No.5 47 C

[CINDERS]

Saw this on a gun site a No.5 Jungle carbine with the BSA Shirley 47 C stamping could those in the know expand this for all of us that do not know.
I often thought that this marking denoted it had been an exception to the rule and chosen for accuracy and does it bare the "Ishy Screw"
I am keen to learn about this as the No.5 was not really noted for its inherent accuracy I may ask if Peter L could he furnish the forum from his font of knowledge on this one.
Thanks in advance Peter and others who may contribute.

Post note:
This is on the Guns International site if you want more pics I typed in 303 Rifle in the search engine and then scrolled through.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Roger Payne]

Cinders, no doubt Peter & others will add to this but the rifle looks to be ok (though 'well loved') as far as we can tell from the limited views. Only two factories made the No5; Fazakerley made the lion's share, & BSA Shirley made the rest. I can't remember the exact production figures but no doubt they're in LES, & I think Faz made about two thirds of the total or thereabouts. So M47/C No5's are a bit scarcer than ROF (F)'s, but neither are rare.

ATB

[Peter Laidler]

Yep, just a well used old BSA No5. I would be hesitant to use Rogers 'well loved' phrase, preferring to use the term 'well flogged' or 'well thrashed' judging from the end of the striker sticking out of the cocking piece and the total absence of 'lift'.

To be honest, a lot of them were what I'd call 'old nails' but for jungle work, guarding bridges and road convoys etc etc as good as gold. Shooting at short distances, bringing someone down for good, perfect. Short gun battle - just what you need But you won't bring home any shooting prizes. Having said that once they'd been through workshops, the crap got the chop and the good ones would give you many further years of sterling service.

[Bindi2]

Cinders i have a bog standard M47c as my go to work rifle. You can stand in front at 300 i wont. I load my own. IT came slightly over clocked in new condition with a No4 butt. Have tried many loads but 174gn or 215gn are the best travelling a little faster than standard and i would think at a lower pressure than cordite.

[CINDERS]

Thanks for the replies guys in my quest to gain knowledge on an infinite subject such as the Enfield lines was the fact I thought if it bore the stamping C-47 from BSA it was somehow there due to being more accurate than the norm which from what I hear and witnessed with the No.5's is abnormal as per wandering zero.
Or did they go there for an FTR, sorry about the pics I copied them from the site and these were the only 2 that did not come out microscopically, and just the cross screw in front of the mag well is this the infamous Ishy screw and to what end did this serve as is it just a peculiar Indian mod (at least they have the screw coming from the left?)

Bindi have you tried the 150gn .312 Hornady SP 3120 using AR 2208 - Fed 210 primer - 40 ~ 44 grains but like always start low with the loads and work up I left @1/16"of the cannular above the case neck and crimped into it max range 300M for this load (NOTE: I claim no responsibility in the load data just what worked in my Savage 1942 No.4, from Quick Load program I have)

[Beerhunter]

In the past I've done quite well in HBSA shooting competitions with my Fazackerly, all be it at only 100 and 200 yards.

[conec]

According to Uncle Ian, Faz built 169,807 of the No.5 MkI and BSA only manufactured 81,329.

[Peter Laidler]

That's because Fazakerley was a GOVERNMENT factory and BSA were just a commercial company, working under contract. And when the need for more rifles abated, guess who got the chop? Maltby got the chop first because they were a one trick pony, only making No4 rifles and there were other jobs in the coal industry locally and we were desperate for coal, even though the miners were the only people to strike during the war!

[5thBatt]

According to Uncle Ian, Faz built 169,807 of the No.5 MkI and BSA only manufactured 81,329.

The number quoted by Ian for Fazakerley production of 169,807 is only up to rifle s/n S8823 & for BSA up to s/n BJ1337 there were tens of thousends of No5s not included in these totals given, in fact virtually all of 1946 & all of 1947 production No5s are not included in those totals, a fact i have tried to point out a few times for it to be completely ignored.

To Fazakerley production you can add 9,999 rifles for the prefixes T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z,AA,AB & AC or about 100,000 rifles.
Faz were allocated s/n blocks that were not used but as they were allocated AD,AE & AF as well (i understand there maybe a AD prefixed No5 out there) AE & AF were the non used s/n blocks.

Btw before anyone starts claiming they all have 4 digit s/n's & thats why the number is so low vs s/n prefixes, there are 1, 2 & 3 digit numbered No5's that have been observed.

[Bindi2]

Thanks for the replies guys in my quest to gain knowledge on an infinite subject such as the Enfield lines was the fact I thought if it bore the stamping C-47 from BSA it was somehow there due to being more accurate than the norm which from what I hear and witnessed with the No.5's is abnormal as per wandering zero.
Or did they go there for an FTR, sorry about the pics I copied them from the site and these were the only 2 that did not come out microscopically, and just the cross screw in front of the mag well is this the infamous Ishy screw and to what end did this serve as is it just a peculiar Indian mod (at least they have the screw coming from the left?)

Bindi have you tried the 150gn .312 Hornady SP 3120 using AR 2208 - Fed 210 primer - 40 ~ 44 grains but like always start low with the loads and work up I left @1/16"of the cannular above the case neck and crimped into it max range 300M for this load (NOTE: I claim no responsibility in the load data just what worked in my Savage 1942 No.4, from Quick Load program I have)

I have used 125 SP& HP,135 SP & HP ,150 SP, 174 FMJ & SP Mk7 & Mk8 projectiles,180 SP , 215 Woodleigh and some Mk6 215 FMJ projectiles all with 2208 Fed210 and a load that suits my rifles. Because some of my rifles have cordite washed throats all my loads are set to Mil spec length.Some of the well used barrels like open base projectiles the best and usually in the 174/215 weight. If you want to only run at 2440fps 150gn may not stabilize being too short. The test is at 600yds + not 300yds. The Privi Mk 8 BT may also suffer the same.You might be very surprised what happens with a bigger boot in the butt. If you want to go out there you need a chronny and do a proper grauphed ladder test. ALSO WEIGH EACH AND EVERY LOAD.