Lee-Enfield MKI |
The British Lee-Enfield rifle
was designed after the similar black-powder rifle used in the
American Civil War by Confederate troops, while most of the Union
army used the US made Springfield rifle of similar cap-and-ball
design using the newly introduced “minié ball” bullet introduced by Frenchman, Claude-Étienne Minié. The newly
designed cartridge Enfield rifle was designed with a rear-locking
bolt system like Mauser,
but quicker to operate. It was fitted with a 10-round magazine and
became the British military rifle beginning in 1895 until 1957 with
variations in its design and using the .303 British cartridge. It is
a valued rifle among collectors no matter what period it was made.