No.4 Mk4 (.308) Australian Repro for $700

BadgerDog

BadgerDog

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Did anyone see the thread in the General Firearms Discussion forums, where Marstar is taking orders as of today, for Australian built repro No.4 Mk4 (.308) Enfields for $700?

I'm curious now ........ are there any milsurp members who are going to buy one of these, yes or no ... and why?

No.4 Mk4 is second from the top


Click PIC to ENLARGE

Regards,
Badger
 
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I'm mostly interested in the 7.62x39 Jungle Carbine-alike that takes AK mags:D It would be great to have one of these, but I can think of many better ways to deal with 700 spare dollars...
 
Well, with tax and postage that's about $840 delivered in ON, less in AB, more in some other parts of the country. The caliber will be attractive for many shooters. A Lee Enfield collector might want one as a novelty. Personally, I have fine shooting Lee Enfields in .303 and 7.62mm and wouldn't have any real use for one of these. For the same money, I can think of other things I would buy. For a military style rifle, a M305 is a much better buy. When they eventually arrive, the carbine version in 7.62X39 should be attractive. I wonder how handloader friendly these rifles are - whether cases have to be carefully watched to avoid separations.
 
I have handled one and will not be buying - I would not buy even at half the price.

To each his own, but I don't see the attraction. It's not collectible IMO. It's not a cheap 308 that could be used for hunting or target use - there are better guns for that purpose that are cheaper. It's just an unusual Lee Enfield clone in 308.
 
Might make a neato gun for Ranger batallions?

I wouldn't mind having one, but I would prefer a walnut stock, not teak or elm, and definitely a caliber more exotic than 7.62 Nato. Wonder if LB No.4 wood would swap on? 7mm-08 or 7x57 might be pretty cool chamberings for one of these guns though... sadly, buying one for $700++ just to rebarrel it might be a fool's errand.
 
I'd pass on owning one too.
Real nice looking rifles tho
However , I have decent " real " Enfields to shoot , including a 2A1 , and if I want a 7.62x39 , I'd get a SKS
...besides...
$700 could buy a nice M1 :D
 
If I had $700 to blow its be on a nice K98k or something else that wont depreciate in value by 50% the second I open the box.
 
I've had bad timing (Gee, how did that happen?) trying to see the Marstar roadshow at Connaught Ranges this weekend. You can see a placeholder ("M10A") on an empty table where Marstar has been showing their wares.

Next opportunity will be Tuesday 1100hrs for the prizegiving at the National Service Conditions Matches, sponsored by Colt Diemaco. A rifle and a pistol are included in the loot.
 
I examined the guns that Mike from Marstar brought to Connaught. These are not Lee Enfields, nor are they replicas. These guns are new, and somewhat resemble a No.4. There are several significant differences that tip the balance.

The front sight block is threaded onto the barrel and snugged up with two screws. The sight is a screw pin. Kindof fine but definately not a slab like the No.4. The barrel is free floating, and is secured with a Savage type barrel nut. The top wood is clipped onto the rear of the barrel. The front band is a hinged style like the very early No.4. The stock is just a handle, held in place by the King Screw and the back of the trigger guard. The receiver is much thicker than any military No.1, 2, 4 or 5. It uses the Mk1* slot vs the Mk1 release button, which makes it much stronger. It has the hung trigger. One guy observed that it could benefit from a tiny set screw on the trigger instead a first pressure bump. The bolt face is recessed, and headspaces to the barrel, with no exchanging of bolt heads. The 7.62 NATO magazine is very similar to an M14, except for a sloped catch lug, and no front spring guide rod hole. The mag well is a pinned in box that gets past any reciever feed lips. It uses the familiar side safety. The back sight base is compatible with the WWII slide sights. Finally the Weaver scope base has four recessed screws - two on the bridge and two on the receiver ring. (The left side wall has a few sculpted grooves so a side mount is out of the question.)

The choices are Enforcer style, military full wood style, jungle carbine style, 7.62x39 carbine (with AK type mags) and accessories to make a T-style scoped rifle. I like it because it is a 7.62 detachable magazine rifle, and has a modern barrel nut. Show me a US made detachable mag rifle without needing further gunsmithing to be field functional?
 
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This is why I wish they renamed them something else...they are not Enfields.
The price is double what I'd be comfortable or able to afford. :(
 
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Scarecrow said:
I said it before and I will say it again, Canada is full of REAL enfields for anywhere from 100$ to 600$, why buy a fake one?
Click to expand...
Cuz they aren't 50-75years old, wearing oil soaked stocks, generally beaten to crap, and generally poorly made (yeah I said it Woodchopper :p ).
For 700 beans, I would get a 'Tanker' in a heartbeat, if only they made one :(
 
I don't know if it'd take a PH5C sight, but it is a damn fine looking rifle.

The No 4 Mk 4 series rifle is a beautiful deep grey parkerized finish, with all the features listed above.

I'm wavering on getting one, I love the looks, and the feel.

The stock is slightly thicker than an enfield in the vicinity of the receiver due to the beefieness of the new receiver.

The M-10 series does have a tanker model.

Apparently, the company in Aussie-land test-fires every rifle for groups before they finish assembly, and all must fire within a 75mmx75mm circle (similar only more stringant than the WWII standard of a 75mmx100mm box)

Those rifles that are able to shoot better than 25mm groups are returned to a seperate production line, and re-barreled into L-42 clones.

I like, and I'm leaning hard towards one of those, if only they had the parkerized finish instead of blued.

NS
 
Rather than comparing these rifles to existing Lee Enfields, it might be better to consider them to be new, military styled rifles. With the heavier receiver, .308 caliber, detachable magazine, scope mounting capability they may well be useful rifles in their own right. They are priced competitively with current sporting rifles; don't compare the price with Lee Enfield prices.
 
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