Thinking about getting a No. 5 Jungle Carbine. Any tips?

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This is mine today, after I cleaned it up and did a mild refinishing of the wood, replaced the rear sight, added a correct sling. The receiver's been D&T'd for the scope mount, so the collector value was already shot, so refinishing the wood didn't hurt it any IMO.

Oh, don't bother telling me the sling is on wrong, somebody already did and I've corrected that.

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I have been intrested in these for quite some time....but am worried about fakes.

Can you please point out in more detail these "lighting bolts" you talk about....and any other things that would tip off a fake.

Truth be known I would not mind a fake....I just want to make sure I don't pay for a "real" one and get a fake.
 
Can you please point out in more detail these "lighting bolts" you talk about....and any other things that would tip off a fake.

I believe you're referring to the "lightening cuts" made in various places on the rifles, to remove a little steel here and there to lighten them up a tad. The barrel, where it screws into the receiver, has four grooves milled into it to knock off some weight. The knob on the bolt handle has a hole in it for weight saving, the sides of the receiver were shaved and tapered a little for weight loss, the front tang on the trigger guard has a "waist", just lots of little things to add up to a pound or so savings.

If you compared a stripped #5 next to a stripped #4, the differences are obvious. Here's some photos of mine when it was nekkid......

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Make sure headspace is suitable for reloading and invest in a case extraction tool.

M
 
If you want a real No V that is understandable, but something to consider is that a nice, clean sporterized No IV can often be found for around $150 and can offer the same overall balance and feel. A real No V is probably going to cost triple that cost for a good condition example.

I reload .303 with IMR 4895 or H4895 and use the minimum load listed in the load manual. I have a bunch of 180 grain .311 soft points that MidwayUSA used to sell as "bulk" (plastic bag of 500 inside a plain brown cardboard box) for under a dime per bullet. I have not had to buy any lately so no idea what they cost nowadays. Result is a mellow load that is accurate, easy on the shoulder, and costs about $4 per box of 20 to reload.

I have friends who cast lead bullets for their 303's and love them. I have not gotten into this yet but bought a mold a while back. The Lee mold is around $25 IIRC. You typically want to keep your loads under 1400 fps unless you run a gas check, then you can go to 1800ish fps without leading the bore. These loads are very comfortable to shoot, and are very inexpensive to load. You also put less stress on the brass so it should be useable many times. My friend had a load that felt like shooting a .223, would print close to point of aim, and he was getting over 15 reloads from each case with no stretching. I forget which powders are appropriate for lead bullet loads (google is your friend, or check castboolits dot com) but cost to reload is less than buying bulk 22LR when you get wheel weight lead and cast your own. I understand that wheel weights are now evil contraband in several parts of the US.
 
" I understand that wheel weights are now evil contraband in several parts of the US."
As were balls for the colonists muskets in 1776 !:neener::fire:
 
I see those from time to time at gun shows for what seems like a fortune for an old milsurp. I would kill to have one just for the carbine length Enfield action and the retro-flash hider. Its on my list as well. Although it would be wonderful if they made it in 7.62 like the 2A enfields......
 
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