I just became an Ishapore 2A1 owner....
... and my new rifle is a beauty, but my new lady has her quirks.
I have some experience with Enfields, my father left me a sporterized No 4 Mk 1/2 when he died, and it was his favorite hunting rifle, and one of my ambitions is to restore it to full stocked glory. Since this is my first post on the forums here, please, be gentle...
First off, a little bit about the rifle; R.F.I. 2A1, N72** serial, most numbered parts matching, dark burnt umber stain on the wood, some smooth wear marks on some of the corners, and a very beautiful profile. the sling she came with sports VX145750 stamped on it at the approximate middle point.
After taking the Ishy home from my local gun shop, i proceeded to take her gently apart, and perform a cosmoline cleaning. During cleaning, I noticed heavy staining and some soft splinters around the magazine well. the body wood wasn't particularly soft, but the splinters were easy to remove with a fingernail. Not being too knowledgeable in wood, is this indicative of rot? Also, behind the receiver itself, there is a band of, I presume, steel held into the wood with a pair of brass rivets, and right down the middle of the band the wood is split from top to bottom, stem to stern. The crack, coupled with the soft splinters, concern me enough to want to restock the rifle, is this what I should do?
Second, the bolt was extremely gritty and stiff on the draw. To remedy this, a light application of Flitz on the bolt guide and along the sides of the locking lug for a dozen or so workings of the action smoothed it out beautifully, cleaning off some of the black paint that had once been applied. this leads to my question; what would you recommend to remove the paint? I would like to avoid using abrasives or bead blasting for fear of loosing the proofing marks and stamping. To replace the protective paint, or whats left of it, i would like to rust blue it or parkerize it, is there a preferred method?
The magazine seems to be the only part with a non matching serial number, but no matter how i tweak the feed lips, she won't feed right after the 8th round, the spring is strong and the follower is straight. Looking around the ProMag magazines are touted as absolute trash more often than not, and i noticed the L8, L42A1, and L39A1 all have a 7.62 chambering. Do the magazines for those rifles fit the magazine well on the Ishapore?
Finally, I know the Ishapore 2A/2A1 and the No 1 Mk III bear cosmetic similarities, but are most of the exterior components (stock, nose cap, bands) interchangeable?
I know I must seem to be a complete newbie, and truth to tell, I am. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!