Ishapore Jungle Carbine?

[Brane Frees]

Okay, here's what I was possessed to do to my Ishapore 2A.

Ain't purty, but it's handy, accurate, smooth bolt, great trigger, low recoil for .308... and I don't worry about it might get scratched.

 

[nilknarf]

... I purchased an Ishapore 2A about five years ago to convert into a carbine along the lines of the No5 or really along the lines of what Golden State Arms did back in the '50s and '60s...
...
View attachment 423147
View attachment 423149
...
I think It came out ok.

I'd say your conversion came out far better than just "ok."- beautifully done, sir! I just picked up a similar 1965 2A that had some "less than expert" repairs done on the original damaged stock (the patches were partially- and hilariously- held in place with office staples!), so I figured I'd follow your lead and exercise the sincerest form of flattery!

I do have just a couple of questions for you that haven't been addressed so far in the thread if you don't mind:

• Did you cut the forend off just ahead of the inner band hole in the stock as it appears? (just behind the original position of the front band... the item marked #2 in the diagram below) and if so, I'm assuming you relocated the channel for the barrel band...
  
• Is the flash hider you sourced the large diameter version from Numrich? ( Flashhider, Conversion - Pre-Drilled. Blued Steel. Newly Manufactured. )

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[Bones2586]

Well done on the conversions, they look great! Have always liked the lines of the LEE-Enfield, first rifle I think of when referencing British troops in WWII (along with the Sten), sadly have yet to add one to the collection (one day soon). Cheers -

Corrected...thanks! Boy, I feel small now...

 

[tac]

Ahem, this is an Enfield -


THIS is a LEE-Enfield -



Mr James Paris Lee, whose name is remembered every time we use it in the rifle to which he gave his name, was an American firearms designer. He also designed the US Navy Lee rifle.

So you really have no good reason to miss his name out, right?

tac

 

[War Bird Radio]

I do have just a couple of questions for you that haven't been addressed so far in the thread if you don't mind:

• Did you cut the forend off just ahead of the inner band hole in the stock as it appears? (just behind the original position of the front band... the item marked #2 in the diagram below) and if so, I'm assuming you relocated the channel for the barrel band...
  
• Is the flash hider you sourced the large diameter version from Numrich? ( Flashhider, Conversion - Pre-Drilled. Blued Steel. Newly Manufactured. )

Thanks for the inspiration!

The fore stock is cut to No5 length and yes it is cut off just in front of the inner band. Since the 2A uses a pencil barrel it needs that inner band and screw for stiffness.

The barrel band is for a No4 and it's located where the No5 barrel band is located... I used carving tools and a dremel to cut the groove. The 2A barrel band was too small use.

I think I used the small diameter flash hider. We did have to turn the barrel down a couple thou to get it to slide on snug though. The large flash hider might work if the small one isn't available any more. You'd have to know the barrel diameter and the flash hider hole size. Sorry if that seems obvious...

 

[War Bird Radio]

And this is a Lee-Metford...



James Paris Lee designed the action which was way ahead of its time. He was the first to use a removable box magazine. His rear locking lugs ment that the bolt stroke was only as long as the cartridge keeping the rifleman's had closer to the trigger. Also, with a 60* bolt turn to unlock it was much handier and faster than the Mauser action at 90*. Yes, the Mauser is much stronger but the Lee action is strong enough for the cartridge it was designed for.

So what make a rifle a Lee-Metford or Lee-Enfield?
First the Lee-Metford was first. In 1879 the Brits started trials and modifying the Lee action and finally adopted it in 1888. It used a barrel designed by one Mr. Metford with shallow grooves for the early .303 loaded with black powder pellets.

When the .303 cartridge was finally converted to cordite (smokeless powder) they found the velocity increased and the gases produced were hotter thus eroding the rifling at an accelerated rate. So the armory an Enfield designed a new barrel for the smokeless powder. And so the designation was changed to Lee-Enfield. And further enhancements were made and we come to the SMLE and it's variants.

 

[tac]

The first .303 British cartridges did NOT use black powder pellets. It used a single pellet of black powder which was inserted into the case immedaltey before the bullet, thus combining necking and seating. Cordite is not a powder, but an extruded rod, chopped into two inch legths to fit inside the ..303 British case. It is, however, classed as 'smokeless' even though it is really only a slightly modied version of the high explosive, nitroglycerine. It looked exactly like miniature uncooked spaghetti.



In WW1, soldiers who were less than enthusiastic about fighting for King and Country would pull the bullet, and chew a couple of strands of Cordite. The result would simulate a heart attack, thus getting him taken out of the line to a place of lesser risk. Modern-day pills to relieve the symptoms of angina include nitroglycerine tablets - and as I noted, Cordite IS nitroglycerine in a modified format.

tac

 

[War Bird Radio]

Ok, you win Tac... Sorry for adding an "s" to pellet.

