The terminology for the new SMLE rifle introduced in 1907 was the Short, Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle MkIII. It followed the Short, Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle Mk1 which had been introduced in 1903. Both of these were new made rifles.

In between them was the Short, Magazine Lee Enfield MkII Cond. This model was a conversion from earlier “Long Lee Enfields” (MLEs) and "Long Lee metfords" (MLMs) to the current “Short rifle” pattern.

There are several minor variations on these Mk2 conversion patterns.

Range Conversions

The rifle shown shown below is known as a range conversion. It used shortened LE1* fore ends and were left with no charging bridge nor any provision for a bayonet. These are not to be confused with Mk2s and were shortened Long Lees reconfigured to meet the competition rules for post WW1 military rifle competitions.

This is the other common form of range conversion rifle.