L42A1 Commercial Ammunition Advice

So say I’ve acquired an L42A1. Truthfully it will be an original Enfield hammer forged L42 barrel in vvgood to mint condition mated to no4mk2 by a renowned target rifle gun smith, all with the aim of marking something materially in the spirit of the L42, for a rather more modest cost.

I have no prior experience of .308 or 7.62 nato, no dies to load my own and no brand knowledge about what components would suit this barrel. Ideally I would like to start out with some really available (in uk) commercial rounds, but I’m a trifle nervous about stories of damage to 7.62s from modern .308 commercial rounds (either the catastrophic type or just excessive barrel wear).

My aim at least initially would be to find a good approximation of the rounds a true L42 would have enjoyed from the MOD: would this have been 7.62 round ball L42A1 - A3, or where these rifle L96 rounds? Effect on target is the key aim rather than matching the an L1A1 sights bullet drop compensation, particularly as I will be fitting a No32mk3 at least initially.

Before some one rightly has concerns, I would very much welcome any opinions you might have, but any advice will not be followed blindly.

I presume you gunsmith will be getting it Proof tested (21 tonnes, I think, in lieu of the 18.5 tonnes for 303)

My local (Lincolnshire) Gun-Shops seem to regularly have MEN 7.62 (German NATO stuff) in stock and it shoots well in my L42.

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Originally Posted by Alan de Enfield

I presume you gunsmith will be getting it Proof tested (21 tonnes, I think, in lieu of the 18.5 tonnes for 303)

My local (Lincolnshire) Gun-Shops seem to regularly have MEN 7.62 (German NATO stuff) in stock and it shoots well in my L42.

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Hi Alan,

I have to admit I haven’t asked how high they are proofing it. I assumed it would be 19 tonnes (which I think the L42s where do to) or great; il ask.

I will see about the German nato rounds, thanks.

It may be 19 tonnes. I thought that one of my 7.62's is 21 tonnes (maybe the Enforcer) but I have not looked in detail for a while.
I'm sure your Smith will do whatever is required.

Edit - just checked and both the Enforcer and the L42 are 19T so I must have been "dreaming"


I've had a 7.62 No4 'L42 Lookalike' at my local Gun shop for about 5 years Just to get it off ticket. I was asking £100 but he has had no takers.

The hype about the catastrophic difference between 308 and 7,62 is much overrated. Many cartridges have two calibre names, one in imperial inches and the other in metric. Ever heard about the catastrophic difference between 223 and 5,56 cartridges? Same issue.

You will be able to determine the commercial ballistics from the manufacturer. I'm not always sure if the ballistics of military stuff is that easily available, they will vary from batch to batch manufactured and accuracy too. Hand loading should allow you to tailor cartridges to your rifle.

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Originally Posted by Daan Kemp

The hype about the catastrophic difference between 308 and 7,62 is much overrated.

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There is roughly 2,000 psi difference between SAAMI .308 and NATO 7.62 x 51 specifications, with the SAMMI 308 being the highest at around 62,000 PSI and NATO 7.62 at around 60,000 psi.

I have fired 308 in my L42 and Enforcer but given the choice and a good ready supply of NATO ammunition I'd rather use what it was designed to use.


The SAMMI cases are also thinner than the NATO cases, and because of the differences in headspace between a 308 rifle and a 7.62 rifle they do tend to fail more regularly when reloaded.

The Proof was for a 144gn NATO round nothing else.

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Originally Posted by Bindi2

The Proof was for a 144gn NATO round nothing else.

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This!
L42A1 ~ A3 is 155 gr and is very much L96 territory.

Michael if you find yourself looking for some L2A2 (144gr) I might be able to help. I'm also in Wiltshire!

GGG 144 grain is good stuff - works well in my L42A1.

That is really interesting, I hadn’t appreciated it was designed for such a light round. What sort of distance does that perform out too, 800yrd or is it good further?

Nigel - Interesting re GGG that is good to know.

Strangely Brown - That sounds potentially great I will message you.

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Originally Posted by Micheal Doyne

That is really interesting, I hadn’t appreciated it was designed for such a light round. What sort of distance does that perform out too, 800yrd or is it good further?

Nigel - Interesting re GGG that is good to know.

Strangely Brown - That sounds potentially great I will message you.

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The L42A1 is not a new designed rifle it is an upgrade of a No4 Mk1 to provide a sniper rifle using the then current NATO 7.62 round. Those that use heavier projectiles are pushing the limits of the action. The 144 was used by target rifle shooters out to 1,000yds.

Thanks Bindi2,
I appreciate it is t a modern rifle and being based on WW2 No.4(t) rifles it was certainly not designed for the heavier newer rounds, I just hadn’t appreciated it was as light as the 144. Thanks for the information.

303 barrels were built for 173gr flat bottom bullets, they work fine with lighter bullets depending on your loads, wear, etc.

7,62 barrels built for boat tail 145gr bullets, but again will work with heavier and other bullets, again depending on what you load.

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Originally Posted by Daan Kemp

303 barrels were built for 173gr flat bottom bullets, they work fine with lighter bullets depending on your loads, wear, etc.

