Enfield sporterized

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crfdell

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I have a 303 enfield that has been sporterizedI. Problem is accuracy lol first two shots are good then it seems as the barrel heats up the shots seems to wander!

I believe the barrel is worn out but any other suggestions? Is it worth doing a barrel replacement? How hard is it to do? Costs? The action is great nice and tight and otherwise the rifle is in good condition.
 
crfdell said:
I have a 303 enfield that has been sporterizedI. Problem is accuracy lol first two shots are good then it seems as the barrel heats up the shots seems to wander!

I believe the barrel is worn out but any other suggestions? Is it worth doing a barrel replacement? How hard is it to do? Costs? The action is great nice and tight and otherwise the rifle is in good condition.
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Sporterized? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That aside, finding a replacement barrel is like hen's teeth I'm afraid. They do come up here and there but it's not like you can go to Wholesale and order one. Is the barrel cut down? Has it been recrowned? There are many factors.
 
Enfield

The barrel looks to not have been. It down or modified just the wood cut and shortened. Still ha the front sight and lugs.

Not a valuable rifle but is was my fathers first hunting rifle and mine as well so I would like to fix it up and use it for some sport shooting etc. This rifle has taken down a lot of moose over the years before changing to a 30 06 it hasn't been used for hunting for 20+ years and probably only fired a couple of rounds in that time.

Is the barrel replacement a do it yourself job or a gun smith required I am mechanically inclined and have torn down and restoed several guns and pistols but barrel changes are a new thing for me.

Thanks for the help. Fwiw the barrel is marked surrey


Recce21 said:
Sporterized? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That aside, finding a replacement barrel is like hen's teeth I'm afraid. They do come up here and there but it's not like you can go to Wholesale and order one. Is the barrel cut down? Has it been recrowned? There are many factors.
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I restored a Surrey sporter as well. It's the name of the butchers in the UK that sported it. Who is the manufacturer? My Surrey was a Long Branch. Great rifle.

The barrel replacement is definitely a gunsmith job.

As for the wood, I would suggest picking up some India used wood at a gun show or contact Marstar for the parts. Marstar is charging a ludicrous amount for the wood but it is Canadian marked and in excellent, unissued condition. I'm still waiting out on their No. 1 Mk.3 Canadian marked wood sets.
 
Slow down, hombre. Before you go replacing the barrel, maybe you should have a closer look at the stock. Is it a polymer "sporterized" stock, or is it wood? You said something about wood:

It down or modified just the wood cut and shortened.
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...but I couldn't make heads nor tails of that sentence. If it is a polymer stock, maybe a good bedding will help. If the fit is a little loose to begin with, a hot barrel will expand it further and accuracy suffers. If it's a wood stock, then I dunno. Just something to consider, before you blow a wad of cash on a new barrel.
 
It's pretty common for bullets to start to wander in sporter weight barrels after 2 or 3 fast shots and it varies how much with different guns. For hunting purposes that makes little actual difference but if you're shooting at targets and not allowing for the barrel to cool down between shots you will notice a decrease in accuracy. Proper bedding can help some. Or buy a gun with a target weight barrel.
 
If I recall correctly LE's were designed to have some upward force from the stock to the BBL.
If your's is chopped this might make it free floating and your LE might not like this arrangement.
Ask some of the guru's on the Milsurp forum, but make sure that you mention that you'd like to restore it ( they are real funny about Bubba'd rifles, unfriendly some might say)
 
tokguy said:
If I recall correctly LE's were designed to have some upward force from the stock to the BBL.
If your's is chopped this might make it free floating and your LE might not like this arrangement.
Ask some of the guru's on the Milsurp forum, but make sure that you mention that you'd like to restore it ( they are real funny about Bubba'd rifles, unfriendly some might say)
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I would be one of those Milsurp'ers! :D

Although no guru, unlike smellie, wheaty and the like I do know a fair bit and own a few. The barrels were indeed designed to have 4-6 pounds of upwards pressure just behind the front sight which as accomplished by an insert in the lower forearm which has been cut down in your case. Buy a $100 set of Ishapore wood and see if it shoots better. If it doesn't, at least you have brought dignity back to the old girl. Although the purists, myself included, will be quick to point out the "Ishy screw"
 
WestIslandRifle said:
why would people do that to a rifle like that ..... its butchering a classic . its like puttin 20's on a old delta 88
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The younger generation doesn't usually know this but most of the military surplus guns sold in hardware stores 30-40 years ago were sporterized because that's what people wanted. And they were a dime a dozen. In fact full wood versions were cheaper then sporterized ones. Now people want the classic unaltered full wood look and you pay much more for these now. I recall seeing a full wood Ross for $40 in the local hardware store back in the late 60's. I had no interest in it then, wish I'd bought it now.
 
