.308 jungle carbine?

[moosemike]

I just wondered if the .308 Enfields were all made from the factory that way or were some converted .303's? I once knew a guy who had a .308 jungle carbine and it was quite a bit different from my mk.1 no.5 .303 so I was wondering if that was authentic United Kingdom issue or was that something aftermarket?

[Alan De Enfield]

None, Nil, Zero Jungle carbines were originally manufactured in 308 calibre.
All Lee Enfields (except the training rifles No7, No8 and No9) were manufactured in 303 until (RFI) Ishapore started making the No1 in 308.
Some 303s were changed / rebarreled after the 2nd WW when the Nato 7.62 became the standard, ie L39, L42 and the Enforcers and Envoys.

Anything else is a gunsmith special or a Bubba special

[webbertelli]

I believe some of the Ishapore 2A and 2A1 rifles were converted in the US by the importer and sold as .308 "Jungle Carbines". The giveaway is the barrel mounted rearsight just like an SMLE instead of the reciever mounted aperture sight. I have seen some advertised as "Gibbs" carbines but I believe there may be other company names for them. None of them ever left a Royal Ordnance or Lithgow or Savage or Ishapore factory as a 7.62 (.308) Jungle Carbine

[moosemike]

The no.1 rifle made in .308 by the Ishapore armory, is that the same gun otherwise as the Mark III no.1?

[Alan De Enfield]

Originally Posted by moosemike

The no.1 rifle made in .308 by the Ishapore armory, is that the same gun otherwise as the Mark III no.1?

Yes - Equivalent to No1 MkIII or known as the "2A"

[inuyasha]

Price is a little different from regular enfields too from what I have seen.. Guy walking the Sioux City gun show had a jungle carbine and wanted $600 for it.. kind of made me raise an eyebrow until I saw the same prices elsewhere. (His was pretty rough anyway, lots of missing finish).

[nathangdad]

A number of bolt actions including the British Enfield and the Mauser rifle of WW2 fame were rebarreled to .308 when it became a NATO round.

Of course, all this came well after WW2. These guns would have more collector value if left in the original caliber.

[Alan De Enfield]

[QUOTE=nathangdad;907432]A number of bolt actions including the British Enfield and the Mauser rifle of WW2 fame were rebarreled to .308 when it became a NATO round.
QUOTE]

Be careful - Commercial 308 is NOT the same as Nato 7.62

Military 7.62 chambers are a different size to commercial 308. Using the 'wrong' ammunition can potentially cause problems with headspacing and possibly case seperations.

Put a 308 in a 7.62 chamber and all of a sudden your headspace has increased - 0.013" is a big headspace 'tolerance'.

If in doubt - use whats stamped on the rifle - it wont have both 308 and 7.62 !!!

[moosemike]

Interesting. So it's the same as the 5.56X45 is not the same as the .223 and you should not interchange them.

[Laufer]

Moose:
You can use both .223 and 5.56 in a Mini 14, according to the online Ruger Owner's Manual, unless it has been changed in the last few months.

[madcratebuilder]

Originally Posted by moosemike

Interesting. So it's the same as the 5.56X45 is not the same as the .223 and you should not interchange them.

The 7.62/.308 may give you headspace issues. It is something you need to be aware of.

The 5.56/.223 has the do with the leade of the barrel (the point the rifling starts) There needs to be clearance between to bullet and the leade. A 5.56 in a .223 chamber 'may' place the bullet tight against the leade and 'may' cause overpressure. YMMV

[pathdoc]

Originally Posted by moosemike

The no.1 rifle made in .308 by the Ishapore armory, is that the same gun otherwise as the Mark III no.1?

In terms of appearance, yes, but the Ishapores have been engineered from the start to deal with 7.62mm pressures (improved metallurgy and such) while the No.1 MkIII generally won't handle them too well on a day-in day-out basis (which is why the SMLEs were never considered for conversion to the NATO round).