AIM : Enfield 2A .308 NATO Rifles

[Merl]

Dear Customer,

We just purchased the balance of the Enfield 2A rifles known to exist in the world! The Enfield 2A .308 NATO rifle was manufactured by the Rifle Factory Ishapore in the 1960's. Their engineers made design enhancements to the No1Mk3 Enfield by utilizing superior 1960's technology in steel manufacturing and tooling when compared with the turn of the century processes used to make the .303cal. Enfields. The 2As were issued to India's Central Interior Security Force during the past four decades. They were shot little and were very well maintained. These rifles will show some metal finish wear from training, handling, etc. and may have arsenal stock repair(s) to prevent or repair wood cracks. They will feature bright bores and original wood stock finish (these rifles have not been power washed). Expect a clean military surplus rifle, while not brand new, will make a great addition to any collection. Once these are gone they won't be seen again. Please visit our website for more information.

Enfield 2A .308 NATO Rifles
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Enf-2A__Enfield_2A_.308_NATO_7.62x51_Rifles.html

Thank you,
AIM, Inc.
888-748-5252
sales@aimsurplus.com
www.aimsurplus.com

[7idl]

I've got one of these 2A's. The one I got was in Excellent if not like new condition.

[Bumblebee Bob]

I did not need to see this. Nope. My eyes are closed. Must resist...

This is the reason I don't have a C&R and don't intend to get one. [abused]

[Marlin]

I did not need to see this. Nope. My eyes are closed. Must resist...

This is the reason I don't have a C&R and don't intend to get one. [abused]




[roll]



Same here



[abused] [abused]

[bailagent100]

I bought one of these Indian Enfields from my local gunshop about 3 weeks ago and am all but certain it's one from AimSurplus.

Paid a little more for it ($199.00) but got to 'handpick' mine from two he had in stock & didn't have to pay to have it shipped to me on my C&R FFL.

The bore is VERY nice. All the metal was slathered in the typical black paint & the whole rifle was covered in cosmoline.

It's completely dis-assembled right now with all the metal stripped of paint & lightly oiled. The furniture was given a second coat of Citri-Stripper this afternoon & I'll be mucking it off tonight.

The wood looks to be the darker, (mohagany?) red colored variety. With some TLC, a wet rag & a hot iron, I should be able to steam out most of the dents & dings.

When finished with the wood, I'll re-assemble the whole thing, then decide if I want to blue the metal, depending on the results.

Got a case of the SA 7.62x51 from Aim to feed it with, as well. Really getting anxious to see what it can do!

Best regards,

[7idl]

make sure you post pics :mrgreen:

[bailagent100]

Ha! I'll try to post pics of the rifle AND any left over parts I end up with!

[Artyboy]

I've been dying to get one of these. It'll be the first thing that I buy when my C&R FFL gets here.

[Mule]

This is killing me, I put my AIM flyer face down so I won't be tempted to get one.........
I want one too.... :cry:

I just dumped a ton of cash on a new hunting rifle, bow and Lee pro 1000 for myself and a new shotgun for my 12 yr old daughter...... Not to mention the 279 I may lay out for an IMA Galil ARM kit. :P

Any of you want to get into technical SCUBA diving? Buy my computer so I can get one of these. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's only $800...... [pirate]

I had to go to Big5 and fondle one of their Steyrs just to get a fix.

[Mule]

PS,
I would say the $10. extra for the best of 5 is probably worth it too. What says ye all?
I just may end up with one and was thinking about the extra $$$.

[bailagent100]

Finally got my Ishapore/Enfield put back together & I am very pleased with the results after my efforts to bring it back to 'life'.

Gonna try posting my first images of the rifle, here...bear with me.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f233/bailagent100/HPIM0863.jpg

Above, just prior to assembly.


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f233/bailagent100/HPIM0873.jpg

Here's a pretty nice close-up of the receiver area. (Above)


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f233/bailagent100/HPIM0884.jpg

Above, the completed 'restoration'.

I will order about 4 replacement screws for the rifle as they all appear to have been worked over with the bayo by the previous 'owner'! Other than that, functions smooth & well.

Best regards,

[Mule]

So how many coats and how long did you let them set on the citri-stripper? This is a new stripper to me, where can I get it? I have a few rifles that I'm trying to get all the gunk off of but not wanting to sand them. I have been using 00 steel wool......

Very nice looking rifle. I'm hoping they still have them when I get recouped from the Galil.

Greg

[bailagent100]

Thanks for the comments, Mule.

