New Enfield Deer Rifle !!!

Thanks guys, it is a beaut. I guess I should have saved this for April 1st.

The rifle did not come with a magazine and I am leaving it that way. I may pick up a spare No4 Mag from P&S to use as a loading platform as I used the mag from my 43 LB for that purpose yesterday when I shot it. The drawback with using the mag is that you have to manually tap the spent casing away as they do not eject. I figure the mag-less design allowed the spent casing to drop freely upon extraction.

The gun was a bit out of my price range as my average price I pay per gun is around $320 (yes I keep track on a spreadsheet). But after I looked at it, did some research, I was in the next day with the cash. Of course the gun was on consignment, the guy had a few low-ball tire kicking offers so I paid the asking price ($500-no tax, private deal). I had to wait almost a month to pick it up as the seller was on vacation down south when I said the magic words "I'll take it" and when he got back, I went down south :)

I'm not sure of the "value" of one of these but the gun is in near mint condition and I know an original Longbranch in this condition would fetch about $350 in todays market. I have also heard rumours that the LB and C-Arrow marked MKI sight is worth $100 alone so the decision to buy was a no brainer at that time.

The only thing I was not sure of was the Longbranch stamping, 1942 date and Longbranch serial number along with the Canadian Arsenals "new" serial number on the reciever, bolt and barrel. I thought it might be some bubba re-creation and in that case it would not be worth what I paid. A quick check in Skennerton's new book (pg 330, thank god I bought it) and some web research confirmed they did take some 42' LB receivers and convert them to 7.62 target rifles without mags.

I have one source that I have not confirmed that states the converted rifles could be just about any No4 make as CA was doing the conversion through the DCRA. Can anyone double confirm this for me? I prefer to hear it from 2-3 sources as I don't beleive single sourced data from the internet, (my Carcano has not blown up yet either).

I'm checking into reloads for it now. I understand the 7.62 NATO spec has a limit of 50,000 psi so I'm going to try some WC735 and 150 g FMJBT as that seems to be in the 40,000 to 51,000 psi range.

And be assured, the gun is safe, untouched and will be enjoyed.

If you want to buy it, you'll have to talk to my son as it is willed to him :)
 
The only thing I was not sure of was the Longbranch stamping, 1942 date and Longbranch serial number along with the Canadian Arsenals "new" serial number on the reciever, bolt and barrel. I thought it might be some bubba re-creation and in that case it would not be worth what I paid. A quick check in Skennerton's new book (pg 330, thank god I bought it) and some web research confirmed they did take some 42' LB receivers and convert them to 7.62 target rifles without mags.

I have one source that I have not confirmed that states the converted rifles could be just about any No4 make as CA was doing the conversion through the DCRA. Can anyone double confirm this for me? I prefer to hear it from 2-3 sources as I don't beleive single sourced data from the internet, (my Carcano has not blown up yet either).

LOL - so YOU bought it! I actually saved that gun from Bubba. Bubba brought it into Gunco as a barelled action and asked Jason to cut it into a sporter. I happened to spot it when I was in back shooting the breeze with Jason a couple months ago. Asked him about it and he told me it was going to be chopped. I pointed out to him is was a DCRA in 7.62 and that it wasn;t a $250 beater, but a $500-700 rare variant. He immediately phoned the guy who wisely decided to sell it and butcher a .303 instead. Buddy brought in all the original wood and hardware, Jason put it back together and stuck it on the rack. I'm surprised it took almost 2 months to sell! I think the missing mag detracted alot of folks. It's an all correct LB conversion, but is not a DCRA connaught club gun as it doesn't have the DCRA oval nd electropencilled rack number. This means it was probably a club conversion.

Most of the DCRA Connaught guns were 1950 LB's, while the club guns could be any make or model, though LB's are the most common. Usually the clubs fitted them with AJ Parker or Parker Hale target sights, but this gn apears to have been fitted with neither. Many of the club guns were single-shot using the .303 mag as a loading platform, so a missing 7.62 mag is common. The Connaught guns should all have 7.62 mags though.

Congrats on the gun. I'd have bought it myself except that I'm not a fan of 7.62 in general.
 
Good job saving that one from the hands of bubba. I thought bubba must be in an old folks home by now but I guess he may have reproduced.

How hard would it be to source a 7.62 mag for the rifle?
 
