Developed in 1939 and 1940, the Smith & Wesson Light Rifle was a contender for military contracts with both the British and the Americans and squared off against the M1 Carbine as a pistol substitute for officers and support personnel. Baring more similarity to an inter-war era SMG design, the Light Rifle operated in a semi-automatic open bolt mode, with a novel dual-purpose magazine well and ejector port that gave the Rifle a very distinctive profile while also sending spent cartridges straight down to the ground, which would ease use in close formations, tight quarters, and by left-handed users, as well as a synthetic stock to reduce weight and give improved resistance to temperature and humidity changes. At trials, the weapon was promising enough to merit a Mark 2 model, but the lighter M1 Carbine and the more cost-effective Sten and M3 SMGs would win the day. Large numbers of the Light Rifle were destroyed, both during testing and afterwards, including a reported incident of the British cutting their Light Rifle samples up with a blowtorch and tossing the resulting scrap into the English Channel. Most survivors on the market come from a small stockpile left over in S&W's "factory basement" that went undelivered and sat in the dark for decades after World War II. The front sight is a fixed blade, and the rear sight is an adjustable notch, with the one-line patent markings on the right side of the receiver, the two-line Smith & Wesson address on the left, and the S&W logo on the left rear opposite the safety switch. The buttstock is fitted with a serrated steel buttplate, which is numbered to match the receiver. Included with the Light Rifle are five extra magazines, all blue finished and unmarked save the "20" cartridge count marking by the viewport on the rear.

Very fine, with 97% plus of the original blue finish, showing numerous scattered spots on right side and handling marks overall, along with traces of old storage grease and a noticeable vertical dent visible on the right side of the magazine assembly. A few light scratches are present on the stock, and the rear sling swivel is absent. Mechanically excellent.