Assistance Knowledge on Enfield .303

[lamarw]

I picked this rifle up at a local auction last evening. It was an impulse buy at $325.00. I may have to treat this as another lessons learned.

My thinking is the rifle is a No. 4 MK I or II if there is such a thing. I would put the overall condition at about 70%.

The bolt serial number does match what I think is the serial number on the wrist band. It is M47C. There is also 1947 stamped on the wrist band above the serial number and above it is a 7C. On the left side of the receiver in a very small stamping or mark I just can not make out. If it were words it would be two words but I do not think it is lettering or if so not English. On the right side wrist band there is a broad arrow with what looks like a crown and a couple of letters.

Also on the cocking lever of the bolt is what looks to be N67 MKII.

The attached pictures will vaguely depict the markings.

The rifle came with 306 rounds of ammunition. Most of it is boxed in 32 round brown cardboard boxes. The band on the boxes is marked H 3262 along with Mk 7 and I.S.A.A. Boxes also have stamping which might indicate 1950, 1954 and 1956 year lots.

Anything any of you can share with me about this rifle will be much appreciated.

 

[lamarw]

One more attached picture.

 

[Shooter2675]

I actually have the same exact thing, picked it up from cabelas last year for $250 (he gave me a discount, he was normally $300) and it's sure on fine piece of British engineering. I do believe based on your pictures it is an Enfield No. 4, im not totally sure about the MK1 or MK2, but both are pretty solid rifles. I think I got a pretty good deal in it, and the price you got it for I would say it was a good deal too. I really enjoy shooting it, it's pretty accurate, and the action is pretty neat. One thing to beware of is the stock can get very dry, so it helps to put some oil on it once a month or so and keep her in tip top shape. The fact that you got all the ammo with it makes it an even better bargain, Im jealous of the deal you got with the ammo. In case you haven't shot it before, I will tell you the recoil is pretty tame, and it is certainly pretty accurate. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask and I will try my best to answer.

John

 

[lamarw]

Thank you John, I was not worried about the purchase. There was a No.1 at the same auction. It sold for four hundred and was not in nearly as nice a condition.

I do have other firearms, but this is the first military rifle I have handled since my Army days with the M-14 and M-16. Not sure what possessed me to bid on it. I also scored a decent Stevens pump .410.

There must of been 75 Jennings, Bryco and Raven pistols on the block. I have never seen so many Saturday night specials in one place. Most of it was .25's and were selling from fifty to seventy-five bucks.

 

[Mike Irwin]

The boxes should be stamped ISA&A, which stands for Inspector (or Inspectorate) of Small Arms and Ammunition.

That means that it's British manufactured. If you look at the cartridge, you'll see numbers and letters stamped on the face of the rim. That should include the year of manufacture and the manufacturer's code.

 

[wogpotter]

Its either a No4 Mk1, or a No4 Mk1*.

There was a No2, but it had a cross bolt instead of a strap across the rear of the forend wood. (& several other internal differences).

It was made at the Birmingham Small Arms Factory Shirley plant & the month/year of manufacture should also be stamped on the wrist as M/YY

I can't tell for certain if its a Mk1 or Mk1* because I can't see the right side of the receiver, but I don't recall BSA making any of the mk1* variants, so its probably a Mk1. If the bolt is removed by flipping the bolt head through a cut in the rail about 1/2" back from the breech its a Mk1, if you use a spring loaded catch further back between the charger guide & the rear of the receiver its a Mk1. To confirm the version it should be stamped on the receiver with the Model & mark.

NOTE: if the ammo is marked as Mk7, or VII it is corrosive primed & filled with cordite, clean accordingly.

 

[lamarw]

Thanks for the responses. It seems a vast amount of the ammunition I received does have either a 7 or a VII on the head of the brass or on the unopened boxes. I think I will pull these cartridges and replace the primers and powder.

The bolt release is as mentioned. It is a spring operated rectangular button on the right side of the receiver.

I have cleaned the rifle up to include a lot of work on the bore. I have cleaned it with how soapy water, then Hoppes, CLP, and patches. After I got a clean patch out of it, I ran a patch with gun oil and then another fresh patch. The bore has nice rifling, and I see no signs of pitting.

 

[wogpotter]

Sorry but you won't be able to pull & dump with Mk7.
Really, its strands of cordite under a card disk. The strands are inserted before the case is necked down so its a futile effort. Besides its the primer that is corrosive, not the cordite, that just erodes barrels if you shoot thousands of rounds of the stuff. The primers are boxer, not Berdan, so re-priming is a huge pain. Even if you get the old ones out there are no primers of the same size in the US.
You could pull the MkVII bullets & seat modern 150 gr pills instead. NOTE: I said 150 Gr for a reason, you do not have load data for cordite, so back off to a lighter bullet for safety reasons as you'll have no idea how the pressures will be if you go to modern 180 Gr ones.

