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303 Envoy
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Jakkel2003 View Drop Down
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    Posted: December 03 2025 at 2:33pm
he!!o friends,

I picked up this rifle the other day and was hoping someone had some more information on it
From what I have been able to find myself, Envoys were made from No4 Mrk1 and Mrk1* rifles but were re-barreled into 7.62x51 for competition shooting. This one was marked at the gun store as being in 303, it chambers 303 without any issue, and it is marked as 7.94mm instead of 7.62mm. I have not shot it yet.
Has anyone seen a configuration like this before? Were some Envoy rifles left with their original 303 barrels? Or did a gun smith re-re-barrel it? The barrel is 22" from closed breech to muzzle
Thanks in advance!
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Shamu View Drop Down
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I'd suggest more research, as in let those on here who know the L39 & L41 & such guns wade in.Wink.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Points: 6460 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Zed Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 03 2025 at 10:24pm
I don't think that's original! The Envoy was a civilian version of the L39A1, fitted with a Monte Carlo style stock.
They are all 7.62 NATO as far as I know and al have a long hammered heavy barrel.
The L39A1 was built from either the No4 Mk2 or in some cases the Mk1/2. Basically that's the trigger hung from the receiver, not the trigger guard as on the No4 Mk1.
Seems odd to me that it's marked Envoy and L39A1! Plus I don't think a .303 would be labeled with the metric equivalent, but I could be wrong. It needs some investigation.
The serial number and year marking look similar to my L39A1, so is it a trials version? 
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!
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Jakkel2003 View Drop Down
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It doesn't help that I cannot find any ammunition anywhere designated as 7.94mm other than a WW1 German anti-tank round (7.92×94mm Patronen), but it chambers standard 303 perfectly
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Points: 84 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lance Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 04 2025 at 2:00am
It is not original, but nice attempt.  Besides the caliber error and the fact that it has both Envoy and L39A1, the highest s/n'd Envoy is E526.  Note all serial numbers assigned to the Envoy begin with "E".
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Points: 8404 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 04 2025 at 3:29am
At the least it's been sportered - barrel cut down, different/sportered fore-end.  Hard to tell for sure, but that does not look like the heavy hammer forged barrel used on the Envoy and L39, looks like a cutdown standard service weight barrel.  You should be able to tell from the surface of the barrel if it's hammer forged or machined.  

I've never seen markings like this either.  The metric nomenclature for the .303 British is 7.7 x 56R.    
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Zed View Drop Down
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7.94mm is about 0.3125" 
So maybe someone slugged the bore to measure for the diameter of the grooves.
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Shamu View Drop Down
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Wild thought some kind of fake South African thing?
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Or maybe a Phoenix, Arizona “special”? Wink
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Jakkel2003 View Drop Down
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We are known for our outlaws out here...
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im not up on these but if it started as the L39A1 and was owned in a country that prohibited military cartridges might it have been c\"civilized" by remarking as envoy and rechambered to non- military ? 

could also have been an attempt to make a fake for profit 
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terrylee View Drop Down
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A real Envoy & its markings:
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What action is Jakkel2003's made from? I can't tell from the picture.

This is my Envoy. A lovely rifle, although I don't shoot it as much as I should.
The markings are the same as terrylee's, it's slightly older brother, going by the serial numbers. It is 7.62NATO and all the numbers are where they should be. It even came with a full set of fore sight inserts.
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Sapper740 View Drop Down
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Points: 1737 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sapper740 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 05 2025 at 4:26am
Any chance this rifle is chambered for 7.92 X 57?  The .303 British cartridge will chamber in an 8mm Mauser chambered rifle and I remember years ago reading about an "Enfauser" rifle that would fire both cartridges in an emergency.  Apparently the Turks altered captured SMLEs to 7.92 Mauser to match the service ammunition of their Mausers. 
I imagine it's possible that someone had an Envoy converted to 8mm Mauser?  Just a WAG.
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Points: 8404 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 05 2025 at 5:08am
UE is the letter code for Enfield, introduced in 1955/56.  If legit (not saying it is) UE68 signifies UK, Enfield manufactured in 1968.  The L39 rifles had similar markings, and supposedly initial rifles built for trials were in 1968. The serial number A1568 exceeds the highest known L39 serial number. 

My guess is that a previous owner thought it would be fun to make something up and confuse us all! 
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Jakkel2003 View Drop Down
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Points: 8 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jakkel2003 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 05 2025 at 7:12am
Sapper740, I actually gave that a shot with a few different rounds. 7.62X54R, 30-06, 8mm Mauser, and 7.7 Jap, none of them even slightly fit, but good ol 303 fit perfectly
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