The design of this rifle was the outcome of much research and trialling immediately after the 1939-45 War. At least two prototypes had been made and trials rifles built up for testing. The recommendations of the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs were taken into account after a number of each of the various designs ( including the No.5 and No.6 .22RF rifles ) had been passed, over a period of about four years, to the SMRC for assessment and trials by selected Clubs and by some military units. In the event, many civilian shooters were beginning to use very capable target rifles produced by BSA, but particularly a significant number of very accurate and well-built target rifles from the U.S.A. This dramatically reduced the likelihood of civilian sales of the No.8, which was thus largely restricted to production for the military.

Below are the two designs selected as the No.8 trials rifles. The upper one is the "Match" rifle ( this one is serial no.16 of approximately 100 built ) and the lower example is the "Infantry" version ( serial no.6 of aproximately 100 built) - and the configuration finally chosen for production.

The Match rifle, with a barrel only a fraction short of 29 inches,was acknowledged to be the more accurate rifle. The difference in accuracy between the Match and the Infantry models, with a barrel length of 23.2", was not deemed sufficient to outweigh the superior handling of the shorter barrelled weapon, particularly in view of the intended use of the rifle for cadet and training purposes. The performance of the shorter barrel was still adequate for modest competition use at the time the design was being put into production. However, E.G.B. Reynolds suggested, in his 1960 book "The Lee-Enfield Rifle", that had the Match rifle been adopted, militray shooters would have been able to compete with civilians on a more equal footing.

Shown below are the actions of the two trials rifles; Match to the left and Infantry to the right

The Match rifle was fitted with the Parker-Hale Model 5C rear target aperture sight as used on the No.4 rifle. The PH 4 sight - introduced in 1946 - would very likely have been considered for this rifle,

but the arrival of the No.5 sight in 1947 superseded any such intention.The eyepiece is the P-H/A.G.P. " Thin wall" single hole bell-style unit.

The Infantry and production rifles were fitted with a standard BSA manufactured No.4 folding leaf rear-sight calibrated for 25, 50 and 100 yards

with the additional markings for the "Harmonisation" elevation setting as used for Landscape Targetry.

A point particularly worthy of note is that both the trials and early production rifles were built up on the lightened action of the No.5 so called "Jungle Carbine" rifle designed for paratroop and close-quarter operations. Compare the image below right, of the left hand side of the action beneath the rear-sight, with that of the standard No.4 action used for the No.9 rifle.

Interestingly, the action used for the .22RF No.5 shortened rifle was also that of the No.4, probably because, at the time the .22 was being prototyped, the lightened action was still in comparatively short supply and needed to maintain production of the .303"CF service weapon.

Lest you had, in thepast, been researching these rifles on the internet, you should note that the R.E.M.E. (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) Museum, near Reading, for a time, illustrated on its website's weapons collection page, a rifle described as a No.8.However, this rifle appears in standard No.4 configuration, with a standard length bolt and No.4 design bolt-head and could not have been a number 8. This has now been recaptioned as as the Royal Navy's No.9 .22RF, being the No.4 conversion by Parker-Hale with the sleeved barrel. This latter rifle was a further, and cheaper, variation on the B.S.A. & Co's No.7 rifle made for the Royal Air Force.

One oddity, seen during our research, was a No.8 converted by fitment of S.M.L.E. No.1 woodwork and nose-cap, and shortened to give the appearance of a Lee-Enfield No.1 (or indeed .22RF No.2 or Mk.III) carbine. To our knowledge, this could only be an enthusiast's conversion. Shortened S.M.L.E. rifles are usually only found in the realms of Australian trials carbines, e.g. their "shortened, lightened rifle", the precursor to the Australian No.6 rifle, itself the Antipodean version of the British No.5 " Jungle Carbine". An S.M.L.E furnished carbine on a No.4 type action is (unless you know differently) simply unheard of in military production.

Below is shown the final production version of the shorter barrelled "Infantry" rifle variant, being that selected from the two prototype designs as providing adequate accuracy combined with the best weight and handling characteristics. This rifle significantly increased enthusiasm towards small-bore target rifle shooting post-war (WWII) and was in part responsible for a resurgence of both military and civilian small-bore service style competition. To this day it is still in use by Cadet units and continues to fulfill the criteria of the task for which it was designed. Such has been the level of usage of the No.8 rifles that it proved necessary in more recent years to return many for Factory Thorough Repair (FTR). This has resulted, as some have been sold out of service, in the availability of examples in comparatively good condition with accurately shooting barrels. Large quantities of spares have also offered opportunities for 'as new' rifles to be built up for commercial sale.

