Jonesing for an Enfield

[LVSteve]

I believe that's one of the Irish "Constabulary" models Faulkner has and I used to own. They were made to be issued in Ireland but instead were stored in wrap until surplused out.

I see the fiction about UF 55 series rifles and Ireland is alive and well. It is nothing more than an importer's legend.

Those were issued to the Royal Air Force but never came out of their stores except to be surplussed. Mine is still mummy wrapped.

The "Irish Contract" rifles were serialed between PF 309348 and PF 359347.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Congratulations on realizing that "need: is irrelevant! The Enfield ( I have an Ishapore so that it uses NATO ammo) was the second milsurp that I bought because they are cheap and they are cool.

 

[bummer]

I see the fiction about UF 55 series rifles and Ireland is alive and well. It is nothing more than an importer's legend.

Those were issued to the Royal Air Force but never came out of their stores except to be surplussed. Mine is still mummy wrapped.

The "Irish Contract" rifles were serialed between PF 309348 and PF 359347.

I have one that's about 20,000 over this one and mine looks like it was used a lot . The stock and metal have a certain "patina" but that and the 75 dollars I paid for it back in the day are what I like about the rifle

 

[les.b]

Well, I'm late to the party. I got a factory sporterized mark 4 made here In the U.S. by Savage. It was sporterized in England by Parker Hale. Nice thing is that it has a new Parker barrel with a standard chamber, so I dont have the headspace problem, or the lengthening problem when reloading. I slugged the bore when I first got it, took a .32 cal 90 gr bullet that I reload for the .32 S&W long cartridge and drove it down the barrel. Then miked the slug to find the groove and land diameters. That went so well that I decided to see if I could work up a plinking load with the 32 lead bullet. Trust me, I have now fired hundreds of them. I don't want to post the actual charge here, but I use a very small amount. Remember, you don't want to drive the lead bullet very fast, or you will start leading the bore. Anyway, last year cheaper than dirt had a lot of the Greek ammo, on stripper clips, or not, I bought quite a bit. It is non corrosive, and the cartridge cases are boxer primed, and are some of the nicest I have found for reloading. I have loaded a number of different bullets, from the 215 gr Woodleigh (Australian), to some lighter bullets by hornady and Remington. The Remington may not be available now, I found some old new stock at a local dealers, but the core locked bullets are great for hunting. Also the Woodleighs are great hunting rounds. If you are a mosin loader, you can use any of the mosin bullets to load the .303. Great gun. Have fun, and if you want that load with the .32 revolver bullet, PM me. It makes for really cheap shooting, and no recoil, and you really can get by without hearing protection! Lots of fun.

 

[Richard Simmons]

I see the fiction about UF 55 series rifles and Ireland is alive and well. It is nothing more than an importer's legend.

Those were issued to the Royal Air Force but never came out of their stores except to be surplussed. Mine is still mummy wrapped.

The "Irish Contract" rifles were serialed between PF 309348 and PF 359347.

I guess it's only "fiction" as it relates to a specific serial number range. I had only heard about the Irish rifles being unissued so when I see or read about these blond stocked Enfields in unissued condition that's what I think of.

 

[LVSteve]

I guess it's only "fiction" as it relates to a specific serial number range. I had only heard about the Irish rifles being unissued so when I see or read about these blond stocked Enfields in unissued condition that's what I think of.

Some of the rifles in the correct Irish Contract serial range did arrive in the US in mint condition. That started another row amongst collectors as to how many of the Irish rifles were actually delivered and had the mint ones been living in a UK store. That I don't know, one way or the other.

I think what happened when the mint UF 55 rifles appeared was that many assumed they came from the same source, i.e., Ireland.

What the importers missed was the number of Irish property marked No.1 rifles that made it to the US. To be fair though, many carry the Irish mark under the rear handguard. The history of those rifles is really interesting, as the story goes that Ireland returned them to the UK after the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. Most were WWI rifles refurbished in the 1920-30s (usually with a new barrel) and sold to the new Irish Free State.

 

[Stephanie B]

Congratulations on realizing that "need: is irrelevant! The Enfield ( I have an Ishapore so that it uses NATO ammo) was the second milsurp that I bought because they are cheap and they are cool.

Rick, "cheap", not so much, anymore. Certainly not in the same league as my Mosins.

