Questions about a 308 Lee Enfield

[Peter Laidler]

Yep. If it quacks like a duck, swims like a duck and walks like a duck, it's a duck!

[samurighost]

lol I hate ducks...but they do taste good!

[Maxwell Smart]

If the 7.62/308W round fits, and the .303 doesn't, then it is a fair bet that the rifle is in 7.62 calibre. A chamber cast needed, maybe?

Can you give a photo of the bolt head, showing the shape of the extractor claw? A proper conversion would have a different extractor shape.

If the conversion was done in the UK, then it SHOULD have been re-proofed and wear markings to indicate this - for example small printing stamps saying 7.62 x 51mm, most likely on the bottom of the exposed portion of the muzzle near the foresight.

If it was done in Canada, or the US, or Australia these markings would not been seen.

[Thunderbox]

Its probably someone's lash-up using a Sterling kit but - as is common with private lash-ups - missing the fiddly fit of fitting the new ejector mechanism.


Sterling appear to have made a few conversions themselves, but these are all done in UK military style - suncorite paint, beech wood, new parts - as if they were UK military FTRs.

[Brian Dick]

The Sterling conversion utilized a separate ejector which entailed drilling a hole in the side of the receiver for the ejector itself. It had a spring that was fixed by the original ejector screw. The short answer is it isn't a factory Sterling conversion. There were barrels produced in Belgium I think that were available in Canada as well as those made by Canadian Arsenals so it could have been assembled by anyone. Are there any markings on the barrel?

[samurighost]

The Sterling conversion utilized a separate ejector which entailed drilling a hole in the side of the receiver for the ejector itself. It had a spring that was fixed by the original ejector screw. The short answer is it isn't a factory Sterling conversion. There were barrels produced in Belgium I think that were available in Canada as well as those made by Canadian Arsenals so it could have been assembled by anyone. Are there any markings on the barrel?

As far as I know there are no marking on the barrel.