Lee Enfield .308WIN, they worth it?

Smis Five Creedmoor

Smis Five Creedmoor

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Hoping to make a re-creation of the British L42A1, though admittedly it's a long ways away before I can actually do such a thing, if I do decide to go through it.
On that note, do I get a .303Brit one and have it re-barreled, or get one that's already .308?
Is the Ishapore one worth it?
 
It all depends on what you're going to use the rifle for.

plinking, hunting, club milsurp matches, or even some long range fun.

There aren't a lot of "matches" around anymore which the rifles would be competitive, but there are still a few.

If you can find a reciever, and I believe Marstar still has a few stripped receivers, I would start with that, get the rest of the pieces together, stock, scope, scope bracket/bases and the tools to drill and tap the receiver, trigger group, magazine and lastly a good quality barrel and Palma Match reamer.

The L42 used a heavy barrel and a special magazine. Maybe look for a good DCRA rifle chambered to 7.62x51 and use as is or build from there.

A good No4 DCRA 7.62x51 with the proper magazine will go for appx $1500

They do show up once in a while but they're pricey.
 
the proper magazine for a No 4 DCRA is just a .303 mag. If you want the correct 7.62 mag for the L42 they are difficult to find and usually at least $400.

IMHO if you are going to do a decent L42 clone you need to find a lot of expensive and difficult to find parts. A 4(T) clone would be a lot easier and cheaper
 
The 2A and 2A1 rifles work fine, and are worth buying if you want 7.62 and prefer the no.1 action over the no.4 action.

But it will never be an L42 clone. You need a no.4 action for that.
 
Watch for a No. 4 which was rebarreled to 7.62x51 with a medium heavy barrel for DCRA/PRA target shooting. The barrels will be either Schultz & Larsen or Enfield. These rifles were obsolete for competition by the mid-90s. You might find one with an issue butt, the forend will be cut down. w ww.leeenfieldpartsandmilitaria.com will have stock sets. For a representative scope, search for Bartok5's review of the available reproduction No. 32 scopes. There are two choices for magazines - British issue or Sterling. Either will be pricey.
This will not be an inexpensive project.
I am currently building up a faux 4T using a rifle I built up on a stripped receiver years ago. At the time, the rifle cost very little; the scope and rings will be the most expensive parts. Being .303, a costly magazine isn't required.
 
Forget it, unless you get a sterling mag, then you have the ejector issue. The receiver needs to be milled for the factory 308 mags that have the ejector. L42 mags are extremely expensive. Still need to buy an extractor.
Sterling magazines aren’t cheap either.

Dcra rifles are all set up as single shots, just because a 308 magazine is fitted won’t mean it functions, I’m not aware of anyone in Canada who does or can do the receiver milling
Better off buying one of the L39, envoy,….. properly done conversions that Calgary shooting centre brings in from time to time.
 
Had a look at their website. Good thing they are having the machining done. I would not look forward to turning one of those castings into a mount...
 
55recce said:
the proper magazine for a No 4 DCRA is just a .303 mag. If you want the correct 7.62 mag for the L42 they are difficult to find and usually at least $400.

IMHO if you are going to do a decent L42 clone you need to find a lot of expensive and difficult to find parts. A 4(T) clone would be a lot easier and cheaper
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Just depends on how "accurate to detail" the OP wants to be. Real and clone L42 stocks are rare items these days. There are a few places in Europe making them and the proper bands. Barrels aren't just off the shelf No4 issue barrels.

I have an L42 hammer forged barrel in my rack but it's been cut down and I've got a hunting rifle project booked for it.

As for "real" L42 mags, they are expensive but there are other clones out there that work well at less than half the price.

OP, do lots of due diligence before you start this project. If you have to pay or whatever to get the work done, it would be prudent to look closely at already assembled DCRA rifles.

Setting up Lee Enfields from the receiver is a learning curve all in itself. Not a lot of smiths are willing to tackle the projects, because they can't charge for all the time it takes to do it right. If they even know how to do it right.

You're talking about 75 year old tech. Lots of excellent smiths out there but their skill set is with more recent platforms.
 
bearhunter said:
Just depends on how "accurate to detail" the OP wants to be. Real and clone L42 stocks are rare items these days. There are a few places in Europe making them and the proper bands. Barrels aren't just off the shelf No4 issue barrels.

I have an L42 hammer forged barrel in my rack but it's been cut down and I've got a hunting rifle project booked for it.

As for "real" L42 mags, they are expensive but there are other clones out there that work well at less than half the price.

OP, do lots of due diligence before you start this project. If you have to pay or whatever to get the work done, it would be prudent to look closely at already assembled DCRA rifles.

Setting up Lee Enfields from the receiver is a learning curve all in itself. Not a lot of smiths are willing to tackle the projects, because they can't charge for all the time it takes to do it right. If they even know how to do it right.

