Enfield Mk VI .32 "Aradix"conversion

[anand]

Greetings,
I came upon an unusual(for India) revolver.Its an Enfield Mk VI revolver with 6" barre, identical to the Webley & Scott Mk VI in .455 Calibre.
The unsual part is that, at some point in its life it was converted to .32 S&W Long (not .22 LR which I have seen elsewhere).

Externally it looks like any Enfield Mk VI .455. The barrel has markings
"Aradix conversion" or "Astradix conversion". Its been a while since I saw it so I can't remember the exact words but thats what I think I saw.

Can anyone shed any light on "Aradix" or "Astradix"?
Thanks

 

[Dave85]

I'm guessing the conversion was probably done locally by a gunsmith or armorer for a competitive shooter. I know Webley factory-made some Mk IVs in .32 Colt New Police (.32 S&W) instead of .380 Enfield (.38 S&W) for the same purpose.

 

[Jim Watson]

I once read that .32 was the largest calibre allowed for civilian purchase in India. Is that still the case?

I suspect Aradix made the conversion to a Mk VI .455 so it could be sold in India. But I have not heard of the conversion or the converter before.

 

[anand]

Dave85,
There are no professional gunsmiths in India! There may have been a few during the early years after Independence (1947), remains of the British Empire....but none that are present now. The conversion was done very likely in England itself, also I forgot to mention it has only the factory standard rear notch fixed sights and no adjustable sights which puts the target conversion to rest. The other thing was Webley made the Mk IVs in .32 S&W Long.(same as .32 Colt New Police) and not .32 S&W.


Jim Watson,
That is partially correct. Here in India the problem is that there is a military caliber prohibition on civilian firearms. That means just like Italy, and some South American countries we are not allowed to use anything the military/police use. Calibres designated as "prohibited bores" are:
9mm Pistol,.380 Revolver,.45 Pistol,.455 Revolver, .303 Rifle, 7.62mm Rifle. Ammunition for civilian use must not be "cable of being chambered or fired" in Prohibited Bore firearms.
You have to remember that the restriction is on the bore of the firearm and not the exact caliber. That means any 9mm pistol cartridge whether 9mm Bayard or 9mm Kurtz,9mm Glisenti or any other 9mm is a "prohibited bore".Funnily .380 pistol cartridge is allowed.The trick is that the pistol must not be marked as 9mm anywhere but can have .380.

When a license is requested for a firearm, you also mention that you want a N.P Bore(Non prohibited bore) pistol, or revolver or rifle or shotgun. That means .32 N.P bore revolver allows you to buy .32 S&W,.32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Mag,.32-20,or even a bottleneck wildcat cartridge if it fire a .32 bore projectile. Similarly, .30 N.P Bore pistol would allow you to own .30 Luger, .30 Mauser, .30 Borchardt,.30 Carbine etc. Calibres commonly allowed are .22,.25,.30,.32,.38(pistol). I know some have permission for .357 Magnums etc.

Indian ammunition is only available in .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long for revolvers,.32 ACP for pistols, .315/8mm, 30-06 for rifles and 12 gauge shotgun shells. So most people prefer firearms in these "bores".
Ammo for the rest of the bores is all imported and very expensive.
.32 local ammo Rs.35=$ 0.70/round
.32 imported ammo Rs.150=$ 3.00/round
Since shooting is an elitist sport here in India only the rich people can afford to do any amount of shooting or else you have to be in the Police or the Military to be able to get any practice for real competition.
Regards

 

[Dave85]

anand,

I'm sorry! I did mean .32 S&W Long.

I understand that a large number of copies of various Webleys have been made over the years in Afghanistan and Pakistan (who's Ghulam Muhammad Dossul Engineering Ltd. actually bought Webley's revolver business in toto in '83). I hear some of them are quite good and display rather convincing markings. Do you know of these, and is it possible that what you saw was one of them marked as an Enfield?

 

[anand]

Dave85,
The webley's made in Afghanistan & Pakistan (Darra & Adam Khel) are usually hand carved copies of the true British Webelys. They are more of a cottage industry and the proof marks are no indication of their sturdiness. The proof marks are usually poor copies too. Infact, u coule probably find copies of Lee Enfields, Tokarevs, and AK 47s etc all close copies, some even with parts that would interchange with the originals.
As for The legitimate Webleys made in Pakistan, you are correct that Dossul Engineering did buy the machinery, I dont know if they are in current production.
However the one that I am refering to is infact made buy Enfield in England and not a copy. Also it would be next to impossible for a Pakistani firearm to be "legitimately" imported into India. The only handguns I know that have made it into India from Pakistan/China are some ".30 bore Chinese Star Pistols"(Pakistani/Chinese 7.62 Tokarev pistols with a Star emblem on the grips). These are usually captured from insurgents and terrorists by the military and then issued to retiring military officers and brought into the license system. The pistols have no markings whatsoever except for a serial number. I am certain this is not the case with the Enfield that we are talking about.
Regards,
Anand
Regards