What changes need to be made to made an enfield a percision rifle.

TheManInBlack

TheManInBlack

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I just received an enfield from my wife's grandmother. She purchased it in 1951 and it looks like it has never been fired and if so so little I couldn't notice. I want to add on to this rifle with a scope and other changes. What can I do to improve this rifle to make it fire at its best.
 
If it is war issue, sell it to a collector and buy another rifle. Hacking up a vintage Enfield is a crime. You earn the moniker, Bubba, and sit in the penalty box.

As is, just fire form your brass and learn to use iron sights.
 
She said she bought it NIB from a mail order. I will put pictures up as soon as I get it. Gramps wasn't a shooter or hunter. So I'm pretty sure it has little or no use
 
WOW, if this is a low mileage Lee Mk something or other with orig and matching parts, you have a small fortune in your hands.

Best to just sell it to a collector and work on something else - Savage/stevens or Rem.

Now if this is a fully sporterized rifle, have some fun. Most of them shoot really well when loaded with quality bullets and handloaded. I have always bedded both front and rear stocks. Put on a scope base and scope.

The trigger can be tuned to a much nicer lighter pull but I do like the two stage set up.

My last LE hunting rifle shot sub MOA with Hornady 150gr SP. Never bothered playing with match bullets to try and tweak more but I was very impressed for an old warhorse.

Copper fouling was horrid but I used moly so didn't bother cleaning it. The dirtier it was, the better it shot
Jerry
 
It could be good, it could be mediocre, it could be bad.

If it shoots well as is, and it's sporterized, then there's no reason not to slap a scope on it and see if that helps. (Be aware that due to the low comb of the stock, your cheekweld will become a chinweld, resulting in less precise/consistent head position behind the glass.)

If it shoots well as is, and is not sporterized (full wood, matching parts, etc) the PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL OLD MILSURP RIFLES do not hack it up or bolt on a scope mount, drill it, mangle it, etc. Shoot it as is, and cherish your grand-dad's rifle the way he had it. If you need a precision rifle, you're better off buying a new-ish one and going from there. If you need to sell this one to buy it, then consider that as an option.

NS
 
I totally agree with everyone above. If its full wood, all matching etc etc DON'T HACK IT UP! You'd be much better off keeping it as is or selling it to fund a savage/stevens/remington build.
 
A No.4 Lee Enfield can be made into a very accurate rifle - the Brits proved this with their No.4T sniper conversions and their 7.62 conversions of selected T rifles. During the 1950s and 60s, there was a real industry of conversions and accurizing No.4s for target shooting. The nuances and jiggery-pokery are far too detailed to be repeated here. But as the others have posted, there is no point in turning a $600 rifle into a $150 beater 'just because'.

The Pattern 14 Enfield rifle can also be made into a very accurate rifle, having started out with more to work with than a No.4. The problem with them is they are very hard steel and so most gunsmiths swear at them, not swear by them.
 
put it this way. a full matching military enfield you could buy yourself a pretty good intro precission rifle. you hack up the enfield. you MIGHT get $75 from a gun store.
 
a few more weeks til my license comes and I go pick the guns up from my Grammy in law. I'll post pics them and if its what you guys are saying then I will prolly just keep it for sentimental reason and not change it
 
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