does anyone here have a Lee Speed sporter with a tang safety? If so, I would appreciate a couple of pics of the safety with and without the stock on the metal, if that is not too much trouble. If you can help me with this then I'll name my first kid after you or something.

Or if you know where one is-for sale or not-I would appreciate a lead via here or a PM.

Thanks!

Marc

I don't have one now but Joe Morin in Houston just offered one to me within the last month.
I sent you a PM with his email contact.

Please post details on this particular modification. I'm a big fan of tang safetys and am always looking to learn more. Does this one use a Canjar side-safety trigger?

Thanks.

no, it does not use Canjar or anything else. These safeties were made from the 1890's by the English rifle making firms. As far as I know, no company makes aftermarket triggers or safeties for the Lee Enfield even today.

I am going to make one from scratch and would really like to see one. I have a couple of ideas on how I can do it, but both are more complicated than I desire. I am hoping there is an easier way, which will result in a more robust safety.

Thanks for the clarification. I had no idea what you were talking about.

It's cool! When I read your post I kinda figured I was talking apples and you were thinking oranges

Chisana-

here are a couple of pics showing the style of rifle and the safety in question.

I have one. I will take the butt off and take some pictures with my digital camera, but I'm no photographer. I will have to get the wife to e-mail them as I tried before to post pictures here with no luck. Give me a day or so. Lee.

I have a 450 Watts on a P17 Enfield built by H.B. Anderson with a tang safety. I don't know if it would be helpful to you but I would be happy to take pics.

jnc-

I THINK the P-serieds "Enfields" have a different safety arrangement, but I am not sure. It has been a very long time since I handled a bare action. If you could post a couple of pics, especially with the stock off, i could quickly see if they are basically the same. I know they are on opposite sides of the actions, but they may be a straight mirror image of each other.

Hello marc dont mean to hijack your thread but I would realy like to see the p17 with a tang safty jnc91. and the other as well lee440. If you guys dont mind.

Fellows, I hope that you won't take offense at a minor correction, but there is no such thing as a P-17 Enfield. It is an M-17 Enfield, "M" for Model. The "P" designation is British for "Pattern", as in the P-14 Enfield. I know that P-17 is in common usage but we should not contribute to that misnomer here, when referring to the American, .30-06 version of that rifle.

wow thanks

I've been interested in these for quite some time. They're hard to find, but there's one for sale now on gunbroker, a westley richards, no less...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=70272903

I always thought if someone were to replicate some cheapos to look like the sporters you show above it would be a nice hobby. I think there's a market for them since you see so few...

Marc - If you ever get some pics of the tang safety detail, I'd love to see them. I've downloaded and saved some of the same pics you posted of the sporters, and have a few others as well. I have an enfield slated for a basic conversion sometime in the future (not a Lee Speed, though). I've been fascinated with these rifles since seeing one in a Rifle mag a few years back when Ross Seyfried was still with Wolfe doing his great monthly features. Got me started with Martini cadets, a hobby that's led to many, many hours in front of the lathe, mill, and workbench.

I've seen, for those interested, ads for a Lee-Enfield aftermarket trigger marketed by "Huber Concepts", I believe. A roller-ball at the sear contact for reduced friction. Nothing some polishing and good lube couldn't do, from what I can tell.