As I mentioned in the other Scout Rifle thread I built two.... Really this is what I would call a clone of the original Scout Rifle. Or more appropriately the No5 Mk1 Carbine Clone. As close to a real No5 as you can get but without being one. After I Junglefied the Ishy 2A earlier this year I came across a sporterized No4 Mk1 1942 Lee Enfield. I bought it for the amazing price of $75! Yes it started life during WWII as the newest design of the British MBR Lee Enfield series. But after the war it appears to have been sporterized by Parker-Hale of England and shipped to the 'ol USofA. It was listed in the Parker-Hale catalog as the No4 De-Lux. When it arrived on this side of the pond the old war horse became someones hunting rifle... Though like the Ishapore 2A mentioned above, it had very little signs of being used judging by the very bright crisp bore. The wood on the rifle was the original but the forestock had been cut down and reshaped and the handguard was eliminated. The buttstock was all original except for the shiny finish that was applied post war. I did notice there were two very distinct cracks in the forestock that someone attempted to repair and the buttstock had two repair patches. There was also another coat of varnish or shellac slopped over the original finish and on the a fair amount of metal. The barrel had been cut down from 25" to 22"... Just like the catalog said. I figured a No5 clone was in order so I removed the wood to inspect all the metal and was happy to find that nothing had been bubba'd except the stock. No screw head showed any sign of being buggered and once the varnish was removed from all the metal parts I found everything to be in excellent condition. On this conversion I decided to save some money so I cut and crowned the barrel myself using an old school gunsmith method. First was to remove the Parker-Hale front sight. A bottle of Map gas and torch did the trick. Measured the barrel to 18.7" and cut it off with a hacksaw. A file and small square to true it all up. I deviated from true old school gunsmithing by using a cordless drill instead of a drill brace to turn the 1/4"-20 brass bolt. Grinding compound liberally applied to the bolt head and pressed against the barrel muzzle while on high speed makes fast work of crowning. I was carefull and took my time and it came out very nice. The little plastic tray has Ajax cleanser mixed with water on the left and toothpaste on the right. These were used to remove the scratches the grinding compound left. Since I saved a little money on the DIY cut and crown a decent stock was made affordable. I purchased a No5 butt and forestock from Numrich. Also ordered a full sized No4 handguard to cut and reshape because they were out of No5 handguards... The No5 butt and forestock are actually new old stock No4 wood reshapped to No5 dimensions. The action is very tight in the bedding. I made sure the barrel was relived and floating by using a 16" long piece of 3/4" PVC pipe wrapped in sand paper and worked back and forth in the barrel channel till I could slip a business card around the barrel and slide all the way down to the knoxform (chamber area) without touching wood. Same was don to the handguard. Here it is with the wood on yet unfinished. Flash hider was pinned on by a retired gunsmith I know. Now it's starting to look like something... but it still has the 300-600 yd flip aperture sight and button style cocking piece. The No5 had a ghost ring aperture that when flipped turned into a micrometer adjustable rear sight. Also a little finishing of the wood was in order as well as degreasing and painting the metal. Once I found a good No5 micrometer sight and flat grooved cocking piece, installed them, painting and baking was performed. Wood was finished and everything put back together. I also purchased a new knockoff of the original cotton web sling. They put all the right markings on it and a 1944 date... It shoots good with HXP .303 ammo. About the same as the Ishy 2A Carbine. And the over all cost was about the same too. So I have two Scout type rifles for a little less then the price of a Ruger Scout. Not bad.
That's just great that you can do a little of your own 'smithing like that, and actually have something very useful as well as aesthetically pleasing when you're done.
General carry. Carbines are lighter and more compact than full sized versions, i.e. "handier". But you get to keep your full caliber thump, and the increased accuracy of a rifle over a pistol. The "Scout" concept comes from Jeff Cooper, as a sort of civilian "minute man/SHTF/first responder"/hunting rifle concept for every day carry in the field. Also sort of the "ultimate" ideal for a truck gun when not in the field. I believe that "enough ammo to fight with if you had to, and enough power to drop a bear if you must" are the general requirements.
I'd still take it to battle. Haha. I have a k98 in the trunk, so I might be a bit biased. You running strippers with it? HIGHLY recommend if you ain't.
Also, double thumbs up on the bayonet lug. You ain't rocking without one...I have almost had to use one to keep a deer from running straight over me one time. Made a believer out of me.
This is what the Ruger X-GI was supposed to be... To bad they just couldn't make it work, and scrapped the whole program, as well as destroyed all the prototypes....
Yesssir! Dat's what she is a battle rifle! (it just ain't black a scarry!) I have a K98 sporertized and chambered for 30.06. She's heavy at +9lbs. What do you mean stripper clips? A good British soldier doesn't use stripper clips with his Enfield he uses charger clips. Be warned, if you go on a Lee Enfield collectors board they will educate you in a hurry... Actually there is a difference, Stripper Clips are for rimless cartridges and are fairly thin. Charger Clips are for rimmed cartridges and are much larger. 7.62 NATO stripper clips .303 British charger clips. But to answer your question... Yes, I use charger clips on the No5 clone and stripper clips on the Ishapore 2A. Makes for fast reloading... I'd say faster than changing magazines.
Actually, I was not aware that there was an actual difference (you know the Brits and their "Anglish"). Appreciate the heads up.
You are welcome... If you ever post on a Lee Enfield collectors board remember they are charger or charging clips. They love to pummel newbies with the "Queens English"... All in fun of course!
Oh, I'd fit in like a bag of hammers. 'Ud ya like crom-pets with your charger? Haha. Na, man, it's cool. How well does the "ugly cone" on the end work out? Never seen one fired that somebody hadn't already lopped it off.
If you notice the flash hider is designed like a rocket engine nozzle. This combined with the hard rubber but pad is to increase the felt recoil by the soldier. Making those British soldiers tough one shot at a time.
Went and did some target practice yesterday. This is the first 5 rounds. About 1.5" center to center. Ammo: HXP .303, '76 head stamp. Sights: Military iron. Range: 108 yrds per range finder. Steel plate: 12" dia. Shooting from folding plastic table. Not bad for an old war horse!