Special Interest Arms and their Enfield K conversion

[MrDig]

Good Call Gaucho, Although these conversions don't work with the Ishapores, according to Special Intrest Arms.
The conversions in the other thread are for the chamber not a rebarrel and Mag Modification.

 

[Mumbles_45]

Heh, didn't expect this thread to come back alive.

I still intend to go ahead with the conversion, and if it happens, I will definately post results.

I am home from Christmas leave, and have access to the rifle now. I have emailed SIA, but have not recieved a response. I'm going to assume my email got discarded as spam, and call the phone number they have posted later this week.

 

[gaucho1]

COOL

Let us know how it works out.
I have an enfield in .303.
If your works I will convert mine.

 

[Yute]

Hey Mumbles,
Glad to see someone else is interested in the enfield K - i want one! I also emailed special interest arms but have yet to recieve a reply. Have you gotten a reply yet?

 

[Bergeron]

Neat stuff! I liked that AR-15 stock and grip combo. There's enough hacked up Enfields floating around, I might have to pick one up and send it in to get work like that performed on it.

 

[bv141]

I have good news...

I actually have one of the early rifles that Richard of Special Interest Arms
built. I found it on Gunbroker.com

The rifle used a new match grade barrel and an machined aluminum magazine adapter to hold the magazine in the proper location.

The rifle itself is very nice and has good accuracy with open sights
(1" at 50 yards with Wolf ammo.) The work on the Special K rifle was good.

My only comments would be:
- The magazines that are used by Special Intereast arms, WASR 5 or 10 round magazine, are no longer readily available. The magazines need to be slightly modified if you want to purchase your own magazines (round off the 2 corners at the back of the magazine.)

The Enfield receivers are very hard and not all gunsmiths will do drilling for scope mounts.

If you purchase the rifle, get the extra magazines at time of purchase. Richard purchased 50 magazines at a gunshow early last year. He may or may not want to part with magazines..

- Also, for the price of the converted Enfield you could purchase a new CZ 527 or new bolt action Remington that is imported from Russia for slightly less.
if you already have an Enfield for conversion, the cost is not as great (or purchase a Enfield receiver.)

I very much like the rifle as did the guys in the gun shop when they saw (it got named the 'pig' gun at the shop because it's good for boar hunting.)

bv

 

[Yute]

Thanks for the reply/review - great info! Unfortunately no word back from Richard yet...

The 7.62x39 CZ rifle looks snazzy, but definately not as "tactical" (as bolt guns go) as SI K enfield... I know AIA of Australia makes new 7.62x39 enfields, but apparently the import deal fell through. Shame.

Thanks for the heads up on the mags as well - always good to know - I guess you can't just use stripper clips right?

 

[bv141]

No problem Yute,

I am one that alsway keeps a fair number of spare magazines around.
I was planning on installing the scope 'over the bore' witha William
scope mount so stripper were not feasible.

as for:

I know AIA of Australia makes new 7.62x39 enfields, but apparently the import deal fell through.

AIA imported the 7.62x39 enfields under the Tri-Star name for some time.
I literally missed the last one out of Budd's Gunshop in Kentucky by a few hours (which was the last one in the US that I could find on the net.)

I did see that another company was able to pick up the AIA contract
in Canada a few weeks ago. But I can't find the data at the moment.

The AIAs were made in Vietnam according to the link below but sold out of Australia. Some people had GREAT satisfaction and others pure misery.

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=175619


Sounds like I was much better off with the Special K.

bv

 

[Yute]

I think marstar in canada is stocking the AIA enfields. they look nice!

I think century international is a source for the 10 round single stack WASR mags - i'll contact them to see if they still stock them.

Got any pics of your rifle? It sounds sweet! Thanks again!

 

[bv141]

Yute,

your correct MARSTAR is the name of the Canadian company handling the
AIA imports in Canada.

One more thing Ruger Mk IIs came in 7.62x39.
Also, if you look on Guns America under 'Ruger Mk II' you can find the listing.
Some outragously overpriced others 'ok.'

But it sounds like your going the Special K route!

bv

 

[dm1333]

I'm glad to see this thread is still alive. I really want one but with a parent in a nursing home money has been pretty short. I thought the quality of his work was pretty high. The sporter conversion looked like it had been factory made and felt like a dream. I'm probably just going to go with getting my Enfield a new barrel and sticking it in a nicer stock, maybe with a scout mount.

 

[Yute]

Well I just called up Special Interest Arms - looks like they're backordered until April or May? Darn, a long time to wait

 

[Mumbles_45]

Resurection

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead, but I'm hoping some of the people with knowledge on the subject might still be subscribed, so hopefully it attracts more attention/information this way.

