AngrySauce rants about surplus and shows off his most recent impulse purchase

[Angrysauce]

So I'm not exactly what would be considered a traditional "surplus" guy. I'm in my mid-20s, too young for the golden age of surplus, I was busy ******** in pampers. I'm kinda jaded by it and have gravitated to modern semi-autos for my surplus needs because of it. (GWOT clone stuff and Late Soviet surplus) I've owned a single Mosin, but for what it cost me ($350 in 2019) and its performance it left a lot to be desired. It had a ¾" counter-bore, rust pitting galore, a bulge in the barrel, and a horribly busted stock. I like guns I can shoot, particularly one's that shoot well.

Enter my latest impulse buy.

An effectively new 70 year old Enfield. I knew basically nothing about it, but for $350 (now in 2024 Biden bucks) I couldn't pass it up.
After some quick Google-fu, I've ascertained that the rifle is 1 of ~20,000 made by Fazakerley for the RAF in the Mid-50s. The earlier serials were delivered and used to varying degrees, the later serials (mine is A17××× range) were mothballed in grease. Century brought them in the US in the 90s in their mummy wraps and sold them off.

Matching numbers, mirror bore, beautiful blonde wood, 99% finish with only the most slight discoloration on the white rear sight ladder. I'm really excited to get it to the range and see how it groups at distance. I had kinda given up hope on finding reasonable, original, and functional surplus; usually have to pick two.

If anyone has any more info on these rifles I'd love to hear it.

 

[Nugget]

I know zero about Enfields, but very nice rifle! And $350 is an unbelievable deal. Looks like the Polish Mosin M44s you see from the 1950s that never got used, i.e., this one (mine)...

 

[Cavman]

You scored. Absolutely beautiful rifle.

 

[Angrysauce]

I know zero about Enfields, but very nice rifle! And $350 is an unbelievable deal. Looks like the Polish Mosin M44s you see from the 1950s that never got used, i.e., this one (mine)...

View attachment 340459

Where I bought this had a circle 11 M44 too! $799 was a bit much for me though. That's the a beautiful rifle

 

[92FSTech]

That is a really nice No4 Mk2, and for about half of what I have in My Mk1 And yours is far nicer! That was a good score.

I can't really tell you a ton about the collectibility aspect, as I bought mine to shoot. If you have questions about feeding it, though, I've got some experience loading for them. Welcome to the ruinously expensive and frustrating world of .303 British! Hopefully with one in that condition it's a bit less of a headache, especially if you're only feeding it new factory ammo, but get used to learning terms like:

Rimlock
Hangfire
Corrosive
Cordite
Headspace
Neck tension
Neck-sizing
Case-head separation
Bolt flex
Bore diameter
Slugging

It's a fun adventure, though .

 

[MrSmitty]

That is a beautiful rifle, sometimes BPS carries .303 Brit, in their Herters brand ammo, so that might be a source.. I love milsurp rifles, but I shoot lefty… Good luck!

 

[Ark]

This rifle is beautiful in all the ways that my Ishapore is a beat up piece of ****

I had a Savage No4 for a little while. Shot wildly off the sites and I was never able to fix it. Receiver looked like it had been painted with a paintbrush, but I think that was actually original finish. The Ishapore shoots alright but an actual British Enfield is always worth the premium.

 

[MrSmitty]

This rifle is beautiful in all the ways that my Ishapore is a beat up piece of ****

I had a Savage No4 for a little while. Shot wildly off the sites and I was never able to fix it. Receiver looked like it had been painted with a paintbrush, but I think that was actually original finish. The Ishapore shoots alright but an actual British Enfield is always worth the premium.

I like the Ishapores, because .308 is easier to find than .303.., and it’s 5 better….

 

[Ark]

I like the Ishapores, because .308 is easier to find than .303.., and it’s 5 better….

Mine is a .303. I reload for it and neck size only. One of the weird things about .303 that seems consistent across most Enfields is that the shoulder area of the chambers is super loose. They expand a LOT and come out of the chamber with a completely different shoulder shape. I'd have to really lay into the brass with the press to return it to factory dimensions, so I don't bother. I just neck size.

That looseness probably contributes to the ease and speed of cartridge feeding, though. The neck sized reloads are harder to work the bolt on than the factory loads.

 

[Angrysauce]

I'm gonna try to get my hands of some modern factory loads and get it out to stretch it's legs next weekend.
I don't reload at the moment, but I've considered getting into it for 6.5 already. 303 would definitely make sense now.

 

[rugertoter]

Great looking rifle OP!

 

[Basher]

You lucky SOB…

I’ve had a few Enfields and have always had to let them go for one reason or another. I regret selling each one, they’re easily in my top five favorite milsurps, if not the top one for me! They run exceptionally well when they’re in good shape and fed quality ammo, but you’ll definitely need to roll your own.

