Project No 5. Need a flash hider.

Hi all,
Just acquired my next project. found it the day after I gave up on ever finding a messed about with No 5., and bought something else, but that's another story. :banghead:

I will post some pics when I get a chance, it has had, shall we say, an interesting life after the war, as a hunting sporter. It is totally un-economic to restore and will cost a lot to do so, but hey, hobbies are expensive, no? :o

I have a full repro wood set, can weld the sling loop back on, might be able to fabricate the missing rear sight posts, can replace the cut-down magazine, and fill the scope holes, but it looks like I'm going to really struggle to find a flash hider. I will settle for a repro, but the usual Numrich source isn't selling to Canucks these days.

Anyone got one that they'd like to sell? Repro, bayonet lug missing, one I need to shim, anything really.
Plan B will be putting an M1 conical flash hider on it... Don't make me do that.

Cheers,
Burton

Pictures would make the story so much more enjoyable, not to say interesting. Including the 'bought something else'.

I did some repairs on a friends faux 'jungle carbine' which is an RFI 2A .7.62/.308 that somebody converted to carbine style complete with repro flash hider.

I will say the reproduction flash hider/front sight base looked pretty good....compared to my BSA No.5 the repro just had a single retaining pin....and despite looking pretty good there was no way a No.5 bayonet would plug onto the repro flash hider!....like the bayo-lug was crooked to the rest of it and just couldn't/wouldn't fit a bayonet around the cone and lug the geometry was so far off.....I have no idea who made the flash hider but obviously repro

As far as another reproduction No.5 Mk.I part goes that I bought for my carbine....A numerich rubber butt-pad fits perfectly....and is noticeably softer on the shoulder than the old 'England' petrified rubber oem part

Numrich did have the reproduction ones. Perhaps they still do?

Yes, Numrich appears to still sell them, but they have shut down their operation to all but US customers right now. I'm in Canada, so out of luck.

As promised, some pics of the beast. It was a Fazakerley production 12/'46. Someone spent a lot of time making it into the lightest hunting rifle they could. I particularly like the cobbled together "Monte-Carlo" stock made from the original stock. The early Weaver K4 scope and Parker Hale 5 round magazine are also interesting features.

I bet it kicked like a mule though, without the flash hider.

I was going to try to restore it all, but that's a big job, especially since I now can see that the rear sight posts are missing too. Unless I can get a flash hider somewhere, I may as well see how it shoots and keep the vintage scope on it. The action is very very good, so I'm optimistic that it works a lot better than it looks. The scope too is clear and matches the bore sight.

So, help me out folks. Any spare flash hiders in people's discard bins?

Regards,
Burton

Removing the flash hider lowers the kick. Swapping the Butt for a No4 butt is good as well.

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Originally Posted by Bindi2

Removing the flash hider lowers the kick.

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That's interesting. I just assumed that a shorter and lighter barrel would make it even worse.

I would be more tempted to hunt up a nice set of sporter wood, made with cheekpiece and snobble forend and just do that. I had one of those come by that looked just about the same and had a perfect bore...I turned the barrel off and sold it for a profit while parting the action out. I wouldn't try to refurbish that one. The flash hiders are scarce and maybe $200CDN if I could find one here and then may not be right.

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Originally Posted by Bindi2

Swapping the Butt for a No4 butt is good as well.

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When I got mine, I was lucky to have a spare No.5 butt, which was also a L butt, and putting that on made it much nicer to shoot.

However, my late father carried a No.5 for 12 months when he did his tour in Palestine in 46-47, and he adored the wee beastie, so I had a first hand teacher in shooting it.
How they spent hours firing the things in the middle east wearing nowt but an airtex KD shirt for 'padding' is a mystery to me :bow:
I'll have to get around to ordering one of those repro Numerich butt pads for mine, as the butt pad on mine is well worn and like concrete.

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

I would be more tempted to hunt up a nice set of sporter wood, made with cheekpiece and snobble forend and just do that. I had one of those come by that looked just about the same and had a perfect bore...I turned the barrel off and sold it for a profit while parting the action out. I wouldn't try to refurbish that one. The flash hiders are scarce and maybe $200CDN if I could find one here and then may not be right.

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All good points, however I do this as a hobby, and won't be selling any time soon. Cost is a factor, but not the only one. I consider money spent fixing these old beauties to be much the same as money spent watching sport or going to the pub. An interesting diversion, where I have a lovely historic rifle at the end of it.

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Originally Posted by BurtonP

That's interesting. I just assumed that a shorter and lighter barrel would make it even worse.

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The shape of the exhaust cones on a rocket and the flash hider are similar. They do buck more because of the less weight and length. The rubber butt was not for recoil it was to protect the floor in air craft. These have now gone hard being smaller than normal butts impacts a higher recoil per sq in of contact. My go to work No5 came with a No4 butt. I don't find it unpleasant to use in fact I like it compared to some others.

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Originally Posted by BurtonP

Cost is a factor, but not the only one.

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There was an individual in Canada making #5 wood among other things...there was info here for a while. If you look back through the Lee Enfield forum you may find it. Also there was a set for sale on either CanadianGunNutz or Gunpost. Guy that had it was in over his head fitting it. Brand new wood...

Hi Jim, yeah I have a wood set, which is the reason I bought this project No 5. I may well have posted about the guy who made it. He was retiring so I bought sets for No 1 Mk III, and a No 4, which have both been used, and a No 5 set which is the last one. What I really really need is the flash hider or facsimile.

That's the guy...we'll see about the FH now...

I've been hunting with my No5 for 38 years. In that time I've replaced the buttstock with a Fajen pistol grip high comb and cheek piece, removed the rear sight to add a no drill scope mount, replace the forestock and handguard with self customized No4 wood and removed the flash hider. Subsequently I have replaced the original forestock and handguard because I like the way it looks and there's more support as it's factory free floated.

For the unknowing it's a junk frankenrifle and looks the part but it shoots like a custom build. With the original flashider removed the accuracy has definitely improved. I read from an unremembered source decades ago that removing the flashider could be good for up to a 1/4" tighter grouping. The reasoning was removal of dead weight from the end of the barrel reduced whip as the bullet exited. With no sights and a scope this is practical. I have no idea how you could pull this off with iron sights however short of hacksawing off the cone.

As a side note the Numrich repop flash hiders I'm familiar with are for installation on cut down No4 barrels and are much wider inside than an actual No5 item as the barrel is reduced in size on the genuine article.

Thanks, yeah. At this stage I'll take what I can get. If I have to shim it I will.

Your comments on accuracy are very interesting. I don't hunt, so I'm more interested in the restoration of something approaching it's original condition. Well, I don't hunt yet. We'll see what the autumn of the pandemic brings...