Mohawk 555 in .303 Brit

Boomer686

Boomer686

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Hey Guys:

I just came across a Mohawk 555 this week. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on it apart from the few dribs and drabs on the net.

So far the error net has turned up that it is somewhat rare and that it was a Canadian venture that imported modified Euorpean surplus rifles. This particular one being modified from a Finnish SVT and rebarreld in .303.

It is in very good + condition but I would like to fully restore it: I need a complete rear sight and was wonering if the gas system is supposed to have a hand guard / shroud over it? Pics I found showed some with and some without.

Finally what would be the value of these guns? They sold for ~$275 in the 60's & early 70's.

Regards,
 
I've seen and shot a few of those Globco .303 converts in the early '70s.
They were poorly done, prone to malfuctions and had excessive head space issues.
We called them "Crapcos". I would'nt shoot one without having measured the chamber
and checking the headspace.
 
The one I had worked well. No issues at all. It liked the 303B handloads I was making up, loaded to near max recommended in the manuals.

I've seen others that have had stove piping issues the same as the rifle in the video. I don't remember if mine had an adjustable gas port anymore. That may be an issue.

When I looked back at my comments in my hand loading record book, there was large notation that the rifle required max loads to function properly. Other than than, no issues. Certainly no pieces falling off.
 
It's too bad they were converted, Globco used rare Finnish Captured SVT-40's. The last one I fired jammed when attempting to extract, stove piped, and misfired.
 
just got one last week . paid $100.00 i was mostly interested in the mag. svt 40 rear sight is what your looking for.and they had a hand guard made out of the front top metal of a svt 40. Globco was in Ottawa .
 
I have owned a couple of these in the past. Both shot well and were fairly reliable. I did find that they seemed to eject rather violently. It would probably be beneficial to both rifle and brass life, to adjust the gas port properly to the load being used. My friend owns one for parts that has the rear of the receiver broken off. Not sure if this was from excessive shooting with the gas port improperly adjusted, or a hot load.
 
Broken-off receiver is the absolute final stop on the 555 Railway. Before that, likely the rifle started to Maxim all by itself; this was from stetch of the receiver and bolt-carrier compression. PROBLEM was that the gas take-off needed to be adjusted to allow less gas to impinge on the piston.

If the gas is set right on the 555, there is no real reason for the rifle to self-destruct and generally they won't. That short piston doesn't help, either: gas takeoff is at high pressure no matter what you do.

But the basic rifle is okay and a semi-auto .303 is always fun.
.
 
I have one and love it, it works well, solid (like anything Russian) , as well as simple... But watch the gas adjustment, get a gas rod and tood or well they might not stop firing... The main cause for jams in the 1 out of 4 others I have seen firing was the mag were damaged.
 
Globeco was located in Vanier, ON and was a great source for Lee-Enfield stuff. They used to cater to the DCRA crowd. I got quite a lot of parts and gauges etc from them. They had an old gent there who had everything in his head;ask him foir something and he'd be back with it in 5 mins or less. Last time I visited them was around 1987 when I got a bunch of NZ contract marked Longbranch spike bayonets. When I got back from a 3 yr tour in the Middle East they were gone.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I'd appreciate hearing more about it if anyone else would like to chime in.

I have a buddy with an SVT-40 so I will do some parts comparison to see what will work on it.

One question: is it still the OEM SVT mag? The one I have has been chopped and welded to fit 5 rounds of 303Brit so I was wondering if anything else was done to it as part of the conversion?

Regards,
 
Last edited:
From an old SIR catalogue.:D

380234753.jpg


Grizz
 
Surely these are collectible in their own right a bit like the factory conversions of wartime service rifles or parts into sporters. I have always found curious the Turkish 8mm conversions of captured lee Enfields very interesting!
 
TimC said:
Surely these are collectible in their own right a bit like the factory conversions of wartime service rifles or parts into sporters. I have always found curious the Turkish 8mm conversions of captured lee Enfields very interesting!
Click to expand...

I know I'd love to own one, I like the "uniqueness" of them. I think they are comparable to a "Santa Fe" Enfield conversion, done by a factory and not by Bubba in his basement....
 
It is in very good + condition but I would like to fully restore it

Restore it to original military, or to the Globco configuration?
 
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