Ishapore .303

[chico.cm]

So I was visiting a 'friend' the other day who has a .303 for sale.
It is stamped Ishapore and has a detachable mag.
The safety is on the left side of the bolt and rotates from pointing toward the target, 180 degrees to the rear. It felt like two distinct positions.
bore had strong rifling, but was very dusty (not shiny at all)

I did a rookie move and forgot to take pics with the phone cam.
Question is, based on my 'oh so detailed' description, is it worth $ 150?

thanks

[berg]

Could be. If the rifling is strong it should be a good shooter. Problem is finding any .303 ammo these days.

[Saigon1965]

Agree with Berg - Ammo is quite pricey unless you reload -

[Tweak338]

Its a decent price.
But like Berg and Sai have said
Ammo is hard to find.
Wish I had bought more when it was around.

[Crusader]

If it's an Ishapore rifle, make sure it's not chambered in 7.62x51 Nato.

.303 is a difficult caliber to find today, but it's still a fun rifle.

[Sabot]

If it's an Ishapore rifle, make sure it's not chambered in 7.62x51 Nato.

.303 is a difficult caliber to find today, but it's still a fun rifle.

If it has a detachable mag it's probably not a .303

[chico.cm]

so if it's a .308, does that change things? I read on surplusrifles.com, i think, that you can't shoot modern .308 ammo out of them???

[Crusader]

so if it's a .308, does that change things? I read on surplusrifles.com, i think, that you can't shoot modern .308 ammo out of them???

While technically you may be able to, I personally would not. .308 is quite a bit more powerful than 7.62x51 and to me it just doesn't seem worth the risk.

In any case, .308 is still about as expensive as .303 so it doesn't really matter.

However, the Ishapores I have personally inspected have always been in worse shape, and more poorly made, than English or Australian Enfields.

[Sabot]

Check out the surplusrifles.com forums. Many people swear they are safe to shoot modern ammo.

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=52849

Does the mag have a squared off bottom or a rounded bottom? Holds ten rounds or twelve? The rounded bottom mag is a ten round .303, it will detach but it was ment to be loaded from the top.

[Tweak338]

If it has a detachable mag it's probably not a .303

Enfield magazines are detachable.
there is a little lever inside the trigger guard to release them

[berg]

If it has a detachable mag it's probably not a .303

Yeah ALL Enfields have detachable magazines.

[chico.cm]

thanks Ya'll. I will inspect it more closely and report any acquisitions.

[DeepSeaDouble]

The 7.62x51 mag has a distinct square profile.

[eighteenninetytwo]

It will have a date on it. All the 7.62 ishapore enfields (The 2A1 or 2As) were dated in teh 1960s, ishapore was making the No.1 Mk3 Lee enfield form some time during the first world war.
Yes it's worth $150 either way as a shooter. .303 is pretty available but be careful of teh stuff stampe POF (Pakistani - corrosive and click bang sometimes- good for cheapo plinking though)

[smle-man]

Ishapore apparently made (or reworked and remarked) #1mk3 .303 rifles into the 70s. I had one dated in 1973. The earlier pre WW2 Ishapores have more value than the WW2 and later arms but condition is everything.