The Lee–Speed

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

was a

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

rifle based on

James Paris Lee James Paris Lee (9 August 1831 – 24 February 1904) was a British Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer. He is best known for having invented the action and magazine that are used in the Lee–Metford and Lee–Enfield series of ...

's rear-locking bolt system and detachable magazine. Early models were fitted with barrels using the radiused rifling designed by William Ellis Metford. while later models used the same square "Enfield" rifling as contemporary British military rifles. The weapon was a sporting variant of the well known

Lee–Metford The Lee–Metford rifle (a.k.a. ''Magazine Lee–Metford'', abbreviated ''MLM'') was a bolt-action British army service rifle, combining James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and detachable magazine with an innovative seven groove rifled ba ...

and

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...

rifles made for civilian shooters, though often purchased by Army officers who wanted a rifle made to a higher standard of fit and finish than the issued military rifle.

Variants

No.1

Officers pattern, with

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

mount.

No.2

Officers pattern, without bayonet mount.

No.3

Trade pattern.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee-Speed Bolt-action rifles of the United Kingdom History of the London Borough of Enfield World War I British infantry weapons World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom