Help.......and please don't LAUGH!

[mindcrime]

Help.......and please don\'t LAUGH!

My step grandfather recently willed me his 1942 Enfield No.4 Mk.1, God rest his soul, and the poor fella had NO knowledge of proper firearm preventative maintenance. The barrel is TOAST!

The rifle is in great shape, except for this fact, and I would like to shoot it (as accurately as a .303 can). Does anyone know where I could find a new barrel for it or any gunsmiths who might refurbish this fine old battle iron?

BTW, this rifle really does hold great sentimental value to me as I remember as a young kid, I always asked him to "play" (unloaded of course) with it all the time. I was the ONLY grandchild to be specified in his will to inherit a firearm, so I feel a responsibility to get her up and going again.

Thanks!

 

[Dave King]

Re: Help.......and please don\'t LAUGH!

There are groups specifically dedicated to the Enfield, do an internet search and I'm sure you'll find the information you need.

 

[BountyHunter]

Re: Help.......and please don\'t LAUGH!

Go to www.gunboards.com/forums/

there is a specific enfield forum on that net and links to all kinds of enfield parts dealers and experts.

Good luck

BH

 

[Mysticplayer]

Re: Help.......and please don\'t LAUGH!

Marstar in Canada should have the parts you are looking for. Phone number is 613-678-3173. Those Enfields are very popular in Canada. www.303british.com is an excellent site.

Some of them did not come with much rifling to begin with and are rough. Have you tried really scrubbing it to bare metal? As long as you can see rifling, it should shoot. Try and measure the bore diameter. If it is over .311, go with the Hornady 150sp. They shoot very well and are the largest commonly found bullet at .312". I use them in all my Enfields.

If the bore is closer to .310, Speer and Sierra bullets become alternative choices.

H335 has always worked well for me. I use it in surplus brass and Win LR primers. I moly coat my bullets and it really helps with these rougher bores. Fouling is still there but at least you can get reasonable vel. before pressures start to spike.

Check the headspace and change the bolt head if necessary.

I use the Lee Collet die and like many others, have found this to keep brass life reasonable. If you FL size, chances are your brass will separate on the second firing. Commercial brass will not last as long as military brass.

If I can be of any help, let me know.

Jerry

 

[mindcrime]

Re: Help.......and please don\'t LAUGH!

Dave you can't imagine HOW long I have spent searching this very topic!

Bounty, thanks I'll give that one a try.

Jerry, thanks for Marstar and the 303british.com.....I'd already looked there though. As for the barrel scrubbing, I used Shooter's Choice, then JB Bore Cleaner(mildly abrasive), and then after it was as clean as it was going to get(after over a hour of elbow grease), I Kroiled the barrel for safe keeping. You can see rifling, however it is about the worst I've ever seen.

I'm actually considering getting a chromoly PacNor(1/10 twist and 5 grooves) and building a .303 Epps Improved, just to be different. Add a $49.95 synthetic stock and she'd be ugly but mean. At least that would take care of the question of brass life.

Still have NO clue other than Epps himself that would do it....and he's in Canada.

 

[mark223]

Convert it to 30-40 Craig. Get a good 308 barrel blank in 1/10 or 1/12 twist and get a good gunsmith to do the rest.

You don't need to do anything to the bolt face, extractor or move the ejector screw. They will fit as is. May have to modify the mag lips but not by much.

Neck size your ammo and it will reload several times. Otherwise FL resizing with the Enfield action will really shorten your brass life to 4 or 5 times, maybe less.

Now you have a low pressure 30 cal with lots of bullet choices and you can load some very nice 110 gr varmint loads all the way to some 200 gr elk loads. It isn't exactly a long range rifle, at least as LR rifles are generally depicted on this site, but it will do very well and with some 168hpbt and other similar projectiles, it will out perform the original 303. It probably will have enough energy and accuracy to make 400 yard deer a very do-able shot.

In the late 90's, we shot the AASAAM matches in Austraila against mostly 308 win but there were several 303's. They did quite well at 900. much better than I thought they would.

If I figure out how to do it, I'll send you a picture of mine in 7.62 NATO

Anyway ... that's my 2cents worth of advice.