7,62 barrels built for boat tail 145gr bullets, but again will work with heavier and other bullets, again depending on what you load.

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Its not the barrel that's the problem it is the action. You can load anything into a case and fire it. Later day 7.62/308 have a higher pressure than what the action was built for,

I had to build a new bolt for a guy out west last year because he blew it up with a hot handload and heavy, (I think 175 grain projectile). Remarkably, the body wasn't damaged at all. I have a close friend who's the most knowledgeable precision rifle shooter I know and he's had great success with 155 and 168 grain SMK projectiles. It's all about keeping pressures and velocities at normal levels. The one thing I've noticed over the years is how well the No.4T and L42 perform with just normal old 174 grain, (.303) and 144 grain, (7.62), ball ammo. I just fired a 1.75", five shot group yesterday at 100 yards with a recently restored .303 ROFM 1941 No.4T and Mk.1 scope using the German MEN 83 Mk.7z ammo. I can't ask for much more than that considering the factory spec. was 3" groups at 100 yards! They are amazing old rifles if fitted together properly and gauge in spec..

Well in terms of the proof, it has been proofed to 20 tonnes, I am planning to keep to lighter weight lower power rounds and il see how it goes. Thanks for the information and advice!

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Originally Posted by Nigel

GGG 144 grain is good stuff - works well in my L42A1.

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Second the GGG - very consistent (plus pretty much problem free in straight pull FAL/L1A1s)

Second that one, GGG is a very good round.

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Originally Posted by Bindi2

Later day 7.62/308 have a higher pressure than what the action was built for,

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This is very broad and general. The bullet weight is only one aspect to keep in mind. Heavier bullets don't mean higher pressure except if you load it that way. Bottom line, be aware of the details of the cartridges you are using, either commercial which are often underloaded, or military which mostly aren't. Check the first few shots to see what the empty cases tell you.

So GGG shot very well as did some 144grn Israeli defence stuff.

Picked up the “new” rifle today, before I get accused too much of being bubba the receiver if a Mk2 which had no wood or barrel but did already have scope pads, the barrel is an original L42 program barrel. The work was done by Fulton and I am pleased with the results.

Attachment 103212Attachment 103213Attachment 103214

Looks a very nice rifle. And the scope bracket looks sort of familiar too.....!;)

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Originally Posted by Daan Kemp

This is very broad and general. The bullet weight is only one aspect to keep in mind. Heavier bullets don't mean higher pressure except if you load it that way. Bottom line, be aware of the details of the cartridges you are using, either commercial which are often underloaded, or military which mostly aren't. Check the first few shots to see what the empty cases tell you.

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Federal do not appear to be under loaded. These rifles have tight chambers so case pressure signs are not noticeable until they are up there. The suggested starting loads are about where you want to be safely.

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Originally Posted by Roger Payne

Looks a very nice rifle. And the scope bracket looks sort of familiar too.....!;)

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Interesting, Fulton sourced it, did this come from yourself?

That is a handsome rifle!

Lovely looking build, it should shoot very well.
I can't quite see from the pictures, is the barrel stepped like the the later L42's, or is it an earlier barrel?

Any markings on it?

Michael, yes, it's one of mine; current (& last ever!) batch by the looks of it......

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Originally Posted by Roger Payne

Michael, yes, it's one of mine; current (& last ever!) batch by the looks of it......

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Well thank you, how did you fabricate them? I have no originals to compare it too but it seems markably preferable to my two chines RSM stems.

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Originally Posted by mrclark303

Lovely looking build, it should shoot very well.
I can't quite see from the pictures, is the barrel stepped like the the later L42's, or is it an earlier barrel?

Any markings on it?

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It shoots very well in my opinion! I sadly was only shooting it at 100 yrds but it was easily finding the vbulls, and leaving no doubt about where the weak link was between rifle and firer!

It is an early barrel, there are some markings but I stupidly didn’t note them down when it was last in my hands.

---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:22 PM ----------

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Originally Posted by Daan Kemp

That is a handsome rifle!

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Thank you, I am extremely pleased with it! I know it isn’t a real L42 but it’s as close as I will be getting this side of the lottery!

I've been getting small batches of around 100 done every few years since about 1989/90. They've always been made from either cast malleable iron (at first), & then when I could no longer get them done in that, cast steel. They have always been sand castings as were the originals, & they have always been entirely made here in the UK. I do the final finishing myself, & estimate that there must be around 700 of them scattered around the world by now! There are subtle differences but they are styled on the Dalgleish variants of the original brackets. I shan't be doing any more after this run is sold, though I shall continue doing small batches of other (Great War) sniping mount systems for the SMLE from time to time.

Enjoy your new rifle!

I've seen a few of your mounts over the years Roger, beautifully made and finished.

Although the last two batches were cast with malleable iron because I organised that bit of the process. Therefore the last batch are made precisely to the military specifications. Get them whilst you can.

Now I didn't appreciate that myself Nige. I thought everybody had some time ago gone over to cast steel. Certainly that was what I'd found when I tried to get the previous two batches cast in malleable.
I suppose it's not too important from a practical basis anyway, as both are adequately strong & both are malleable enough not to crack under the shock of repeated recoil. (On top of which the brackets are all stress relieved).