After disassembling the entire rifle, I used the Citri-Strip (WalMart) to dissolve the paint that was slathered on the metal parts and to dissolve the cosmo/grease that coated not only the metal but the wood furniture, too.

A fair amount of research on other C&R related boards led me to the decision to use Citri-Strip rather than EasyOff oven cleaner. Some fellows (long-time wood workers) believe the chemicals in EasyOff are too harsh for any wood. Others have used EasyOff on their rifle's wood with no apparent ill effects. YMMV

After stripping & washing (cold water/garden hose) all the parts & allowing to completely dry, I mixed 1/4 cup of BLO (boiled linseed oil) with 1/4 cup of odor-less mineral spirits, then wiped on the mixture with a clean, dry, terry-cloth rag.

Three coats of the mixture were applied to the wood, allowing 24 hours dryng time in between applications. 0000 steel wool was used to (very lightly) sand the wood & pick up any remaining mixture that hadn't soaked into the wood after drying for a day.

Suggested recommendations include an additional coat of the mixture, once a week for several weeks, then one coat a month for a year. Not sure I'll need to go through all that but if it appears the wood is drying out, can easily apply additional coats of the BLO/mineral spirits combo.

DON'T FORGET wrap-around eye protection and suitable rubber gloves
when using the Citri-Stripper AND the BLO/mineral spirits compounds.

Best regards,

[Mule]

Awesome, very complete description. Thanks!!!!!

We really ought to have a how to sticky in this area.
I almost trashed a barrel on my 1894 Mauser trying to clean rust from the outside..... Good tech like this is time consuming to find....

Greg

[Mule]

Well, I did it. I ordered one tonight........ I even paid the extra $10.00 for a "best of 5" pick. Man, my Christmas bonus is going down the tubes WAY before I even get it.
G

[Obiwan]

Well thanks...and there I was being all strong

But I caved and ordered one

And I already had one

Two is better.....right :roll:

[Mule]

Hey now, don't blame me. I couldn't help it, it just said "BUY ME" every time I looked at the pictures.

Most of the time two is better......
I have two #4 MK1s and I can't get rid of the second one now.....
I'm hoping I have it and an extra nylon sporter stock traided for a couple of tree blinds.

Now I have to get some of that Citri-Strip. I have a 91/30 that I need to get that clear coating off of, and I assume I'll be doing the #2 as well.
G

[Mule]

I got mine last night.....
VERY COOOOOOL!!!!
All matching numbers, down to the mag. Barrel is bright!
I'm hoping I can get it cleaned enough to take it out this Saturday.

I have to shoot it before I take it down to do the real cleaning and re-finishing.......

Is there anyone local to get ammo from? Or do you have to order it?
Will .308s work from a LGS or is the NATO 7.62x51 it? Or is this the old 5.56 - .223 debate?

[bailagent100]

Mule...very pleased to hear you are so happy with your Indian Enfield.

Is it the 2A or the 2A1?

How's the wood? Rack number? Cartouche(s)?

Personally, I'm gonna feed mine the 7.62x51 NATO (South African) stuff, only, as my research indicates commercially produced .308 pressures are higher by about 5000psi.

While the Indians had the advantage of mid-1960's metalurgy/technology as opposed to turn-of-the-century materials, it was a third world country at the time and the rifle was built to handle the lower pressures of the 7.62x51 military caliber.

Oh yeah...we need to see some pics, too!

Best regards,
Bailagent100

[7idl]

unless YOU loaded some .308 to a safe load, only fire 7.62 x 51 NATO in that there rifle (and anything else chambered in 7.62 x 51 NATO.)

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/308vs762nato/index.asp

[Mule]

interesting.
so it's reverse to the 5.56/223 thing.
That's good to know, I won't shoot anything that I don't know is safe!!!!!! Thanks....

It's the 2A, I didn't see why the 2A1 would be any better to collect. The sight was the only difference that I could tell.

I will get some pics tonight. I need to clean some of the cos off. Gotta love that stale smell.
I am very jealous of you getting a bayonette!!!!!! I want one and can't find it.

Also, do you guys know if any of the local shops sell the 7.62 NATO?

I'm going to stop off at sportsmans on the way home....... crossing my fingers.

Hey Bailagent100,
where did you get the spirits & nineral oil from & does the oil come boiled?
I'm assuming Home Depot.....

Greg

[bailagent100]

My understanding is that the rear sights are the only difference between the 2A & the 2A1.