The receiver is that of the No.5 service rifle with its milled cuts to lighten the action for original use with that "Jungle" carbine, but it is further machined to permit the solid .22 barrel to protrude rearwards into the body by a distance designed to accommodate the shorter overall length of the .22 bolt. This allows a considerably shorter travel than usual on most conversions of the full-length No.4 rifle; this was associated with a faster actioning with the Nos.5 and 7 magazine-fed rifles, but was hardly relevant to the production No.8 rifle other than for rapid-fire practice. Indeed, the system for the No.8 evolved, with minor adjustments to permit cheaper mass-production, from those designs first seen on the.22RF No.5 and No.6 trials rifles between the end of the War and 1946. A similar bolt, but slightly more complicated and longer, was utilised on the British No.7 rifle produced for the Royal Air Force. (Please view the appropriate pages for further information on each of these rifles).

Unlike the majority of .22 rimfire rifle chambers, the leed ( the point at which the rifling commences forward of the cartridge chamber) is tapered from the groove diameter to the lesser diameter between the lands. This taper to the full groove depth occurs over a little more than eight tenths of an inch. Most .22 barrels have a near square edge to the start of the rifling, whith very little chamfer. When the leed of a No.8's barrel is inspected by someone not aware of this, an incorrect assessment that the leed is seriously worn may be made; and this could result in a decision not to purchase a perfectly satisfactory rifle.

The No.8 was fitted with a grooved single-shot loading platform as illustrated above, and the magazine aperture in the base of the receiver body was blanked off. The steel pressing, shown below, is stamped with the BSA factory code number "M 47 C". Whilst BSA designed and manufactured the No.8 rifle at the Shirley factory on the outskirts of Birmingham, a significant number, probably the greater, of rifles were produced at Fazakerley, the Royal Ordnance Factory in Lancashire.

Identification of the place of manufacture is possible by inspection of the code markings on the rifle. If as issued, sights and parts such as the cocking piece wil be stamped "F" on the Fazakerly production and "B" on the Shirley production. BSA rifles should carry their "M47C" M.O.D. trade reference code on the LHS of the butt-socket, the magazine well base-plate and the underside of the butt wrist behind the butt-socket.

There are varying dates offered by various pundits for the approval, adoption and introduction of the Rifle No.8 Mk.I to Land Service. Ian Skennerton quotes approval on 24th. September 1948; Herb Woodend gave early 1949 as the date for approval; E.G.B. Reynolds quoted introduction as 7th. September 1950, and J.E. Smith advises adoption as having been in 1951. Skennerton does remark that the rifle appears to have one of those few actually introduced prior to its inclusion in the List of Changes( LoC).

Precise dating of a particular rifle's manufacture by serial number can be a loose estimate only. Of Ian Skennerton's quoted figure for the initial requirement of 76,000 rifles, we have not for certain ascertained either whether all were manufactured, or the exact date of cessation of production. The highest serial number we have presently experienced is A 22571, on the rifle above. As a guide, that rifle has a base-plate dated 1950, and butt wood dated 1951. Significantly lower serial numbered rifles are therefore likely to have been manufactured between 1950 and 1951.

If you have any further information or have record of higher serial numbers and/or later date markings, then do please let us know at: HARC-MCRRS

Most of the preceding

training rifles and the

post-war trials rifles

were fitted with the

familiar brass or steel

butt plates of the

Service rifles they were

designed to simulate.

Not so the No.8; possibly as a result of input from the civilian

clubs, the No.8's rubber butt plate was a sensible use of the design already

utilised on B.S.A.'s target rifles. It is moulded with the familiar 'Piled Arms'

logo of the Birmingham Small Arms Co., as applied to their many varied

manufactured items from arms to motor and push bicycles, cars, and a

plethora of unlikely products including, of all things, a patent design for

an 'automatic' telescopic aluminium shoe-tree given the unlikely trade name "T.A.T."