WestIslandRifle said:
why would people do that to a rifle like that ..... its butchering a classic . its like puttin 20's on a old delta 88
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It is my understanding that shortly after WWII, there was a fair amount of distaste for war, and a lot of surplus rifles were sportarized to give them a new 'hunting' use and look.

I don't disagree with their mindset either. Imagine 5 full years of war. Would you want a rifle sitting in the closet reminding you of your brothers, family members who died horribly?

Years upon years later its the collectors who see these as blasphemous :) 2 different mindsets, neither wrong in their own context.
 
Nothing wrong with a well done sporter, it is part of our shooting heritage.

With a Lee Enfield, it depends on which model of rifle that you have. As mentioned, stocking up has an effect on accuracy. A no.1 rifle (WWI style) has a forearm that puts upward pressure at the nosecap and an inner barrel band to dampen harmonics. Cut that away and you have a drastic change in properties.

A no.4 rifle (WWII style) had a barrel that was pretty much free floating from just forward of the receiver.

There is much more to replacing the stock than just assembling with a replacement. The trigger guard plays a BIG part in how the stock is bedding. The recoil lug must bear on the stock's 'draws' tightly. A whole treatise can be written on the subject, and has.

In your case I can only give some general advice. It is probably not the barrel, but the stocking up that is the cause for inconsistancey. For a hunting rifle, sportered stock or custom (including synthetic), glass bed it reaching just forward of the chamber or 'barrel reinforce' (the fat part) and allow the rest of the barrel to free float. Make sure that the trigger guard bears evenly on the wood below it and that the front screw is cranked in tight.

Point of impact will move as the barrel heats up, however, you will get to know how it shoots cold and it will hold zero it for the first few rounds. Good enough for hunting, unless you are are a real bad shot!

Hope this helps.
 
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Thanks to all I am retrieving this rifle this weekend and wil post some pics etc and try and identify what exactly I have lol. Hope it's not too much of a Frankenstein rifle lol

Have a great weekend (going to sit outside in the cold and see if I can. Catch some ice)
 
CZ_Brno said:
The younger generation doesn't usually know this but most of the military surplus guns sold in hardware stores 30-40 years ago were sporterized because that's what people wanted. And they were a dime a dozen. In fact full wood versions were cheaper then sporterized ones. Now people want the classic unaltered full wood look and you pay much more for these now. I recall seeing a full wood Ross for $40 in the local hardware store back in the late 60's. I had no interest in it then, wish I'd bought it now.
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CZ, I share your pain. About 30 years ago I stumbled upon a Garand in new condition (not the Springfield Armory Inc. version). They were in excellent shape and the store had four of them. $399 or something retarded like that.

I wanted a flashy new rifle so I passed it up for a Marlin 30-30, which I then sold about 5 years later to boot! Oh, those harsh memories. :D
 
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this is what i did to ..... and do with..... my old girls. ;)
i love the no 1 mk3 , my second favorite rifle. my first rifle, a full wood lithgow with matching numbers, still remains unmolested. however these two beauties where far gone for original restoration but the chambers and bores were good, so..... these are just 2 of the dozen or more i've done up for fellow hunters
 
Rebarreling may prove way too costly, and un-needed as well.

If you were to bone up on #4 bedding technic's, set it up properly, then do an 'Agressive Bore Cleaning' with alternating strong copper cutting solvent and brake cleaner .... once down to bare bore metal she'll likely shoot much better.
 
Okay M14 doctor, I give up. What rail do you have on that :D

I have a sportarized No4 which I had an aluminum ATI rail on it (i wasn't impressed) so I've gone back to the irons. Would still like a rail on her but no idea where to get a nice solid steel one.
 
Ahaa ;)
Custom my friend.
I am waiting till I can put a good mill and machinist in my shop,my machinist is off upgrading his CNC abilities, then that mount will be availlable to all :D

The top rifle's mount uses the same holes that the weaver T-01 uses. A great many MK3, shtle 3 ect , came with that T-01 and it was a popular gunsmith's mod in the 70's early 80's
The lower rifle in the pics has the T-01 on it still.
 
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