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As Defence Watch readers know, the Canadian Rangers will be getting a new rifle to replace their aging Lee Enfields. The replacement rifle is based on the SAKO T3 CTR (Compact Tactical Rifle).

But the Canadian Army hopes to also allow the Rangers to keep their Lee Enfields.

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“The possibilities are to give them (to the Rangers) or to sell them to the Rangers at a (discount),” Maj. Carl Gendron, deputy project manager for the Ranger Rifle project, told Defence Watch.

“There is a strong feeling among the Ranger community that they would like to retain those rifles, mainly for the symbolic value of it. Quite often they have been in the family for generations, handed down from father to son. We hope the Rangers will be able to acquire them. How exactly we don’t have the guidance yet.”

“We have asked for guidance from the government on that,” Gendron added.

So will the rest of the Lee Enfields be made available for sale to the public, perhaps through surplus dealers? No one knows at this point. There are an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 such rifles still left in army stocks, according to the Army.