I've always had a thing for lee-enfields. However, I always talk myself out of buying one when I have the opportunity. For a while, everybody thought every existing enfield was the dreaded R.A.I. It was hard to find one that didn't fit a long list of suspicious indicators. After the dust settled, I decided that buying a .303 rifle was cost ineffective. (Money is a very big issue for me.) I went in to a few gun stores and found the cartridge to be quite scarce (by few I mean 2). I concluded that I was going find an enfield chambered in .308. And, for fun factor, I wanted one with a removable magazine. I guess I am now limited to some No. 4s and No.5. I found Gibbs Rifle Comp. and I thought all was answered. Bummer. I can't find any of said rifle, since Gibbs apparently took a foreign contract and was never heard from again. You see my dilemma. Sorry I'm so long winded; but I really hope I can find something of value, and all is not lost. I appreciate it, amigos.
The elusive No. 5
- Thread starter scidx
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308 caliber Enfield or 2A1
Do I read right that you are looking for a 2A1 or a 308 caliber Enfield? There are surplus rifles out there, they need luvin but that is part of the allure to them.
Consider these two sources:
http://www.keystonearms.com/rifle.html
http://www.jgsales.com/
Do I read right that you are looking for a 2A1 or a 308 caliber Enfield? There are surplus rifles out there, they need luvin but that is part of the allure to them.
Consider these two sources:
http://www.keystonearms.com/rifle.html
http://www.jgsales.com/
351 WINCHESTER
Member
I was all set to buy online a Gibbs extreme quest in .303. It was made up from a no4 mk1 action. The guy selling it had a custom scope mount that he had nickle plated and nickle rings. He claimed he was getting 3/4" groups at 100 yds.
Everyone on this forum told me that Gibbs were junk so I let it go.
I have a no5 mk1 that has been completely reblued and has an ati aftermarket stock. A good friend gave it to me. The first trip to the range was dismal. I was lucky to get a 4" group at 50 yds. I took it home and cleaned the bbl. for days and days and fineshed it off with J & B bore paste. My groups improved a lot. I got a lee loader and some .311 bullets and some IMR 4064 with some cci primers. Neck size only and I can get groups of about 3" at 100 yds. with my old eyes and open sights.
The point I'm trying to make is to keep looking as the enfield rifles are great guns. Yes many are hard on brass and many have bad bores, but keep on looking and one day you will find what you are looking for. I don't know of a smoother bolt gun ever made.
Everyone on this forum told me that Gibbs were junk so I let it go.
I have a no5 mk1 that has been completely reblued and has an ati aftermarket stock. A good friend gave it to me. The first trip to the range was dismal. I was lucky to get a 4" group at 50 yds. I took it home and cleaned the bbl. for days and days and fineshed it off with J & B bore paste. My groups improved a lot. I got a lee loader and some .311 bullets and some IMR 4064 with some cci primers. Neck size only and I can get groups of about 3" at 100 yds. with my old eyes and open sights.
The point I'm trying to make is to keep looking as the enfield rifles are great guns. Yes many are hard on brass and many have bad bores, but keep on looking and one day you will find what you are looking for. I don't know of a smoother bolt gun ever made.
Kipling79
Member
I was told the same thing years ago and sold mine, but it seems that the consensus on this board and other sources is that these guns were specifically engineered for 7.62 rounds and are not particularly unsafe. If they were unsafe, the british military probably would not have kept them in their arsenal for decades.
To elaborate, they are safe with 7.62 ammo and not with commercial .308 - google is your friend if you need to know the difference. (There might be some disagreement on this, though...) Also, 7.62 ammo is neither as plentiful nor as inexpensive as it once was.
jonnyc
Member
The 2As and 2A1s are perfectly safe with both 7.62 NATO and .308 ammo. Please post any info you can document on either suffering a catastrophic failure of any kind due to 7.62/.308 ammo problems.
Ishapore 2A/A1 problems are a MYTH.
Ishapore 2A/A1 problems are a MYTH.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
The Enfield 2A is a perfectly safe rifle. I own and shoot two.
That said I would not shoot commercial ammunition out of an Enfield.
Commercial ammunition is loaded to a higher chamber pressure. It is only about 2 to 5 thousand pounds per square inch more when equalized under the different tables but that is ten percent none the less. The biggie is that the cartridges are head spaced differently. The nato chamber is 1.645" and the commercial is 1.632". You can get away with it. I might shoot a low serial numbered Springfield but I will advise others not to.
The Enfield 2A is a perfectly safe rifle. I own and shoot two.
That said I would not shoot commercial ammunition out of an Enfield.
Commercial ammunition is loaded to a higher chamber pressure. It is only about 2 to 5 thousand pounds per square inch more when equalized under the different tables but that is ten percent none the less. The biggie is that the cartridges are head spaced differently. The nato chamber is 1.645" and the commercial is 1.632". You can get away with it. I might shoot a low serial numbered Springfield but I will advise others not to.
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