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Sandgroper wrote:

Sim G wrote:Are those 7.62 "Indian Enfields" still around? Always fancied making a Scout Rifle out of one...

Ovenpaa has the one I used to have. It's a great rifle, loads of fun to shoot. Sometimes I wonder why I got rid of it - then I remember, I got something even more fun, a M95 Steyr carbine! clapclap Which BTW would make a great scout rifle!

It is one of my favourite rifles in an odd way, the ultimate Scout Zombie rifle and the 12 round magazine is a real bonus. It is on the work sheet to have the barrel chopped even further this year and maybe a laminate stock fitted as the existing stock is not totally to my taste.

I do have a reasonably heavy .300 barrel blank here I could fit however it is a 1:12 and really I would prefer a 1:14 for lighter bullets.

Is it wrong to Cerakote an Indian Enfield?

ovenpaa wrote:

Sandgroper wrote:

Sim G wrote:Are those 7.62 "Indian Enfields" still around? Always fancied making a Scout Rifle out of one...

Ovenpaa has the one I used to have. It's a great rifle, loads of fun to shoot. Sometimes I wonder why I got rid of it - then I remember, I got something even more fun, a M95 Steyr carbine! clapclap Which BTW would make a great scout rifle!

It is one of my favourite rifles in an odd way, the ultimate Scout Zombie rifle and the 12 round magazine is a real bonus. It is on the work sheet to have the barrel chopped even further this year and maybe a laminate stock fitted as the existing stock is not totally to my taste.

I do have a reasonably heavy .300 barrel blank here I could fit however it is a 1:12 and really I would prefer a 1:14 for lighter bullets.

Is it wrong to Cerakote an Indian Enfield?

Not that one! The stock is rubbish but the rifle was still accurate with it - so a better stock is a must. I'm pretty sure it has a 1:12 barrel and it handled bullets from 110-168gn bullets and most of the time the 168's were subsonics.

Maybe it should become my fully silenced rifle. I have a thing about building a truly silent 7,62x51 with additional rubber baffles however it really needs to be lobbing 200 grain bullets.

I was shooting my 2A1 7.62mm last weekend when I realized the forearm was sliding fore and aft with each shot. Accuracy was still fine but the moving forearm was disconcerting. When I got home I took it apart and found that the wood was mega compressed and crumbling from gallons of oil in the wood. Looks like it is time to swap out the forearm. I love the India 2A1 rifle but I think the #4mk2 is about as good as they come.

The best Lee Enfield.....depends on your criteria really.....

Shootability and build quality, then its a late No4 Mk2, but if you are interested in originality and "battle carisma" then it has to be a WW1 SMLE or a WW2 No4 Mk1, original mind you, none of this new build repro stuff with all the character of a block of 1950's flats!


Now is the best time to buy No4 mk1's, because they are already rising in value, they certainly won't get any cheaper as the rules of supply and demand kick in.

No4 barrels have dried up (no new Walther production for some reason, and spare good original barrels getting scarce) so the number of good shooting No4's is dropping fast!

The once cheap and plentiful milsurp No4 Mk1 is fast becoming a really good investment.

An all original WW1 No1 Mk3* is my personal choice.....like mine!

huntervixen,

Shootability and build quality, then its a late No4 Mk2

Don't know if I quite agree with that or not. I have a 1943 No4 MK1 that will shoot very well and if I put a scope on it will shoot sub moa all day long. Saying that though, if I use .311 bullets groups are pretty average but when I use a .312 Hornady bullet it's a way different ball game. It'll shoot beautifully tight groups.

Blu

Hi Blu,

Tell me Blu, can you still pick up Long Branch and Savage No4's at reasonable prices your side of the pond ? Good point on the No4 mk1 accuracy, some people assume the original attached Mk1 trigger and Wartime build = poor accuracy, not a bit of it, if the barrels still good and its correctly stocked up, then it shoot just as well as as a post war Mk2.

My point is that these days Mk2's seem to be found with better (less shagged out) barrels and were built with less urgency than the wartime Mk1, so build quality, fit and finish is better in general.

I still still prefer a "been there" Mk1 myself!

The best Enfield is the one in your hands :) .......

Personally I love my No4 Mk2... but that may be down to it being the first rifle I bought when I got my FAC...

She is all matching and shoots very nicely indeed.

rufrdr wrote:I was shooting my 2A1 7.62mm last weekend when I realized the forearm was sliding fore and aft with each shot. Accuracy was still fine but the moving forearm was disconcerting. When I got home I took it apart and found that the wood was mega compressed and crumbling from gallons of oil in the wood. Looks like it is time to swap out the forearm. I love the India 2A1 rifle but I think the #4mk2 is about as good as they come.

The forend is easy to repair, and keeping the original will preserve the value of the rifle.

I got my unfired 1955 Faz No.4 MkII from EFD rifles. They always seem to have a good stock list and would recommend them. http://www.efdrifles.com