My go to gun

kevwat

kevwat

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Duncan, BC
After thinking about what do I want in a go to gun I had to narrow things down a bit. I finally decided that these new scout rifles from Ruger, Savage etc would end up coming and going as I find there's no class in them for me, I'm sure they're nice but I wanted something different. Milsurps are my interest and what better caliber here in Canada to base my truck/quad/camping/bush/bug out gun on than the old but still very effective .303 British. I feel that there's no better gun to have than a tried and true bolt action, semi's are nice but the bolt action No4 Lee Enfield has always been one of my favorites.
I searched for bubba's best because there's no way in hell I'm committing sacrilege to a milsurp. I saw some doozy's but nothing peaked my interest and then it dawned on me, who took the No4 and commercially sporterized them with great success? Parker Hale. Not only did they do great work to their rifles, they did exactly what I was looking for, shorter barrel, nice sights and very good bluing. I finally found one at a really good price and it was a beauty but it was still missing that charisma I love about milsurps. I removed the beautiful walnut stock and replaced it with cut down military stocks I had on hand which made it better but I wanted more. I finally realized that what I believed I was looking for was right in front of me the whole time, the look of a No5 Jungle Carbine crossed with the sportiness of the Parker Hale. Why didn't I just settle on a No5 to begin with? I can't justify my intentions with a collector piece and with the prices of them now it just wouldn't make sense. the aftermarket No5 stocks are readily available and if I wanted to add optics well then I can because Parker Hale tapped them for scope mounts too. So! All that being said, here's my go to gun :)


 
You have a really nice looking rifle there. I play around with other guns, bullet sizes, milsurps, ammo, etc - but my go to gun that stays untouched is my Parker Hale 7mm MAG.
 
Ya I think anything that has ammo readily available all over this country would work. I'm just a huge milsurp fan and these military guns are built to last
 
OK, I agree that it is a cool and very useful way of utilizing a bubba'd LE.
But get rid of that nasty buttpad! Are you a glutton for punishment? Is there are hair shirt in your closet?
We had a No. 5 as a kid and that undersized hard rubber buttpad just concentrated the recoil into a nasty small area.
Seriously though; other than that it's a pretty nice gun. Be sure to let us know if there is any 'Wandering Zero'cou:
 
I've Parker-hale bbl'd Martini Henry Carbine that is pretty cool. But I never even fired a regular 303 round through it. Why? It's going to be like an M44 that's why.
We loaded some 150 gr bullets over a smaller charge of faster powder; maybe 4350? Very nice to shoot, despite that straight leg stock. No excessive muzzle blast or recoil.
No wonder the Jungle Carbine got the reputation that it did, full house milsurp ammo through it, would be akin to shooting an M44. Do-able, but not for the faint of heart.
Let us know how it shoots.
 
My go to is a No4 Mk1 savage 2 groove I cut down to 19 inch's when I was 19. I recently turned 48.

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I started another thread awhile back about pepper laminate No5 stocks and I'm thinking with this rifle it may still be the way to go. Anyone still in the market to make a set? We can use this set that's on it as the template
 
I had a # 4 in a # 5 stock done by Parker Hale similar to the OP, but not as shiny.

It had the world's crappiest scope mount with 1/16" of lateral play so I removed that and installed a normal peep sight for a # 4. Took the # 5 stock off and installed a RamLine synthetic. Now it is a serviceable bush rifle with a regular recoil pad that is very pleasant to shoot. Sling swivels do not put the bolt into your back.

I was told once that the hard synthetic pad was not meant as a recoil absorbing device for the shooter, it was to reduce the chance of the lightened buttstock being cracked or broken in use.
 
Way to go kevwat! I've always been a fan of the venerable Lee Enfields and like you, I'd never dream of butchering a nice milsurp into a "sporting" rifle, but I wanted one as a dedicated hunter. I got a nice deal on a Sussex sporter and then I went to work tweaking it for my needs. Old eyes not being what they once were, I fabricated a scope mount and a cheek riser. It may not look pretty but when I shoulder it, my eye goes right in line with the scope. I put on a recoil pad for comfort and now it does exactly what I want it to do. Just as an aside, I'm loading 150 Gr. Hornday Interlock SP on top of 43 gr. of Varget and it puts 5 holes into a nickel at 100 yds. That's my "go-to" deer load.
 
kevwat said:
After thinking about what do I want in a go to gun I had to narrow things down a bit. I finally decided that these new scout rifles from Ruger, Savage etc would end up coming and going as I find there's no class in them for me, I'm sure they're nice but I wanted something different. Milsurps are my interest and what better caliber here in Canada to base my truck/quad/camping/bush/bug out gun on than the old but still very effective .303 British. I feel that there's no better gun to have than a tried and true bolt action, semi's are nice but the bolt action No4 Lee Enfield has always been one of my favorites.
I searched for bubba's best because there's no way in hell I'm committing sacrilege to a milsurp. I saw some doozy's but nothing peaked my interest and then it dawned on me, who took the No4 and commercially sporterized them with great success? Parker Hale. Not only did they do great work to their rifles, they did exactly what I was looking for, shorter barrel, nice sights and very good bluing. I finally found one at a really good price and it was a beauty but it was still missing that charisma I love about milsurps. I removed the beautiful walnut stock and replaced it with cut down military stocks I had on hand which made it better but I wanted more. I finally realized that what I believed I was looking for was right in front of me the whole time, the look of a No5 Jungle Carbine crossed with the sportiness of the Parker Hale. Why didn't I just settle on a No5 to begin with? I can't justify my intentions with a collector piece and with the prices of them now it just wouldn't make sense. the aftermarket No5 stocks are readily available and if I wanted to add optics well then I can because Parker Hale tapped them for scope mounts too. So! All that being said, here's my go to gun :)


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why are you posting this in the military rifle section and not the hunting rifle section.
 
gaff said:
why are you posting this in the military rifle section and not the hunting rifle section.
Click to expand...

Why not! it's a military rifle, the only change is the front sight and in my mind that doesn't make it a hunting rifle and no'r have i said this was my hunting rifle. If i removed the front sight and put a flashhider on then no one would know the difference would they.
 
I made a similar rifle for my son, using an old DCRA rifle. He wanted an interesting rifle to shoot surplus 7.62 ammo in.

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The sporter butt is comfortable and gives a nice high cheek weld to line up with the scope. The 7.62 mag feeds and the 7.62 extractor ejects perfectly.

It is quite accurate, too.

I was so impressed with this rifle, I decided to make a similar one for myself. I have a lot more cheap 308 bullets than .312 bullets, so will use an old DCRA target rifle & barrel, but it will rechamber it with a 303 Brit reamer. This will solve the problem of finding another 308 magazine and tweaking it so it works.

I have another rifle chambered in 308Brit, and it works well.

For wood I plan on using Boyds pepper laminate.

I am 90% convinced I should use a #1 action, instead of a #4, because it has nicer lines.
 
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