223 enfield project

[eighteenninetytwo]

I'm moving forward on a project / experiment to convert No.4 enfield into a .223 rifle. Located a bolt head and a smith to turn and thread the barrel. Next step it to locate a donor rifle. Im lookign for a No.4 Mk2, No.4 Mk 1/2, or No.4 Mk 1/3 (these all have the trigger hung from the receiver as opposed to the trigger guard). Anyone have one of these that is in good condition overall and not fhot much BUT where the barrel has succumbed to corrosive ammo / cleaning negligence??? please PM me if so.

If anyone else here has done this comverisons I'd be keen to find out about feeding tips also,.

[Capybara]

Just out of curiosity, why? .303 is a pretty good cartridge. Is it just economics?

[Divernhunter]

With all the good 223 rifles out there this is an answer to a question never asked.

But it is your money and time so go for it if you want. Just never try to sell it for what you will have in it. Good luck on your project

[eighteenninetytwo]

Why 223 is purely for interest and fun. I have enfields in .22, 303 and 7.62 and 45-70. the only calibers i have are those - plus .223 for my AR15. I just wanted to have an Enfield in ecah of teh calibers I use. plus its an interesting project. I looked at 223 bolt actions rectnlty and couldn't find any that looked (what I considered) good and had iron sights, so i thought this might be worth a shot. (pun intended). I actually started off on this a few years back but other suuff (like life) got in the way.

[echo1]

eighteen,

Have you got a smith that can remove Enfield barrels? I've got a bent barrel MK5 I want to have taken off. PAX

[emcon5]

eighteen,

Have you got a smith that can remove Enfield barrels? I've got a bent barrel MK5 I want to have taken off. PAX

You asked this guy? http://www.specialinterestarms.com/

[kendog4570]

eighteen,

Have you got a smith that can remove Enfield barrels? I've got a bent barrel MK5 I want to have taken off. PAX

I can do it. Located in in Madera County.

[kendog4570]

OP check out back issues of Shotgun News. Reid Coffield did this conversion and wrote it up in great detail. Bolt heads are/were available in England at the time he wrote the articles. He also went into great detail with regards to the magazine. His stuff can be found online, but the actual Shotgun News pages had pictures to go along with it. The pictures are not available in the online text.

They are in here, somewhere! http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Coffield%2c+Reid-a11958

[smle-man]

I'm moving forward on a project / experiment to convert No.4 enfield into a .223 rifle. Located a bolt head and a smith to turn and thread the barrel. Next step it to locate a donor rifle. Im lookign for a No.4 Mk2, No.4 Mk 1/2, or No.4 Mk 1/3 (these all have the trigger hung from the receiver as opposed to the trigger guard). Anyone have one of these that is in good condition overall and not fhot much BUT where the barrel has succumbed to corrosive ammo / cleaning negligence??? please PM me if so.

If anyone else here has done this comverisons I'd be keen to find out about feeding tips also,.

Fairly popular in the UK at one time. I think they grafted a Remington 700 bolt face to the Enfield bolt somehow. Seems pretty cool but mega expensive for what you end up with, and I am a major Lee Enfield fan but still....

[Enfield47]

Sounds like an interesting project, hopfully you can find the parts you need. It should make for a soft shooter with all the rifle's mass to absorb what little recoil there is from .223.

[eighteenninetytwo]

Bolt head procured. Working on barrel selection now and the crucial part is finding a suitable donor rifle. I don't want to mess up an Enfield with decent bore but I don't want a shot out rifle.

I have placed a 'Want To Buy' for a No.4 Mk 2 where negligent cleaning and corrosive ammo have combined to create a rifle which still hasn't been shot much but has a crappy bore. Please keep a lookout.

[Enfield47]

Aren't you replacing the barrel with one sized appropriately for .223? If so, why worry if the barrel is shot out? Another option would be to find a receiver and purchase the parts to build the rifle, it might be cheaper.

[Cody805]

Such a cool idea! Please keep us updated on this project OP!!!!

[eighteenninetytwo]

Aren't you replacing the barrel with one sized appropriately for .223? If so, why worry if the barrel is shot out? Another option would be to find a receiver and purchase the parts to build the rifle, it might be cheaper.

Yes I am but i don't went to destroy a Lee Enfield that is serviceable in its; original form. the otehr aspect of this is that i want ti to not cost a bomb, so a rifle with a crappy bore is likely to be cheaper than one in pristine condition all over.

[eighteenninetytwo]

Just popping this up to teh top becauise I still have a want to buy ad for a No.4 Mk2 / No.4 Mk1/2 or No.4 Mk1/3 as a donor rifle.