now I see and has but a few items left, including the gauges by Arrow).  Good luck and let us know what happens here.

O'DubhGhaill sends
Force Recon Association regular member #2259
LECS Member No. 03C1035
edited for editing sake

I bought a LongBranch No 4 from these guys a while back. Well worth the 240 I paid for it. My FFL who deals a lot in these rifles said it was one of the nicest he'd seen.
Enfield

The Forster gages are just fine.

The other gages are just longer.

Dennis Jenkins

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Anyone know were I can get the stuff to headspace my Enfield? I got my gauge from brownells.  if its off you'll need to replace the bolt head. Can I just get use the no-go and field to check for excessive headspace?   The Foster Gauges seems to be less than the Clymer.  Are they crap or OK?

Well, just talked to the folks at AIM.

Mentioned that I wanted to return a No. 4 that I had just purchased from them and they said sure, just send it back.  They didn’t even ask what was wrong with it.

I did explain the problem, just to give them a heads up.

While I have gone through a bit of aggravation with this rifle, I must admit AIM’s cooperative attitude makes me feel a lot better about it.

Thanks for all the feedback guys!  

IMO, any non native #3s in India were there as grenade launching rifles.  Does it have the slight imprints of the cord wrapping?  

My two Indian problems are:

1. A GRI with a non square bolt head like you describe.  It was obvious when I was inspecting it, but I had another one to replace it with that headspaced correctly.

2. Lithgow that went to India Grenade rifle.   This one still has the cord wrapping.  The thing looked damn near perfect, so I got it.  It headspaced nicely and the bore looked perfect.  Unfortunately, I didn't notice that the last 1/2 inch of barrel had bad to no rifling.  Some moron had abraded it away with poor cleaning techniques.   The thing produces 7 inch benchrested groups at 50 yards.  This damage had to have been the reason that this puppy was reduced to the grenade launching role.  If there was a professional gunsmith in the area, I'd have him counterbore it, but this is yet another thing I'm going to have to do myself eventually.  I say professional, because most around here know a very small part of the trade.  (Install pistol night sights, remove stuck chokes, rebarrel Remington 700s)

Note that I never post here, and came over from your post in GD.

Quoted: IMO, any non native #3s in India were there as grenade launching rifles.  Does it have the slight imprints of the cord wrapping?  ...

Ah – this is a No.4.

There are certainly no imprints on any of the wood.  Plus, as I understand it, wire wrapped stocks have holes drilled in them for the wire ends.  No holes either.

However, at least some of the wood has been replaced, so it could easily have been wrapped at some time.  (I admit I’ve never seen a wrapped No.4, but that certainly doesn’t mean there’s no such animal.)