Great gun. Have fun, and if you want that load with the .32 revolver bullet, PM me. It makes for really cheap shooting, and no recoil, and you really can get by without hearing protection! Lots of fun.

Les, I might be interested in that. I reload a little for .38, but I've resisted expanding on that because components have been so hard to come by for the last couple of years.

 

[les.b]

Stephanie: I'll get back to you with some specific info. I'm at my cabin right now, still on vacation, and don't have my reloading notes with me. I am very careful when it comes to reloading, and keep detailed notes of just about everything I do. That way if something were ever to go wrong, I'll know where I went astray. If you are already loading for the .38, I presume that you already have a lot of the tools that you will need. As far as dies go, once you invest in a set of .303 Brit dies and a shell holder, you will be able to use them for everything from the light pistol bullet loads up to the heavy loads like the 215 gr hunting loads. There are some commercial loads that you can shoot and save the brass from, Remington is available, but there are some good loads from Prvi Partizan (Serbian I think) that are lower priced, yet have nice brass boxer primed reload able cases. I'll get back with you as soon as I make a trip back home and can consult my notes.

 

[JohnRippert]

I started my C&R acquisitions with a No5 from SOG for $169 and went6 on to buy several Enfields. They are great rifles with good triggers and all of mine shoot accurately.

IIRC all of these are BSA's except for number 2 which is a WWII Lithgow.

A really nice Savage. I think they managed to stamp everything but the screws with the Savage S.

Ishapore 2A

ETA:


Thanks for the reminder down below.


No2MkIV Ishapore .22

 

[Faulkner]

I have a .303 rifle chamber insert that allows you to shoot .32 ACP. I've never taken the opportunity to try it out.

 

[eveled]

A friend of mine has a .22 Enfield training rifle. It is a single shot, the magazine has no follower, or spring. It serves as a receptacle for spent brass.

When you are done at the range, eject the magazine and dump the empty's.

 

[Stephanie B]

It came yesterday. The bore looks decent. It's a No.4 Mk.1 with Mark 1 sights. It has a short stock, but that's fixable with a slip-on recoil pad. At some time, it appears to have had the receiver refinished with black lacquer, which was evidently applied by a somewhat dain-bramaged 7 year old.

Range trip as soon as I can make it.

 

[deadin]

which was evidently applied by a somewhat dain-bramaged 7 year old.

Actually it probably was applied by British arsenal during a FTR (Factory Thorough Repair). (Same as our refurbishing).

Of course I can't say that the Brits didn't employ dain-bramaged 7 year olds...

 

[serger]

That black paint is called stoving enamel. The commonwealth countries all pretty much used it. It is still made by Loctite and the trade name is Suncorite 259. There is a company on e-bay who peddles it. Also if you look on e-bay you can get a longer length butt stock. As I recall they had 4 different lengths.

 

[Stephanie B]

That black paint is called stoving enamel. The commonwealth countries all pretty much used it. It is still made by Loctite and the trade name is Suncorite 259. There is a company on e-bay who peddles it. Also if you look on e-bay you can get a longer length butt stock. As I recall they had 4 different lengths.

Serger, I think I'll keep it as it is. With a limbsaver slip-on recoil pad, the rifle fits me nicely.

It cleaned up nicely. The bore looks really good.

 

[LVSteve]

The bore looks really good.

2, 4 or 5-groove?

 

[calmex]

Do the .308 versions of the Lee Enfield use Nato stripper clips to load? The original .303 clips would be useless. Also, are the .308 chambers oversized like the .303 chambers are? Or are they more to spec.

Thanks
Cal

 

[serger]

I dug mine outta the safe and it's actually a 2A vice 2A1 like I posted in entry 16. It has the 2000 meter sight (And 2A stamped on the receiver).

Anyway, the charging bridge is cut for regular military 308 stripper clips. Both US 7.62 and Aussie clips work. And the chamber is a little "loose" but not nearly as much as the 303's.

 

[Stephanie B]

2, 4 or 5-groove?

5 groove.

The rifle was apparently made in 1956 at the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, soon after the British sold/transferred the tooling from Fazakerley.

I fired it on a 25 yard range. The battle sight shot 4" high, which I gather is where it should shoot. The micrometer sight, at 200 yards, hit about spot on. It was dead on in windage.

But that front sight... it was like trying to see a toothpick.

 

[Seraphim]

A lot of LE fans here...