 

[lamarw]

OK, Thanks for the data on the old cartridges. I thought the primers might be boxed and a pain. I was not aware of the other problem.

I will just go with modern ammo and reload it per your instructions. Great information. Thank you.

 

[wogpotter]

No problem, corrosive is nowhere near the bugabooo its made out to be. Just run hot water through then clean normally & oil.
If you do pull the Mk VII pills let me know I'd be interested for the right price for the pulled pills.

 

[Mk VII]

It appears to have been parkerised, which is not usual with British firearms and sometimes covers a multitude of sins.
It has the utility wartime pattern backsight, though this is easily replaced with one of the more sophisticated ones.
1947 will be the serial no. not M47C (at any rate BATF will have a lot of others on their books with this 'number'). I'd guess someone has 'improved' it by grinding off whatever number was on the bolt and making it 'matching', as they thought.
British berdan cases take the RWS #6000 primer; this is no longer readily obtainable, now.

 

[lamarw]

Thank you Mk VII, It causes me to wonder why someone would go to such effort on a relatively inexpensive firearm. The serial number of 1947 stands to reason since the number 1 identifies the manufacturing facility.

I like it since 1947 is also my birth year. Is there a way of estimating the production year?

 

[Mike Irwin]

Year of manufacture should be stamped on the ring of metal just behind the trigger into which the buttstock fits.

I THINK it is on the right side.

 

[wogpotter]

British berdan cases take the RWS #6000 primer

Slight correction if I may, Some do, there was more than one size used as time went by. Kind of academic as they aren't available anyway!

 

[T. O'Heir]

"...on a relatively inexpensive firearm..." Depends on your definition of 'inexpensive'. A No. 4 in decent condition with good headspace is running $500 plus. Operative words are 'with good headspace'. Thousands of 'em were assembled out of parts bins with zero QC. Even though your's(1947. There an 'FTR' stamped on it anywhere? Something about that S/N isn't right. http://freespace.virgin.net/j.franklin/toys/serial_numbers.htm) has matching numbers(S/N on bolt is the same as the receiver), there's no guarantee the bolt head hasn't been changed.
Anyway, go here. http://home.earthlink.net/~smithkaia8/index.html
DO NOT PULL THE AMMO. It's collector stuff and is highly unlikely to have cordite. Cordite is pre-W.W. I. Mk VII ammo used smokeless with either a Boxer or Berdan primer and a 174 grain bullet at 2440 FPS.

 

[wogpotter]

It's collector stuff and is highly unlikely to have cordite. Cordite is pre-W.W. I. Mk VII ammo used smokeless with either a Boxer or Berdan primer and a 174 grain bullet at 2440 FPS.

I respectfully disagree 100%.
All, every single round of British made MkVII (7) is Cordite & corrosive, completely regardless of manufacture date. Any ammo using propellants other than cordite has a "Z" suffix to indicate that fact.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by the last part but cordite is in fact smokeless, even if it does produce a bit more blue haze than modern nitro-cellulose powders like IMR 3031.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"Cordite is pre-W.W. I."

Yeah... no.

Cordite was phased out of British small arms ammunition in the years following World War II.

It was still employed in some forms by the British military until the 1990s. ROF Bishopton was the last manufacturer.


Wogpotter is 100% correct -- British small arms ammunition loaded with nitrocellulose powder is identified in the headstamp with the letter Z.

During World War I the British purchased several hundred thousand tons of nitropowders from the United States due to the inability to manufacture enough Cordite.

I'm not sure if they imported nitropowder during World War II, or imported loaded cartridges.

 

[lamarw]

OK, Thanks Gentlemen. I will treat the ammunition as corrosive and put it aside. In the event I decide to shoot it, I will clean the bore with soap and water initially and then follow-up with my routine cleaning process.

Happy Holidays to all who have responded.

 

[Mk VII]

NC propellant was also purchased by the British in WW2, several US powder plants being financed for the purpose. The Textbook of Ammunition (1944) : Pamphlet No.5 Small Arms Ammunition notes that, in most cases either is suitable and in war the supply position often governs the choice. Winchester and Remington made .303 for Britain, having been approached in 1940.

British government production remained corrosive until about 1961, after which Eleyprime composition was used until the last batch - the latest I have observed was made on New Year's Eve 1975.

 

[Mike Irwin]

I knew about the WWII cartridges, but I didn't know about the nitro powder plants. Good information!