Building an Enfield Tanker

A friend of mine has a late numbered and pretty rough Fazakerly Enfield No.4 mk1 that he loves, but wanted it to be a little lighter and faster handling while still retaining the essential look.

Before any screams "BUBBA!", we talked about his other options and this is what he truly wanted for his rifle. Anyone with delicate sensibilities regarding the modification of milsurps is advised to read no further.



So here's some of what I did.

This is the rifle as it was:


Chopping and reshaping the wood:



Cutting off the barrel:


Chucking her up for recrowning and reprofiling to fit the front sight:





Almost done:


All that's left is replacing the rear handguard retainer, which had been broken.

Good question. I have no idea how it shoots yet.

It should group well with the shorter (stiffer) barrel and fresh crown, but I'm guessing that I'll have to find a taller front sight to keep if from shooting high.

Ha! I had seen that picture in a google image search before I started. Thank you very much for showing what could be done and providing inspiration!

The balance point around the front 1/3rd of the magazine, weight is 7lb 13oz, and the way it swings and points is very lively.