I just bought my first Enfield. I went into the purchase not knowing anything about Enfields. Are the No 1's better, the number 3's better, what the MK's mean, what countries are the best- nothing. I only know that I wanted one and that when I saw them at gun shows they were around 100 bucks but always looked really beat up. Here is what I purchased from a private collector. I fear I may have paid too much. Please let me know your thoughts.

No. 1 MK 3 .303 CAL
Serial number 25491L. 1950 date. Manufactured in Ishapor, India but has the "British Royal Cypher" (whatever that means) on butt socket. The metal is truely excellent, it has all matching numbers (Do Enfields usually have all matching numbers like K31's or is this rare like 98K's?) The Bore appears to very little used - almost like new (This was important to me because I want it to be a shooter). The wood is smooth (but not shiney), no cracks and virtually no dings. The stock does have some arsenal repairs. It comes with the correct bayonet.
That's all great (I guess), now here's the bad part-
Price paid- $149.00

How did I do?

Doesn't sound bad to me at all.

There's whole books on this subject.<G>

You did ok but now is the time to do some research.

Dennis Jenkins

Quoted: I just bought my first Enfield. I went into the purchase not knowing anything about Enfields. Are the No 1's better, the number 3's better, what the MK's mean, what countries are the best- nothing. I only know that I wanted one and that when I saw them at gun shows they were around 100 bucks but always looked really beat up. Here is what I purchased from a private collector. I fear I may have paid too much. Please let me know your thoughts. No. 1 MK 3 .303 CAL Serial number 25491L. 1950 date. Manufactured in Ishapor, India but has the "British Royal Cypher" (whatever that means) on butt socket. The metal is truely excellent, it has all matching numbers (Do Enfields usually have all matching numbers like K31's or is this rare like 98K's?) The Bore appears to very little used - almost like new (This was important to me because I want it to be a shooter). The wood is smooth (but not shiney), no cracks and virtually no dings. The stock does have some arsenal repairs. It comes with the correct bayonet. That's all great (I guess), now here's the bad part- Price paid- $149.00 How did I do?

www.enfield-rifles.com/default.asp

www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~stratton/en-page.html

Welcome to the world of Enfielditis.
These links have some good info as well as links to more great Lee Enfield websites.
Be prepared to buy more. They're like Lay's Potato Chips.

That's a good  price considering condition AND a bayonet.

$149. for a good condition Enfield is OK.

A pretty good deal.  I don't know if it is warrented, but the Ishy SMLE's have a reputation for soft steel.  The later 2A's and 2A1's supposedly  had a higher grade of steel in order to withstand the .308 Nato round.  

While not a banging deal, it is pretty difficult to find a good Smelly for less than $150.  If the bore is good along with the headspace, you did okay.  The nice thing about Enfields is that they have replacable bolt heads, a feature that allows for the rapid correction of excessive head space.

heres a deal i recently got for $125 shipped

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/uploaded/jcrane/200612134340_gunz2%20013.jpg

a 1916 lithgow that has a sweet bore and very nice metal/wood. got it off gunboards from a private seller, now im looking for a nice long branch....

Quoted: I just bought my first Enfield. I went into the purchase not knowing anything about Enfields. Are the No 1's better, the number 3's better, what the MK's mean, what countries are the best- nothing. I only know that I wanted one and that when I saw them at gun shows they were around 100 bucks but always looked really beat up. Here is what I purchased from a private collector. I fear I may have paid too much. Please let me know your thoughts. No. 1 MK 3 .303 CAL Serial number 25491L. 1950 date. Manufactured in Ishapor, India but has the "British Royal Cypher" (whatever that means) on butt socket. The metal is truely excellent, it has all matching numbers (Do Enfields usually have all matching numbers like K31's or is this rare like 98K's?) The Bore appears to very little used - almost like new (This was important to me because I want it to be a shooter). The wood is smooth (but not shiney), no cracks and virtually no dings. The stock does have some arsenal repairs. It comes with the correct bayonet. That's all great (I guess), now here's the bad part- Price paid- $149.00 How did I do?

Sounds like you got a good rifle at a fair price. I paid $135 for a No. 4 Mk II Fazekerly 1950 in near-mint shape, with spike bayonet back in 1997 or 1998. Yours is an earlier model but sounds in pretty good shape. By the way, mine has all matching numbers on the bolt, action, mag and stock parts.