India to decommission 45,000 Lee Enfields

[Alan de Enfield]

Police in northern India on Sunday bid goodbye to the historic British-era bolt-action rifles after using them for one last salute during the annual Republic Day parade.
The Lee-Enfield .303 rifle was the main firearm of British colonial military forces and, despite being designated "obsolete" around 25 years ago, it has been the main weapon used by police in Uttar Pradesh state over seven decades.

More info :

India police decommission historic British-era rifles

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.

[artyldr01]

Police in northern India on Sunday bid goodbye to the historic British-era bolt-action rifles after using them for one last salute during the annual Republic Day parade.
The Lee-Enfield .303 rifle was the main firearm of British colonial military forces and, despite being designated "obsolete" around 25 years ago, it has been the main weapon used by police in Uttar Pradesh state over seven decades.

More info :

India police decommission historic British-era rifles

It looks like they even have the magazine cutoff.

[Alan de Enfield]

I don't know if this is what they mean by Anti-Riot guns.

This was done to a batch some years ago.

[Buccaneer]

These rifles are not wartime era, I have had Indian built rifles in both .303 & 7.62 with manufactured dates in the 1970's. They tended to be not the best finished in the world but always shot well, I wonder if they will modify there new rifles with the famous "Ishy" screw...

[Daan Kemp]

Looks like DeLisle carbine-ish

[Alan de Enfield]

Looks like DeLisle carbine-ish

Apparently "Rubber bullet"


They also did a No4 'Anti-Riot Gun"

[browningautorifle]

That's too bad, I also never saw a really beautiful one but saw lots of excellent examples. Nice bores and such...too bad.

[Alan de Enfield]

I cannot imagine that India needs Up to 45,000 'anti-riot guns', I guessing that a lot of them will be cut-up.

Unlikely that they will sell them on due to the UN 'crusade' against the international movement of Military Arms and Ammunition.

Until now, the US government has been a bastion against this sort of undemocratic backdoor control by routinely telling the UN to naff off! But, apparently under Barak Obama, the State Department allegedly signalling a change of policy here, its first move being to announce that export licenses will not be issued for any barrel chambered for 5.56 or 7.62 NATO destined for a commercial end-user.

The USA signed the Treaty 25th September 2013, but have yet to fully Ratify it.

Does anyone know what else they may have agreed to ?

[Gingercat]

Perhaps they will be easier to sell to other potential countries as ‘anti-riot guns’, rather than old .303 rifles?