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It is an action from what is sometimes called Long lee, the predecessor to the SMLE. There is much about the rifle you do not need to know, given you only have the action. ER = Elizabeth Regina, BSA Company made, LE=Lee Enfield, to distinguish from the previous Lee Metford, and the I* indicates it was part of a rifle issued without a cleaning rod. Those issued initially with a cleaning rod were designated with a I. When it was decided to do away with the cleaning rod mounted under the barrel, the rifles began to be designated I*, * indicating a modification to a standard design. The bolt in the action is correct for the model. The other bolt is a Metford bolt. Many Lee Speeds were built on Metford actions. The LE I was adopted in 1895. The rifle was somewhat similar to the Lee Metford MkII* Metford refereed to the type of rifling used in the rifle. Metford rifling was optimized for black powder. Enfield rifling, optimized for smokeless powder was eventually adopted and rifles barrel with Enfield barrels became Lee Enfields. The LE II was adopted in 1906. Your action should have a safety lever at the left rear much like a No1 MkIII. If the spare bolt will function, I'd use it to get closer to Lee Speed authenticity. |