I like old things, they align with my love of history and I feel they hold a certain memory, for lack of a better word, that they have become imbued with energy or essence of the moments they have experienced so that when I touch them I become a little closer to the history and moments of times past...I become a part of that items' history.
- G-dog -
One of my most treasured old things is my Lee Enfield SMLE (short magazine Lee Enfield) rifle which I've owned for many years now.
My SMLE saw service with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in World War One (1914-1918) and I bought it as a homage to those Australians who carried it, and others like it, in battle. I have the matching bayonet and it feels nice to have it in my possession, the link it gives me to what was a significant event in the history of Australia, and mankind in general.
Has it absorbed the death, destruction and horror of its time in service? I don't really know, but having it in my hands always leaves me wondering how many men it killed and, indeed, if those who carried it were killed in combat themselves. Morbid maybe, but history nonetheless.
I don't shoot it much, the rifle is some one hundred and twenty five years old and who knows what could happen, although a few days ago I decided I wanted to take it out to the countryside and put it through it's paces, use it for its intended purpose; killing.
As some may know, I hunt and also cull feral animals on a large cattle farm. I use modern rifles and as a long-range shooter have the most up-to-date equipment and a lot of skill which I've picked up over thirty-plus years of shooting; I'm well-trained and practiced which leaves me rather confident...But this SMLE is a whole other thing, and so far from the modern rifle systems I'm accustomed to.
Out I went to the farm, SMLE .303 in hand, and I don't know how many times I lifted it up to look in the scope to check out something I saw with the naked eye well down range...but there is no scope. The rifle uses iron sights to aim and that complicates things. I like challenges though and went about my usual processes knowing that when it came time to take something's life I'd need to bring all of my skill together and that's what happened.
The SMLE has an effective killing range of around 2,800 metres however was generally used at a range of up to 1,000 metres and was brutally effective. Taking a shot at 1,000 metres with this rifle, and hitting the mark, was a great effort, but it took a lot of practice. I can shoot my modern rifles very accurately at far greater distances of course, but wasn't about to do so with the SMLE, I'm just not familiar enough with this rifle and considering humane despatch of the animal is of paramount importance to me I wasn't about to risk it.
So, I worked a little harder to get within what I felt was an achievable range to the animals so as not to cause any undue distress in the process of taking it.
Below is a kangaroo I first spied at about 400 metres away. I worked into a closer position, not easy to do considering they are so flighty and the terrain is crispy and crunchy meaning noisy to move in, but I applied some skills and at slightly under 200 metres despatched it with a head shot from a kneeling shooting position. OK, so my 125 year old SMLE still shoots well, I thought.
This is a zoomed image of the kangaroo mentioned above (off my phone). You can see him bending over to eat to the left of the large gum tree to left of the image. You can also see the north eastern fence line of the property to the right of shot. If he stayed on the other side of that fence I'd have left him alone. The dark patch is where they cross.
Below is the result of the shot. I've desaturated the image to make it look less confronting, although if you're keen you can zoom in and see where the shot landed. I used .303 British 180gr soft point boat tail ammunition which has a devastating effect meaning a head shot on a kangaroo is instant death.
This was the first I shot on the night and I ended up with five kangaroos in total before calling it a night around 9:30pm.
Here's the poor fellow taking a nap after my shot.
I'll admit the rifle wasn't the easiest to shoot with, especially in the low-light/night time conditions later in the evening, and because it has no muzzle break it kicks a fair amount on recoil. It's not painful though, it just means maintaining a good sight-picture is difficult making follow-up shots a little slower. Shooting to kill with the SMLE is so different to my modern rifles, but it was totally enjoyable to shoot.
As I wandered around looking for targets I came across one of the most hated little things in Australia, certainly by primary producers anyway.
Foxes are an introduced species and they have a devastating effect on the native fauna population with more than sixty species currently under threat of extinction directly due to foxes; some 300 million native animals are taken by them every year; that's a lot of birds, reptiles and mammals. Furthermore, the damage they do to the sheep industry (and other industries like poultry) is massive in dollar terms.
Foxes were brought here by the British in 1845 and set loose for the purpose of fox hunting, (hounds and riders on horseback), and they got out of control from there. Interestingly, feral cats do just as much damage as foxes, which is why they're also shot on sight.
I came across this little fellow moving through knee-high grass at around 250 metres. He didn't know I was there as I was down-wind, and...he'll certainly be killing no more native animals.
Here's a little fox taking a nap after I shot him. Front half shown as he had no rear half after the SMLE did its work.
I had a fairly successful night behind the gun that night and even with the SMLE being quite unfamiliar to me when compared with my other rifles, that seem like an extension of myself, I was able to make it work well. My main concern was about despatching the animals humanely and without the benefit of my modern rifle systems I just didn't know how that would go. Had I thought I'd not be able to make the shot count I'd not have pulled the trigger.
I'm happy to say everything was taken care of humanely and none suffered a lingering demise. The Lee Enfield (SMLE) performed very well despite its age and even with it feeling a little clunky in my hands I was happy that it could be relied on to make accurate shots.
I'll not be taking it hunting or culling again anytime soon; I really only took it this time (the first ever) to test myself to see if I was effective with the iconic rifle in my hands. I really enjoyed old-schooling like it was 1918 though.
When I was out there that night, I had thoughts about the fellows who carried these rifles in wartime operations. Sure, it's basic equipment when compared to the modern systems I've used and own, but their lives depended on these rifles and I have a lot of respect for those men who made this rifle so devastatingly effective. I am glad to have my own piece of history as a sort of bridge between those men who fought for the peace that others enjoy and helped forge my nation through bravery and sacrifice. Shooting the rifle with intent the other night made me feel closer to those chaps.
Feel free to comment below or ask any questions, I'll answer as well as I can.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default; tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind - galenkp
[All original and proudly AI free.]
Any images in this post are my own.