The first 50,000 rifles made in the 7.62x51 chambering utilized the original sights (2000 meters) and were, indeed, calibrated for the .303 round. We may have a bit of a challenge finding the sweet spot with these sights!

After that, they redesigned the sights, calibrating them for the 7.62 NATO (800 yds/meters?) thus the 2A1 designation.

Can't help you with who may carry the milsurp 7.62, locally, but you can order the South African stuff by the 140 round battle pack or 7 bp's (980 rounds) in a crate from www.aimsurplus.com.

I found the odorless mineral spirits and the BLO at a local True Value store. Walmart only had the BLO in 5 gallon buckets. Certainly didn't need that much. Unless you're going to be restoring many rifles, just buy the smallest quantities you can find of each. Like I said before, I used 1/4 cup of each, mixed together...gave the wood 3 coats & still had some left over. A little seems to go a long way.

Did you try Southern Ohio Guns (see earlier post for web-addy) for that bayonet?

For just having this one gun chambered for this round, I went a little crazy & bought two cases...but everybody seems to like it, its quite appropriate for our 2A's & will likely be gone very soon.

Besides, if I decide to pick up an FAL or some such item, I'll have ammo for that then, too.

Best regards,
Bailagent100

[Marlin]

do you guys know if any of the local shops sell the 7.62 NATO?


5280 Armory has SA battlepacks. Last time I was in there They had a few crates of it also.

[Mule]

Besides, if I decide to pick up an FAL or some such item, I'll have ammo for that then, too.


Don't do that to me....
I'm SOOOOO close to going down the FN/FAL road. I have found most of the importers selling the kits and the ones making the receivers for them. You allready made me, well pretty much made me, Ok, brought it up, get the 2A.
You're lucky too, if I had my work computer I would post some links to them. I'm figuring about $300 for a completed one.......

I have to say this too, I really think the 2A has the most personality to it's design and looks than any of the other rifles I have. Kind of a Mannlicker type stock that reminds me of my 1892 build Kar 88, coupled to the Enfield receiver/bolt. Pretty neat rifle. This is one that collectors should have. I honestly can say a second one will end up in my vault fairly soon. Probably the 2A1.

Thanks for the info Marlin.

Greg

PS, thanks again for the info on the stock stuff.

[Obiwan]

I shot mine yesterday

I was "banging the gong" with the irons at 50-75 yards in the snow

[Mule]

I do have one caution on these if any of you get one.
Be very careful taking these down!!!!!!!

Mine looked like it had been dipped in shellack. The stuff literally glued the thing together. It took me three hours to get it mostly taken down and the excess cleaned off. The upper hand guards could be broken if one was not careful when pulling it apart. My receiver was even stuck to the stock.
The black paint is so thick that it looks like an epoxy creasote. I had to shave it off of the bolt retainer clip to get the bolt free. Beyond that, there is a repaired crack in the little hand guard piece that is behind the rear sight. I will have to do some work on it, the crack is still present. All together, the wood is really nice! The more I look at this, the more it becomes my favorite. The "family" even commented on it, they NEVER notice the rifles I'm working on. It's in a tie w/ my 1903 Springfield.

Hey Marlin,
thanks for the 5280 info. I went by last night, but he had closed early for the holiday....

[Mule]

These pics aren't very good, I have to grab the good camera from my wife and get some better ones. This is un stripped, cosmoline cleaned off.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g244/georockdude/The%20Vault/2A1.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g244/georockdude/The%20Vault/2A2.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g244/georockdude/The%20Vault/2A5.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g244/georockdude/The%20Vault/2A6.jpg

What is the #4 for on the stock? I never managed to figure out what stuff like that was.
G

[Marlin]

Could be an Arms room inventory number.

[Mule]

I went to the North shooting area Saturday afternoon.
They are a little harder to shoot off hand - palming it, but are pretty stable and a joy to shoot.

If you don't have one, get one!!!!!

Greg
PS, Marlin, did you see my post about 5280 having the .303 in?
I like them in there, nice people.

[Mule]

Hey 7idl
I had to come back and revisit the .308 vs 7.62x51 thing.
I read the info on the page. Good read and important info on head space.
We are also looking at different chamber sizes too. BUT not much.

Read this link - all the way through as things get posted later in the thread that make a big differance.

http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22889

.308 and 7.62 are interchanged by a lot of guys (except CETME owners). I think the tolerances are close enough to not get excited over it.

As you can see, they have a lot of off bbs referances too.