You're talking about 75 year old tech. Lots of excellent smiths out there but their skill set is with more recent platforms.
Click to expand...
At this point I'm not looking for like microscopic-accurate-to-history type setup. If anything I want it to be functional too.

Off topic (?) but are there means to attach AICS or AR10 Magazines?
 
You could start with a replica No.4 T in .303 and later on have it re-barreled for 7.62. The bracket/scope are, of course, the same, with all of the same installation challenges and a scoped .303 rifle would be a good start. If you can build a decent "T" replica you might just conclude that .303 is good—reloading for it is a simple as it gets—and 7.62 NATO has no particular advantage unless you have access to quantities of cheap surplus 7.62N ball ammo. If you do attempt a 7.62N replica be aware that not all 7.62 barrels may be appropriate for the full-length float of the L42A1. DCRA rifles are full-length stocked and have various mid-barrel bedding approaches used for best accuracy.

milsurpo
 
Smis Five Creedmoor said:
At this point I'm not looking for like microscopic-accurate-to-history type setup. If anything I want it to be functional too.

Off topic (?) but are there means to attach AICS or AR10 Magazines?
Click to expand...
Smis, at this point in time, you should look into an Australian AIA Lee Enfield, they will fill all of your needs. They are chambered for the 308Win/7.62x39/223rem

Not an exact duplication by any means but very close, very strong, and usually with beautiful wood. They usually come with an attachable Picatinny style rail for amounting scops and can be very accurate as well as useful in the field as a hunting rifle.

I haven't bought or sold one recently but I've owned and sold several.

The purists wail and whine, gnash their teeth, etc at the "commercial upgrades" or howl the receivers were made in Viet Nam, to keep costs down and a myriad of other things, mostly out of pure snobbery, which is acceptable. I love the way Savage bolt rifles handle and shoot, I sincerely find them to FUGLY to be caught with, so the only time you will see me in public with on is when it's on my table for sale at a gun show.

I sold my AIA rifles because I just wasn't using them, and it was time for "someone else" to take care of them and enjoy them more than I was.

As my time comes close, after setting aside those my heirs have interest in, the rest get or have been sold.

They haven't made the AIA rifle for a few decades, due to financial issues, etc with the company. They were and are very popular and you will likely pay a premium for one, but when all is said and done, it will still be cheaper/handier than building an L42 of your own.
 
bearhunter said:
Smis, at this point in time, you should look into an Australian AIA Lee Enfield, they will fill all of your needs. They are chambered for the 308Win/7.62x39/223rem

Not an exact duplication by any means but very close, very strong, and usually with beautiful wood. They usually come with an attachable Picatinny style rail for amounting scops and can be very accurate as well as useful in the field as a hunting rifle.

I haven't bought or sold one recently but I've owned and sold several.

The purists wail and whine, gnash their teeth, etc at the "commercial upgrades" or howl the receivers were made in Viet Nam, to keep costs down and a myriad of other things, mostly out of pure snobbery, which is acceptable. I love the way Savage bolt rifles handle and shoot, I sincerely find them to FUGLY to be caught with, so the only time you will see me in public with on is when it's on my table for sale at a gun show.

I sold my AIA rifles because I just wasn't using them, and it was time for "someone else" to take care of them and enjoy them more than I was.

As my time comes close, after setting aside those my heirs have interest in, the rest get or have been sold.

They haven't made the AIA rifle for a few decades, due to financial issues, etc with the company. They were and are very popular and you will likely pay a premium for one, but when all is said and done, it will still be cheaper/handier than building an L42 of your own.
Click to expand...
duly noted
 
homslice said:
I have a 308 Enfield that I was told the heavy barrel on it was a Schultz and Larson.
Any marks that I should look for on it to see if it's actually that?
I'm toying with keeping it or not as I don't shoot it often
Click to expand...
The most commonly used target barrels were S&L and Enfield. Enfields were hammer forged, with a snakeskin texture to the surface.
Doesn't mean that your is a S&L, but it could be.
 
I think I read it here on CGN that there were on,y about 10 true L42A1’s imported into Canada. Which reflected that there were quite a few made up rifles. The thread which I can’t find went into great detail on how to authenticate the rifles.
 
One thing I noticed about the AIA was that the bluing was extremely thin, almost like an afterthought.

Why not get a .30 calibre barrel installed on your project SMLE so you end up with a .30/.303 with a SAAMI chamber? You could get the chamber throated so you could use regular .303 as well as reloads, and no fuss with extractors and unobtainium magazines.

The question would be what twist rate, alloy, and rifling profile to get.

You would not be shovelling big dollars into a custom 7.62 SMLE just to use 7.62 mm ball ammo in it.
 
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