Casey,
I think if you're going to hunt with a military surpus rifle your choice of the Lee-Enfield is one of the best. See this thread for my reasons
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,145607.0.htmlThe rifle you're looking at is a No.4 Mk1. I both collect and hunt with LEs so here are my thoughts.
First, you're not going to find a LE in pristine condition less than several hundred dollars. It will only have that value as a military collectible and any changes you make to it would reduce value. You would be much better off spending the same amount of money on a commercial hunting rife. You would end up with something more accurate and better suited to the task.
If you buy an average condition full military configuration Enfield you will pay around $250. If you sporterize it, that is cut the wood, cut the barrel or add a scope you will reduce the value. In fact pretty much anything you do to a military surplus except cleaning it will reduce the value, that includes adding a new stock, even if it is military, refinishing the metal etc.
Sporterized military rifles hit the hunting scene just after WWII when there were a bazillion of them around and you could buy them for nothing. J.C Penny's used to sell LEs for $14.95. That's not the situation any more. A military suplus rifle in collectible condition seems to appreciate in value about 5% a year. Sporterized ones do not appreciate at all. If you sporterize a collectible you will never get your money back.
If you buy a LE that has already been sporterized you will pay in the $50-$150 range and someone else may already have gone to the expense of putting scope mounts on it for you. LEs have been used in Canada for years as hunting rifles and quite a few sporterized ones have made their way south. Being in NY you shouldn't have much trouble at all finding one that has already been sporterized in good condition. There are after-market synthetic stocks available. Replacement military wood is available from Springfield Sporters or Numrich but it will require a good bit of fitting especially to achieve any sort of accuracy.
There was an outfit called Santa Fe Arms or Golden State Arms that sporterized bunches of LEs in the 60's. They show up on GB and other such sites fairly often. Parker-Hale also sporterized LEs and you might find one of those, although it will be priced like a commercial hunting rifle.
My suggestion is to haunt the pawn shops, gun shows and watch the newspaper for estate sales and auctions to find a sporterized LE. A No4 Mk 1, 1* or 2 or a No.1 MkIII or III* will all work. The * after the number indicates minor production changes that won't make any difference to you. You might also post a ad on any of the LE forums. Gunboards and Canadiangunnutz would be good starting places.
If you want to hunt with a full military configuration rifle, buy the best looking one you can find for your price range (serial number on bolt and receiver should match, numbers on other parts don't matter), clean it but nothing more and get to the range and practice. The sights are set for a 174 grain bullet. There are plenty of 174/5 and 180 grain commercial loads out there that will work well.
Hope this helps and let us know how you make out.