Yes, I found a mag...$120 :eek:

I now remember you telling me about that Claven2, That is funny!:)

You got the rifle for a good price so $120 for a mag is fine...I'd grab it up, it'll add a lot to the rifle. Is that Sterling or Enfield?
For ejection, you need a longer ejection screw, a new, very strong extractor spring and a 7.62 extractor if it doesn't already have one. If you post a pic of the bolt face we can tell you if it does.

BTW, very well done Claven!:dancingbanana:
 
Well I got the mag. I see my extractor looks the same as the one on my Savage and Longbranch so I'm guessing it is not a 7.62 one.

The mag semi-okay as is but I'll try it with the 7.62 parts...

I'll source the parts out :)
 
Well I got the mag. I see my extractor looks the same as the one on my Savage and Longbranch so I'm guessing it is not a 7.62 one.

The mag semi-okay as is but I'll try it with the 7.62 parts...

I'll source the parts out :)

What mag? Sterling, Enfield, Collectors Source repro, Ishapore 2A1?

Does it feed and eject?
 
What mag? Sterling, Enfield, Collectors Source repro, Ishapore 2A1?

Collector's source. It feeds about 90% when there are 2 or more rounds in, the last one is stubborn.

I've found an 7.62 extractor and spring and I think I have a longer ejector screw in my parts bin.

I'll bring it into Jason when I get the parts, I'm sure he can get it going for me. :)

Damn thing shoots like a dream. I loaded up some 7.62 NATO rounds and with one of the better loads I got three rounds touching at 25 yards and a two inch group at 100 yards with five shots. I have one more batch of loads to try (44, 44.3, 44.5, 44.7 and 45 grains) and I should have a good reciepe. I'll sahe the details on in in the relaoding section when I am done.
 
Collector's source. It feeds about 90% when there are 2 or more rounds in, the last one is stubborn.

I've found an 7.62 extractor and spring and I think I have a longer ejector screw in my parts bin.

I'll bring it into Jason when I get the parts, I'm sure he can get it going for me. :)

Damn thing shoots like a dream. I loaded up some 7.62 NATO rounds and with one of the better loads I got three rounds touching at 25 yards and a two inch group at 100 yards with five shots. I have one more batch of loads to try (44, 44.3, 44.5, 44.7 and 45 grains) and I should have a good reciepe. I'll sahe the details on in in the relaoding section when I am done.

I'll be interested in hearing how reliable this gun can be made for feeding and extraction. I found with mine that it worked okay but probably not up to military specs...in .303 with a good mag as you know they feed very well indeed, but since the rifle was originally not made in 7.62, and was designed to function with a rimmed case, I don't know if they'll ever be totally reliable. I've tried three different kind of mags too...

One member recently messaged me to tell me his rifle had the bolt hitting the ejector tab on the left feed lip...yours isn't?
 
One member recently messaged me to tell me his rifle had the bolt hitting the ejector tab on the left feed lip...yours isn't?

Nope,

My problem is the bolt not picking up the last round, it rides over top of the round. If I pull back and give it a quick snap it picks it up.

If I cycle the action quickly with more than two rounds in it, it works fine. Weak extraction, but fine. Till I get to the last one...that one takes a cycle and a half...:(
 
My .303 has the same problem regardless of # of rounds in the mag. The bolt slides over the round, not even touching it. Or else it slams the point into the feed ramp and jams it.

Its possible I loaded the mag wrong (handloaded it quickly, had no chargers) or that I have a crap mag. I don't think its the bolt, as ejection is alright.

Funny thing is, I had it working for a few rounds without problems. I've only put about 15 rounds through, because it was getting frustrating and I was tired of deforming my soft-points. :)
 
My .303 has the same problem regardless of # of rounds in the mag. The bolt slides over the round, not even touching it. Or else it slams the point into the feed ramp and jams it.

Its possible I loaded the mag wrong (handloaded it quickly, had no chargers) or that I have a crap mag. I don't think its the bolt, as ejection is alright.

Funny thing is, I had it working for a few rounds without problems. I've only put about 15 rounds through, because it was getting frustrating and I was tired of deforming my soft-points. :)


Try a different mag...
 
Yeah, I gotta try it again, this time making sure I load the mag properly. If that doesn't work, I'll mess around with the lips on the mag and failing that, grab a new mag.
 
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