I'm still interested in this conversion, I just had to put the project on hold for 14 months. Anyway, I'm all set to do it now, have the rifle out of storage, have the money, have a local gunsmith to take it to if I can't do the conversion myself. I got on Special Interest's website to order the kit, but it says they're not taking orders until they get a new CNC mill or something. So I go to call them to see if that's still true since their website has been consistently out of date for as long as I've been interested in the Enfield K, but their phone number is no longer posted. I'm sending them an Email, but they've never answered any of my previous ones, so I don't have high hopes for that.

Does anyone have their phone number, or any information on where/how/when I can get one of these kits?

 

[dm1333]

Mumbles,

Be sure to post here after the conversion is done. I'm stationed in Michigan now so the new plan is to finish all the gun projects I have now (an old Stevens 311 and a 10/22 are both in pieces next to my computer, for example) and next year hopefully I transfer back to Oregon. I'll drive through Gardnerville to drop off the rifle and then either get it shipped or take some leave and go back to pick it up.

 

[Mumbles_45]

Nobody has a phone number or anything?

 

[Yute]

Try (775) 782-4342
I'm in the same boat - I have a sportrized/mutilated no.5 all ready to go. However, I called them last year and they told me to wait 3 months. Since then, 1 year later, still nothing...

Been too busy recently though to give them a call - might be worth a shot.

their website is just terrible.

It's like waiting for the shrike to come out...

 

[Mumbles_45]

Thanks for the number, I'll give them a call tomorrow. The website is horrible. I hope this doesn't turn out to be something I just plain missed the boat on.

 

[Yute]

Don't worry I don't think you have - to my knowledge they have not made many rifles past their prototype stage as I have not seen them around. shame - quite a nice modification....

 

[Mumbles_45]

Well I talked to Special Interest today. He said he doesn't have any 7.62x39 kits in stock and he's not getting any more until the .45 ACP kits are sold. I can't remember how many .45 kits he said he has left to sell, but it wasn't too many. He said he hopes to have them all gone and 7.62 in stock within 4-6 weeks. Hopefully.

 

[Ranb]

I made my own semi-copy of the Delisle carbine with a Rhineland Arms kit. I am still having extraction difficulties as the brass comes out of the chamber but stays in the action on top of the mag. It differs from the real commando carbine in that I used an underfolding stock, scope, center bored silencer, 16" barrel and did not shorten the bolt.

It groups about 6" at 100 yards as long as I use 230 RN loaded hot.

Ranb

 

[Richard/SIA]

"K's" should be available in January, redesign is complete!

I'm an original "One man band" operation, unlike Wall-Street I have to work within my own budget.

I refuse to finance new products from deposits, so if I run into difficulty it takes a while to sort things out.

Anyone need a 7,000 lb., $8,000 boat anchor disguised as a CNC mill?

I just got 50 sets of "K"*magazine adaptors fabricated.
I had to send them out to be done, the CNC mill I bought is still DOA.
Now I just have to get barrels made to go with them.

It's difficult to get much done this time of the year, so I'm only going to commit to January delivery.

Material and fabrication cost have increased significantly since my last production run, I have to pass these cost on in order to make a profit.

The website is currently being rewritten, hopefully I will be able to add a navigation bar this time.

 

[nero45acp]

From across the pond:

http://www.armalon.com/pc.shtml



nero

 

[Oohrah]

Any ties to Dean Alley (disceased) of Garand front sights and metal
lathes? Price to me is too high, and why would you use an old WW2
rifle, that other parts may be difficult to find. Not the best trigger.
Design of action has some downsides as well as some pluses. Would
never coble up my like excellent to almost new T Sniper. Actions in
this form is springy and chamber may be slightly large. Three to five
reloads at full power are tossed with the 303 caliber. Perhaps the P 14
is a better action.
I have seen this action tricked out to .410 shotguns to 45-70 at one
time. I suppose if the action were good with the rest being junk Maybe?
Seems like a company named Gibbs (not sure if US or Canadian) has done
a lot of things with this action also. Have not seen or heard of anything
for some time.
Supply of these Enfields, have to be close to dried up. Although I have
had no need to replace any part on the T Enfield, what if? There has to be
a market for the above, only because it is different

 

[Richard/SIA]

"K" 7.62x39 conversions are back in stock.

"K" 7.62x39 conversions are back in stock.

Barrels have been hard to get of late, we had to go to another supplier.
We are now using McGowen Precision barrels.

We still have plenty of five round mags, getting low on ten round, hopefully I will find more at the SAR Show in December.

 

[jpwilly]

Hi! Richard of SIA,

I know this thread is old as the hills but FYI ... I went to your website and the web page on the Enfield conversions displays really poorly and you may want to fix that up. I had to scroll way way down due to spacing and placement issues. I don't think most folks have the patience to look at a website that doesn't display properly.

Just trying to help out a fellow.