Quote Originally Posted by Dimitri View Post
Ed already caught it but the P14 is the No. 3 Enfield, you may be thinking about the "Mark 3" which is the No. 1 Enfield.

L8 Battle Rifles, L39 Target Rifles, Envoy's, Enforcers, L42 Sniper Rifles, DCRA and private gunsmith built conversions all using the basic No4 action that was used in the war, with the conversions done on surplus rifles or with over stock new receivers that were left unassembled after the war have held up just fine, while the Indians instead of adopting the No4 action decided to change the material to make the old No1 Mk 3 action to be usable for the NATO round being in service for many years now.

Dimitri
The best No.4 receiver with the best quality bolt body converted to 7.62 NATO held up okay but was never subjected to the stresses of a Battle Rifle to the extent that the rifles of WW1 and WW2 were.

The 50,000 PSI of the 7.82 NATO exceeds the maximum allowable pressure for .303 ammunition by 2,000 psi, so it exceeds the safety limitations of the Enfields for extended use under expected harsh conditions of the field as opposed to the range and casual use with regular cleaning after relatively few rounds at any one time.
No.1 Mk III* rifles were found unsuitable for the 7.62 for good reason, insufficient margin of safety.

7.62 conversion kits were available at reasonable prices in the 90's, I considered getting one at the time. The reason these kits were available is that wide spread conversion of No.4 rifles was not considered to be a good idea in the long run.
Had I converted a No.4 I'd have used only handloads that generated pressures no higher than those of the .303 handloads I already used.

Whether the modifications made in producing the A10 clone of the No.4 are entirely necessary or not is a question of individual rifles and the quality of available ammunition. Dangerous 7.62 NATO shows up now and then even today, with pressures far higher than a No.4 should be subjected to.

The Indian rifles vary greatly in quality and condition, and I'd expect that the worst examples had been scrapped long ago and never made it to the surplus market. Any obviously defective Indian rifles should have been broken down for spares by dealers to avoid accidents to their customers.

If a No.4 or No.5 receiver can be spread by hard use firing .303 ammunition then how much worse might the situation have been when the ammunition generates higher pressures as a matter of course.