Thread: Cliff Notes on the correct sights for No 4 Mk 2 Enfield?
Retrieved: 06/01/2014

Hello, recently picked up my first enfield, a No 4 Mk 2 (f). Shot a few groups at 50 yards, all high and to the left. Did a little research, found out that the std sights are 300 yard battle sights, and to shoot for 50-200 yards will need to replace them. Nothing on Numrich, found a couple sets available on ebay. Also found stuff online about homemade windage adjustment tools as well as actual windage adjustment tools on ebay.

Can anybody school me quick on the deal with Enfield sights?

MVolkJ
4/20/2012

The only correct rear sight for a No. 4 Mk. 2 is a flip-up sight that is adjustable for elevation. Down, you are correct - it is 300 yards. However, if you flip it up, you can set it to a lower setting - 200 yards.

BlackeeMcRifley
4/21/2012

I was referring to the front sight. Am I incorrect in that you can replace the front sight to lower or raise the elevation with a new front sight, each made for a set distance or range?

snowman357
4/21/2012

yep springfield sporters or ebay will sell a set of front sights you can change out they are marked indicating the height of the post.

czechers
4/21/2012 Interesting that the No. 4 has a 300, my No. 5 (a true No. 5 carbine) has the 800... and its pretty much useless outside of 300m.

madcratebuilder
4/21/2012

The No5 has a 800 yd max rear sight and the No4 is 1200 yds marked.

No4 sights

The front sights are easy to change. You can get a full set off evil bay. The front sight tool is for making very fine adjustments.

MOD notes

To enable rifles to be zeroed, a moveable blade is fitted into a dovetail base, thereby allowing the blade to be moved from side to side to correct lateral errors.

The foresight blades are also made in varying heights so that the vertical errors can be corrected by the replacement of the existing blade by one of a different in height. There are various sets of blades for the different types of rifles, but Qn 811 those rifles dealt with in the foregoing instructions there is one common rule. A blade marked HO" is provided, the tip of which when fitted to the rifle is exactly c:)rie inch above the axis of the bore. All other blades graduate from this '~()" or zero blade either above or below it in constant increments. In the case of British rifles this increment is .015". If a blade is lower than the zero blade it is referred to as a "minus' blade, and if it is above it becomes a "plUs» blade. All blades are J1IQl"Ited so cu; to be eJl~J1y r~gnised,those below the zero having as a prefix the minus sign e.g. -.015". The "plus" sign is fiot 'useQ, therefore a blade with 0:n1ya :ijgure, e.g. .015'.,: is always a plus blade.

The Mean Sight Radius is the distance from the aperture or "u" of the backsight to the tip of the foresight, and this differs on the various rifles. It will be appreciated that the sight radius governs the amount of adjustment made on the target by the fitting of a different size of blade foresight. The longer the sight radius the smaller will be the angle made between alme from the backsight to the old blade .afid a. lifie from the back sight to thene'W blade. To assess the difference which will be made by a change of foresight.

Use the following formula:

RANGE X DIFFERENCE IN HEIGHT OF BLADES VALUATION SIGHT RADIUS OF WEAPON - ON TARGET.

To give a simple example, assume that we ate going to replace an "0" blade with a -.015" blade on a Rifle No. 4. the Sight Radius of which is 28.74" and our range is 100 yards. By fitting a LOWER blade the resultant MPI will be HIGHER by:-

14)0X 36 X..O;t5
28.74 = 1.87"

As we included the figure 36 in our top lifie, thereby bringing our 100 yards to inches, o\.rr answer is in inches. So that by replacing an UQ" blade with a ––.015" on a rifle No. 4 we would raise our MPI by 1.8'1.'at 100 yards. With a leaf backsight fitted to a rifle, the aperture or slide shoUld be set at the lowest graduation, namely 200 yards. It it not however satisfactory to zero a rifle at this range, afid the ranges use are 100 yards or 25 yards. It will be seen therefore, that the resultant MPL to be correct. would have to be somewhere above the point of aim, so that when actually fitting at 200 yards, 01' at other ranges with the correct reading on the sight the shots will group A'r the point of aim.

In the case of lube No.4 fitted with a Mk2 backsight, the apertures of which are sighted for 8OO and 600 yards, the rifle will be zeroed using the 300 yard aperture with a bayonet affixed.Therefore the correct position of the MPI at 100 yards or 25 yards would be even higher than with a leaf sight.