Those Silly Brits Converted an Enfield to a .410 Shotty!

[Joshua M. Smith]

Hello,

I bought this:


Not a whole lot of money by any means...



Single shot block instead of the magazine...

From what I've read, the British converted more than a few of these for crowd control in their empire. This is the first one I've seen though.


Authentic markings, done by the British military...

Great bluing, nice tight action - the wood is scrap, but serviceable.

And why did I buy this? Never had a .410 for starters. Second, I can use it to take deer and small game. The deer are close in propositions, but the .410 is legal for them now in Indiana. I wouldn't try a shot over 50 yards, and not even that if the angle weren't perfect.


This was done at around 35 yards.

I shot the above group with Silver Bear ammo just to see what it would do. The two shot group above had me holding in the middle of the plate, while the three shots had me holding at 6 o'clock.

Winchester 3" shoots similarly, but lower, more to point of aim.

Patterns are what one would expect from an open choke shotgun, but it is still dense enough with #6 shot to take a rabbit or squirrel at 15 yards.

I'm still waiting on my new .22, but this will fill a small niche - a niche I didn't even know I had!

Josh <><

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // I like versatility, unusual find.
Does the empty mag. block bolt on Enfield making conversion necessary?

Could you have .410 chambered as first round with full .303 mag. behind?

 

[MrFox]

Those "authentic markings" are the import stamp. They were imported by Springfield Sporters in PA.

If you wanted, you could return it into the military stock. Springfield Sporters would be the place to buy everything.

If you put it back into the original configuration, you could slap the 1907 bayonet on it.

I have one, and it shoots very nicely. I've taken a ground hog and an opossum with it. Plus, I can fix bayonets on a single shot .410.

From what I've read and understand, they were converted for use in India for the prisons and riot control. And, they were originally loaded for fire formed .303 brass.

Some have had success with replacing the magazine plug with a modified magazine for .410 shells.

 

[Owen]

My understanding is that after the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian elements of the Colonial Army were all armed with these, so in the case of another mutiny, the Brits would have a tremendous advantage. How true is that?

 

[MCgunner]

Have the end of the barrel machined to accept a Thompson-Center .410 choke. Might be a useful outdoor tool.

 

[natman]

My understanding is that after the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian elements of the Colonial Army were all armed with these, so in the case of another mutiny, the Brits would have a tremendous advantage. How true is that?

There's a good deal of truth to it. The British were wary of supplying any sort of weapons to the locals. They made a special 14 ga shotgun shell with a "moat" machined around the primer and made a three pronged firing pin that would only strike the primer if the shell was made with the "moat". They fired them in Greener Martini single shots called "Police Guns".

 

[Fred Fuller]

See link for pictures-

http://texastradingpost.com/militaria/geha.html

GEHA shotguns were converted from GEW 98 Mauser rifles after WWI around 1919-1929, maybe later. These were made from surplus Mausers, in an attempt to "jump-start" the German firearms industry under the Versailles military arms restrictions. Shotguns in safe working condition might be safe to shoot if used with light loads only. A lot of metal and wood was removed in the modification to a shotgun. Current shotgun shell pressure specs are as much as two times what they were once loaded to and may not be safe with this shotgun. GEHA shotguns were made in 12, 16 & 20 gauge. In the conversion process the forward locking area of the receiver was removed in order to allow fitting a 12 gauge barrel, leaving the third "safety" lug as the primary locking lug, along with the portion of the bolt handle that fits into the receiver. Guns converted to 16 and 20 gauge had portions of the forward locking lugs remaining (more on the 20 than the 16 gauge) so the actions on these guns are stronger yet than the 12. One potential problem with these guns is the removable bolt head that was fitted to the modified bolt. They are held in place by spring tension - the bolt head can sometimes be ejected with a fired hull, so one should be careful with rapid follow up shots, perhaps limiting the rifle to use as a single shot. On the stock a good bit of material was removed around the magazine area in order to make them function with the rimmed 12 gauge shell, so another reason to consider using light loads only. Pictured is a "Hard Hit Heart" Brand shotgun with the HHH logo. Pictures provided by Stacy Wilson. A beautiful example!

lpl

 

[throdgrain]

I've seen these, a few were converted after the war for curiosity purposes. They dont make much money over here but good fun nontheless

Be usefull with .410 slugs, but dont going shooting at deer with .410 shot.

There's a good deal of truth to it. The British were wary of supplying any sort of weapons to the locals. They made a special 14 ga shotgun shell with a "moat" machined around the primer and made a three pronged firing pin that would only strike the primer if the shell was made with the "moat". They fired them in Greener Martini single shots called "Police Guns".

Hundreds of thousand of Indian troops fought in the British Army during WW2, we didn't give them .410 shotguns you know ...


//edit

Oh by the way, the ones we have over here have a magazine you can put two shells into and chqamber the third, is that not the case with this gun? The Mag is not removeable on ours, it's just kind of there