If you ever decide to let that one go to make a few bucks, I call first dibs!

 

[DadSmith]

So I'm not exactly what would be considered a traditional "surplus" guy. I'm in my mid-20s, too young for the golden age of surplus, I was busy ******** in pampers. I'm kinda jaded by it and have gravitated to modern semi-autos for my surplus needs because of it. (GWOT clone stuff and Late Soviet surplus) I've owned a single Mosin, but for what it cost me ($350 in 2019) and its performance it left a lot to be desired. It had a ¾" counter-bore, rust pitting galore, a bulge in the barrel, and a horribly busted stock. I like guns I can shoot, particularly one's that shoot well.

Enter my latest impulse buy.
View attachment 340446
An effectively new 70 year old Enfield. I knew basically nothing about it, but for $350 (now in 2024 Biden bucks) I couldn't pass it up.
After some quick Google-fu, I've ascertained that the rifle is 1 of ~20,000 made by Fazakerley for the RAF in the Mid-50s. The earlier serials were delivered and used to varying degrees, the later serials (mine is A17××× range) were mothballed in grease. Century brought them in the US in the 90s in their mummy wraps and sold them off.
View attachment 340450
Matching numbers, mirror bore, beautiful blonde wood, 99% finish with only the most slight discoloration on the white rear sight ladder. I'm really excited to get it to the range and see how it groups at distance. I had kinda given up hope on finding reasonable, original, and functional surplus; usually have to pick two.
View attachment 340449
If anyone has any more info on these rifles I'd love to hear it.

Absolutely beautiful.
I've never seen one in that condition. Not even at few WWII museums I've visited.

 

[Angrysauce]

Got a bayonet for it. No surplus rifle is complete without a bayonet.

 

[Angrysauce]

She shoots. 100 yards with the bug appeture kept all the rounds on a reduced size silhouette. Was also able to hit clays at a hundred.

 

[Squid556]

Lucky!! Are there more of these affordable enfields left for the rest of us?

I’ve had a few, and some good memories attached to them



Enfields are so enjoyable once you understand them. Getting that muscle memory down to run the cock on close action , you can run it faster and smoother than anything else comparable.

Take note when loading not to get rimjam. When loading stripper clips the rounds should alternate in height to be loaded properly.


Don’t expect a 1 or 2 moa rifle. They are battle rifles and usually shoot 3-4 minute.

But there are optics mounts out now that don’t require you to perform unholy modifications to the rifle

Lee-Enfield Scope Mount Steel Mounting Base Low Profile No Drill Rock Solid

The Gen 3 version works with all safety bolt types, including the "Kicked Leg" type: Features the unique all-steel NDT side mount base and rock-solid 3-bolt mounting system: The Gen 3 version kit now comes with a flat rear sight leaf that allows easy bolt removal without removing the optic...

www.badacetactical.com

I’d rather leave it irons but sometimes it’s fun to wring out max accuracy.

 

[kaveman]

You stole that rifle. They cost more than $350 back when they were being imported. Keep your eyes open for the Greek HXP .303 surplus ammo. It's good, relatively fresh ammo, brass case and boxer primed reloadable,.....and non-corrosive as well. I treat ANY other .303 surplus as 'might fire', corrosive, non-reloadable. Unless you find some Radway Green. That's top tier ammo too.

 

[SmileDocHill]

Look into "the rifleman's mad minute" or something like that. The Enfield has a cool history of being able to work it's bolt quickly without having to break up your cheek weld or built position. It could put battle rifle accurate rounds downrange well and fast. It involved holding the bolt handle in the fold between the thumb and 1st finger, working the trigger with your middle finger. Bang, flick, bang, flick...
Congrats, enjoy and go shooting.
Edit to add: I'll give you $355 cash, sight unseen, right now for it. :-)

 

[DoggyDaddy]

You stole that rifle. They cost more than $350 back when they were being imported. Keep your eyes open for the Greek HXP .303 surplus ammo. It's good, relatively fresh ammo, brass case and boxer primed reloadable,.....and non-corrosive as well. I treat ANY other .303 surplus as 'might fire', corrosive, non-reloadable. Unless you find some Radway Green. That's top tier ammo too.

A few years ago, Cheaper than Dirt (I know, I know) had HXP for just over 30 cents a round. I stocked up back then. Some of it was "B" grade, but that just meant it had some staining on the brass. I ran some through my tumbler and it cleaned up like brand new.

 

[kaveman]

Yeah, I bought 16 cases of it, it was 0.44/rd but it was on Enfield chargers which are worth $2 apiece all day long so the ammo was 'free'.

It came in some sort of oddball quantity at some price like $160/420 and I don't think people can math that hard. You had your choice of loose or in chargers for the same price,.....why anyone would not want free Enfield chargers I don't know. I've been stripping it out and selling the chargers(keeping the 'free' ammo)ever since.