The thread is yours

 

[MountainBear]

Share the thread, damn it. I'm learning from both. Brit guns are an area of weakness of my knowledge bank...

I'd rather enjoy listening to all of you...

 

[Ownerus]

....
Mr James Paris Lee, whose name is remembered every time we use it in the rifle to which he gave his name, was an American firearms designer. He also designed the US Navy Lee rifle......

Or, as we say in the States, US Winchester Lee Navy. Navy? For MARINES! (and I suppose sailors too on occasion)
Oorah!

Ahead of it's time in many ways. High velocity, small bore, clip loaded.

 

[tac]

Ok, you win Tac... Sorry for adding an "s" to pellet.

The thread is yours

Not mine, but ours.

tac

 

[tac]

Or, as we say in the States, US Winchester Lee Navy. Navy? For MARINES! (and I suppose sailors too on occasion)
Oorah!
View attachment 488640
Ahead of it's time in many ways. High velocity, small bore, clip loaded.
View attachment 488641
View attachment 488642

I've never seen one in the the real, but I found a shoebox containing forty-four of the unique charger clips at a yard sale in Virginia back in the late 90's. Even then I sold them for $5 apiece and gave the money back to the old lady. One guy in Roanoke had twenty of them.

tac

 

[Ownerus]

Wow tac, a real treasure trove! I have exactly one clip. They are indeed unique. Sorta conventional except for the wire bail that holds the cartridges. When inserted into the rifle, a la Garand, a tooth in the magazine well flips the bail over and releases the cartridges, spilling the clip and bail separately out the bottom of the magazine. Rather amazing to find ANY of them together after 100 years. I wouldn't mind finding a couple more of them.
A most interesting rifle in spite of it's short service span.

 

[tac]

It's a strange straight-pull action, for sure, and one that killed a shooter, SARCO employee Glenn DeRuiter in 2002. The story is part of this - Winchester Lee Navy Safety?
Apparently he was a very experienced reloader with a long and much-valued history as a military shooter. It was all over the shooting press at the time. Of course, these days there would have been protests in the streets from all kinds of people about the dangers of reloading and 'think about the children' parades.

I admit that I've done it once, reloading a 158gr wadcutter revolver load. One round felt very bangful for 4gr of Bullseye, so I stopped instantly, and pulled the remaining twenty or so. All were good. No real harm was done, since the Ruger Super Redhawk, John Bunyan's favourite revolver, can handle loads like that all the live-long day.

tac

 

[Ownerus]

I read and commented on that article back when. I'm thinking the thinner head of the converted .30-40 Krag was the culprit. I've fire mine a total of 22 times. Back not long after I'd acquired the rifle, I came upon some original ammo and brass at a gunshow. I picked 15 rds of the original and tried firing it. 7 rds actually went off, 8 were unrepentant duds. Not surprising since it was all very old. I think I remember reading the ammo went out of print about 1935. Of the 7 that "fired", a couple made a report that sounded sorta like "squerch". I looked through the bore after each of those to be sure the bullet had actually departed down range. Some years later, I saw where old west scrounger was selling some. I bought a box. I've fired 15 rounds of it. Since it's made on reworked .30-40 brass, I'm hesitant to fire the remaining 5 rounds based on what's been more recently learned. I started working up some .220 Swift brass into 6mm USN but didn't get very far before life interfered. The few rounds I've fired implied that the accuracy might be pretty decent, on my rifle anyway. Since I have some empty original brass as well as some reworked .30-40 cases, I suppose I should section one of each and compare how much brass is in the head. Might ease my concerns if the .220 Swift is heavier since I would like to shoot it a bit more.
I suppose I should stop hijacking the OP's thread. But someone DID say "Lee" and "Navy" together...sorta like yelling "squirrel"

 

[War Bird Radio]

Mr James Paris Lee, whose name is remembered every time we use it in the rifle to which he gave his name, was an American firearms designer. He also designed the US Navy Lee rifle.

So you really have no good reason to miss his name out, right?

tac

Actually James Paris Lee was born in Scotland. His parents moved to Canada when he was an adolescent. In his early 20's he moved to the US for a few years where worked with Remington. Since he could not interest the US Army to take on his Remington Lee rifle he moved to England where his fellow commonwealth countryman and the military appreciated his design.

James Paris Lee was a British Commonwealth Citizen. Being one yourself I thought you'd like to know. Or do you have dual citizenship?

 

[tac]

Well, blow me down, who'da thunkit?

Me? I'm a dually!

Half genius, half wit.

 

[War Bird Radio]

Thought so...

 

[MPaulY]

Old thread revival.

OP, where can I get my hands on a few of those ghost ring rear sights? I've got a couple rifles that would benefit.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Watching.