opinions on Enfield Jungle Carbine in .308?

Are you confusing .303 with .308?

Regardless of the apparent cartridge confusion, it would be a good hog gun but may not be a great performer past 200 yds.

True No 5s recoil pretty fiercely with that extra hard and low surface area recoil pad they have combined with their light weight.

If you have found one in 308 then it is definitely a conversion done years later and probably not done to a true No 5 rifle as their are tons of copies out there of that rifle. In that case the gun should weigh a bit more and may be more handy to have because of better ammo availability.

Ideally if 308, it would be a converted Ishapore rifle.

The No. 5 carbine is notorious for its muzzle blast and heavy recoil, in the original .303 caliber. Conversion to.308 would make these things even worse.

Besides that, such a thing would not be particularly collectible.

I would take a hard pass on the proposed item.

Looks like a fun gun. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishapore_2A1_rifle i would avoid any conversion model. Condition is every thing. I would hope for an Arsenal rebuild, if there is such a thing?? Some on Youtube to watch.

The GB Enfield is $405 at current bid. About same as new Savage Axis.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Carbine More to study.

You will need a slip on recoil pad if shooting off a bench, a lot. https://www.amazon.com/Pachmayr-Decelerator-Slip-Recoil-Pad/dp/B00542J1PO

Ishapore 2a/2a1 isn’t really a No. 5 Jungle Carbine, it’s an India-made 7.62x51 version of an SMLE.
They’re said to be fun shooters but I’d be wary of putting too many rounds of 7.62 NATO or .308 through an action that was at its top end with .303 and certainly didn’t improve metallurgically after the Indian government took over production.

Mosin77 said:

... I’d be wary of putting too many rounds of 7.62 NATO or .308 through an action that was at its top end with .303 and certainly didn’t improve metallurgically after the Indian government took over production. ...

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From everything that I have read that is exactly what they did, they improved the metalurgy to properly handle the .308 and produced new receivers prior to producing the first 2A rifles.

Mosin77 said:

Ishapore 2a/2a1 isn’t really a No. 5 Jungle Carbine, it’s an India-made 7.62x51 version of an SMLE.
They’re said to be fun shooters but I’d be wary of putting too many rounds of 7.62 NATO or .308 through an action that was at its top end with .303 and certainly didn’t improve metallurgically after the Indian government took over production.

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Hogwash. Ishapore enfields were excellent and the action and steel are entirely suitable in 7.62. They don’t LOOK as refined as some Aussie or Brit enfields but they’re very strong rifles made of strong steel.

To the OP, Gibbs rifle company made some really cool enfield “tanker” or jungle replicas back in the day from surplus SMLEs. I’d love one in either .303 or 7.62.

I just bought a No. 5 Mk I (.303 Brit made) for $650. The gun in this auction will likely go for quite a bit more. I saw an Ishapore at a recent gun show with an $850 price tag on it. A couple hours later I passed by that table and it was gone.

I bought a pair of the 2As from AIM shortly after they appeared for sale in the States in Summer'06. $179.95 each. Both bores looked perfect and gauged as new. Very accurate rifles.

That rifle in the Gunbroker ad used to be a military-issue rifle ... before someone decided to "improve" it. "Gibbs" (1KPerDay) is an excellent guess as to its source.

GBExpat said:

From everything that I have read that is exactly what they did, they improved the metalurgy to properly handle the .308 and produced new receivers prior to producing the first 2A rifles.

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1KPerDay said:

Hogwash. Ishapore enfields were excellent and the action and steel are entirely suitable in 7.62. They don’t LOOK as refined as some Aussie or Brit enfields but they’re very strong rifles made of strong steel.

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As I understand it, they “improved” the steel by bringing it back up to the standards it had adhered to pre-1948, when corners were cut.

While I’m sure it’s not going to blow up on you, I’d not be at all confident the action would not stretch when subjected to a steady diet of commercial .308 loads.

