Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · II · 588

Watson Bros. Lee-Speed sporter, S/N 7738

Section II: curio or relic, still subject to the Gun Control Act

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION II · VERBATIM · PDF P. 19 ↗

Watson Brothers, Lee-Speeds type, custom sporting rifle, cal. .303, S/N 7738.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESYour serial number is one ATF listsATF: “S/N 7738”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1895–1914.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United Kingdom
Manufacturer
Watson Bros., London
Type
Rifle
Action
Bolt
Caliber
.303 British
Made
Listed serial only · c. 1895–1914production; ATF states no date²
Service
Commercial
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 19 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. Wikipedia, “Lee–Speed” ↗, general: Lee–Speed: sporting variant of the Lee–Metford/Lee–Enfield made for civilian shooters
  2. web.archive.org ↗, years (estimate: range of the base model): Lee-Speed sporters were built on the Lee-Metford (1888) and the Lee-Enfield (adopted 1895) and in the press from 1890–1891 (RIA blog, Wayback copy); American Rifleman dates an LSA Lee-Speed to 1919; S/N 7738 itself undated
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
1 change · see below

Correction history

  1. Data-trust reviewEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Lee–Speed (base model shown for Watson Bros. Lee-Speed sporter, S/N 7738)
Shown: a 1921 B.S.A. advertisement for a Lee-Enfield-action sporting rifle, not this Watson Brothers custom rifle.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Hardware merchandising March-June 1921 (1921) (14761795241).jpg” by Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Lee–Speed”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Lee–Speed rifle was a bolt-action rifle based on James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and detachable magazine. Early models were fitted with barrels using the radiused rifling designed by William Ellis Metford. while later models used the same square "Enfield" rifling as contemporary British military rifles.