...... in the form of the "TELESCOPIC AUTOMATIC TREE"

The accuracy of these rifles, even after many years of use, is not to be sneezed at. A lightly used privately owned commercial rifle will still be capable, in practised hands, of competing at an unexpectedly high level in modern competition. The trigger may need fine tuning to improve let-off, but even this particular rifle has shot a 97 ex 100 on the current N.S.R.A. 1989 indoor short range target; this would be a commendable score with a modern Anschutz or equivalent target rifle. A British correspondent domiciled in Germany has advised us that his old service issue No.8 will still shoot a one-and-a-half-inch group at 100 yards, so don't be too quick to blame one of these rifles for a poor shoot!

Particularly for anyone fortunate enough to possess a No.8 rifle, the following extract, from S.A.T. Pamphlet No 11 - Weapon Handling, 1955, may be of interest.

SECTION 5 -EXERCISES ON THE MINIATURE RANGE
FOR No. 8 RIFLES

EXERCISE 16 -TILE SHOOT

1. Aim - To exercise individuals and rifle groups in rapid fire.
2. Notes - You can also run this exercise on a 25-yards range, and use any type of rifle.
3. TARGETS - Ten falling plates about one inch square for each team. To make them, take pieces of tin one inch by one inch and a quarter, make a quarter-inch cut in the centre of a one-inch side, and bend the two quarter-¬inch pieces to form a stand.
4. Firers - Teams of four.
5. Conduct - On the command "Fire ", the teams start shooting, and, the plates fall as they are hit. A knock out competition can be run on these lines.
6. Winners - The team that knock down all the plates in the shortest time (or, in the event of a dead heat, with the fewest rounds).

EXERCISE 17 -BLIND APPLICATION

1. Aim - To show that good fire effect is possible even without a proper aiming mark.
2. target - The backs of representative TARGETS .
3. Conduct - Each man fires a five-round group at the centre of his target.
4. Scoring - Add together the score for the size of the group and the application score from the other side of the target.

EXERCISE 18 -HARMONIZATION

1. Aim - To exercise NCOs in recognition and in giving fire control orders, and private soldiers in recognition and firing.
2. TARGETS - Landscape target set up for harmonized shooting (see Infantry Training, Volume I, Pamphlet No 3, 1955 (WO Code No 8903), Chapter 2, Section 9.
3. Firers - Teams of six.
4. Conduct - See Pamphlet No 3, Chapter 2, Section 9. 5. Winners -The team with the highest score.

EXERCISE 19 -MINIATURE RANGE BATTLE PRACTICE

1. Aim - To exercise section commanders in controlling fire and indicating TARGETS , and sections in recognizing TARGETS and in fire discipline. All platoon weapons can be used, but only No. 8 rifles can be actually fired.
2. TARGETS - See Infantry Training, Volume iii, Pamphlet No 33, 1952 (WO Code No 8713), Chapter 6. 3. Conduct - Make up a simple tactical setting in the form of narrative and problems. For instance, describe a section in defence and practice both the routine of defence and the action when enemy appear at different ranges.

There has been an interesting recent occurrence concerning those No.8 rifles (March 2009) previously in use by New Zealand's various Cadet Forces. Their Lee-Enfield No.8 and Lee-Enfield No.9 rifles were taken out of service, and it was proposed by some NZ authorities that they should be destroyed. A campaign, by shooters and collectors of such historically significant rifles, convinced those authorities that both New Zealand's military heritage and the nation's coffers would be better served by the sale of these non-threatening firearms to collectors such as themselves. In the event, a total of 450 rifles were saved from destruction. The sale was handled by Turners Auctions, and their catalog may still be available at www.turners.co.nz

Included in the auction were 285 of the No.8 rifles, 116 of the No.9 rifles and 53 of the L59A2 - .303 No.4 Drill Purpose rifles.
To obviate the purchase of large quantities by dealers, collectors were allowed to buy a maximum of one of each type. One such purchaser has written to us to say ........."With our new acquisitions, a lot of us are now in need of information from sites such as yours. Congratulations on a great site, and thankyou for providing a great source of information."

We are grateful to this enthusiastic collector, who has provided this image of the rifles displayed at the sale. The picture is a sight for sore eyes.

For more information on the sale (and other photos) you can go to: MilitariaNZ.freeforums

For comparison, see collective images of the bolts for the Rifles Nos. 5, 7 (British), 8 & 9.

See also the page on the .22 MARTINI and the LEE_ENFIELD TRIGGER PULL