I have an Ishapore we came across. Nice rifle, I suspect it will shoot fine. My understanding is the Indians made it in 308 (7.62 NATO actually), because they had the machinery to make the rifle, and they weren't getting enough FALs fast enough. So the bolt guns were made and given to reserve troops, with the FALs given to the main forces.
It's chambered like that in the factory, not a conversion; and I haven't heard of any failures (as compared to some of the Mausers that WERE rechambered, where there have been).
I'm not going to get into the 308 vs 7.62 NATO discussion too deep, other than to say I only shoot NATO or light 150 gr 308 FMJ through mine. I have contacted Armscor in an email, asking about it, and they stated that in THEIR new manufactured rds, the 2 are identical/interchangeable.
Other than that, I shoot Magtech NATO marked ammo.

I also have a C308 (Cetme), that I shoot any/all 308 or NATO in, including steel. I don't put any of the steel in the Ishapore.

As an aside, we got the Ishapore before the ammo crunch. My son tried his hand at a Mad Minute and did ok, with a big grin. I'm a lefty, that didn't work out so well for me.

Gibbs Rifle Co made a Jungle Carbine model in .308. I had one a few years ago that I wound up selling. Actually had a thread on it, it’s been longer ago than I thought.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/gibbs-rifle-co-enfield-jungle-carbine-308.761553/

It was a handy little gun that (of course) I regret getting rid of. I recall it kicking fairly hard as you expect from a ~6lbs .308. The cone flash hider it had was also really good at “throwing” sound forward, which was great until you were standing 10 yds back from a tree line shooting into the woods. Then foam ear plugs weren’t nearly enough to be comfortable shooting. I seem to remember Ishapore markings on the receiver.

Gibbs also made a Lee Enfield pattern rifle in 45-70, the Summit I believe.

4v50 Gary said:

Isudave - that's interesting what you said about your Cetme. Doesn't it have a fluted chamber?

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Yep.

That's my "cheap fun rifle". It absolutely loves steel-cased ammo, zero malfunctions with it. I've had a couple of stuck cases with brass. Both Armscor 308, and S Korean 7.62 NATO. I don't reload, but I can say- the spent cases are striated, but haven't seemed too deformed to reuse... but the stuck cases suggest that perhaps the brass is slightly pushed out.

I've stocked up as best I can with the cheapest steel (Tula, Red Army etc), since it runs perfectly (and that's most- cost effective too). I dedicate the good stuff to the Ishapore. The Cetme groups tight, but the front sight post seems canted maybe (I've adjusted but it still is off a tad). It does have a rail, so I might get a decent optic to see what it can do.

1KPerDay said:

To the OP, Gibbs rifle company made some really cool enfield “tanker” or jungle replicas back in the day from surplus SMLEs. I’d love one in either .303 or 7.62.

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they made one in 45/70 I remember and the 303 JC doesnt kick that much at all

Even if it is a good rifle and is capable of decent accuracy, I don't think it would be very fun to shoot, although I'm sure it looks really cool. I would sooner just buy a Ruger American standard in 243 or 6.5 CM to use on hogs (and a lot more). I kill hogs with 223 when I am hunting them on purpose, and with whatever I happen to have in my hand when I come across them while hunting something else. They aren't that hard to kill.

Just a heads up - my understanding is that all the SMLE conversions were to 7.62 NATO, not .308 Winchester. They share the same relation of .223 Remington vs 5.56 NATO but in reverse - the commercial cartridge is loaded a bit hotter than the military round. On most guns you can fire either, but on a a design as old as the SMLE I wouldn't be pushing any limits. I'd only shoot honest to goodness 7.62 NATO ammo or handloads loaded to those specs.

mgmorden said:

Just a heads up - my understanding is that all the SMLE conversions were to 7.62 NATO, not .308 Winchester. They share the same relation of .223 Remington vs 5.56 NATO but in reverse - the commercial cartridge is loaded a bit hotter than the military round. On most guns you can fire either, but on a a design as old as the SMLE I wouldn't be pushing any limits. I'd only shoot honest to goodness 7.62 NATO ammo or handloads loaded to those specs.

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They weren’t conversions, but yes a good idea to use 7.62 NATO data.

Robert said:

.... But the things just was not accurate....

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The "wandering zero" is a known "feature" of the No. 5 and one reason why its production was terminated. Also, frankly, makes it desirable as a collectible. A target shooter it's not. Good enough, though, to kill the enemy?