7.62 No4 Mk1

[Peter Laidler]

What Big Duke says is absolutely correct. My friend has a 7.62mm No5 rifle with a barrel machined from a new chrome lined 7,62mm L4 barrel. He ain't in the winning prizes league but just good enjoyable shooting. A lot of the target rifle barrels have so much meat on them that it seems a shame NOT to machine one down to fit your No4. Don't faff around with all that foresight block and bayonet lug palava. Just bore out the muzzle end of your shot-out .303 barrel back to the rear end of the foresight block band lugs, accurately cut off. Machine down your newly threaded and profiled ''7.62mm No4' barrel to suit........., tight fit....., sweat both surfaces, slide on........, accurately align........, allow to cool........, make good and it's there forever. Done it about 5 times now!

The GOOD thing is that under the fore-end you can have a reasonably heavy barrel

[Roger Payne]

Yes, certainly in the UK whilst not common in excellent condition, L39/Enforcer/L42 type barrels are about, as they were on open sale & widely fitted to target rifles from the late '60's onwards. I recently managed to acquire two near new ex L39 barrels as I needed one for an L42 restoration. The other I've put away for a rainy day......

[Mk VII]

I had a L8-type one, which I got Fultons to rebarrel for me with their 'New Zealand' bedding . The twist rate was about 1:14, IIRC, which meant it didn't shoot at all well with surplus stuff. With 180gn reloads it was very good though the Enfield magazine worked not-very reliably.

[Peter Laidler]

The magazines will work but have to be fitted to a correctly machined body. This was another reason some of the early L42's were rejected and you'll see the number appear twice on the list. Mind you, with 7.62mm ball ammo prices now, converting a clapped or shot-out No4 to 7.62 isn't a whole barrel of cheap fun either

[gundoc2112]

Wow, that's a beautiful piece Smle Addict! I saw one for sale online for $1800 (is that about right?), 1st time hearing about that version of the No4, got curious and been researching them.

I'm relatively new to Enfields,finally got to shoot a No4T and fell in love with it. I had been entertaining a clone of both a No4T and a L42a1, think I'm just going to settle for the T clone for the moment. I had contacted a few British companies (Fultons being one) no one seems to have any barrels, mags, or extractors.

[bigduke6]

7.62mm ball ammo prices now, converting a clapped or shot-out No4 to 7.62 isn't a whole barrel of cheap fun either

Don't know what the price is for surplus now but the last lot I bought was around £40-£45 for 100 that was the German 7.62mm (very good ammo which I use for testing) saying that following up an advert on Gunstar few weeks back I walked away with a LB No4 in 7.62mm (same as .303 barrel contour with bayonet lugs etc) with a L42 mag plus 300 rounds of 7.62 ball ..... for the price It was nearly free ammo or buy the ammo and get a free rifle.... still bargains to be had.

Regarding surplus Anybody here know the price of Russian surplus at present 7.62 R + 7.62 X 39 ??

[vintage hunter]

think I'm just going to settle for the T clone for the moment.

Just save you're $$ and get the real deal. They're not as hard to come by or as pricey as the L42. By the time you put together a clone nowadays you'll probably be spent close to or a bit over half of what you could get a reasonably priced genuine No.4T for, depending on the route you take with the components.

[smle addict]

When I bought the DCRA, it was cheap. Granted, that was 1993, and unissued No4s' (in grease wrap) were only $159.00. I think $1800 is too steep. I have seen one on GB auction for $1000, and another on some other site for about $1200. I was lucky in that mine was fitted for the 7.62 magazine, and has the proper extractor. I guess it's like anything else; when you want one, they're scarce. When you could care less, three or four pop up. I was wanting an L39, and the ones I found all hit the $2000 mark. Now that I'm broke from christmas spending and birthdays, I saw one for sale up in LA county. It sold for $1100. I just can't win some days. You will find one; they are out there. This site is a wealth of information and contacts. Also, check the regular auction sites and milsurp dealers. One will turn up. Best of luck!

[gundoc2112]

@BigDuke, I never heard of GunStar, I will check that out. Thank you.

@Vintage Hunter, I've got it figured to between $700-$900 for the T clone, no earthly idea what a 7.62 would run. Thus farfar. I am definitely going to get a complete and legit T (preferably a '44 or ,45 w/ a MK 3) one of these days, hopefully sooner than later, kinda just wanted the clone to shoot the hell out of without feeling guilty about beating up a collectors piece. I have a nice collection of 1911s, but it's my mix match 1945 Colt with Cylinder & Slide guts that gets shot the most and drug through the mud.Same deal.

@Smle Addict, You are right when I'm broke I will see about a hundred different pieces I'd love to own but the minute I have some cash in my gun fund jar I won't come across anything, or if I do, it will be carrying an absurd price tag on it.

[vintage hunter]

If you're planning to use a Fultons or some other clamp on mount and weaver K2.5 or K3 scope and call it a No.4T clone you may be able to do it at that price but if you're a stickler for detail and want a dead ringer I don't think so. I built one in 2008 using a Numrich repro scope($600) + another $80 or so to have it fixed so as to actually be useable, Numrich bracket($145), Sarco pads($80) drills, taps and screws from Sarco ($55), original cheek piece from Apex($85) and a good accurate rifle i had $200 in. That came to $1245 and it doesn't include all shipping costs plus I did all the drilling, tapping and collimating myself. Less than 2 years later I brought a real No.4T w/mk.II scope and bracket for $2500 and a year after that came my second genuine T w/bracket but no scope for $800. I had a Mk.1 scope laying around to go on it and that brought the total cost up $1800 for the second T.
Deals are out there if you bide your time and shop around.
Plus to value of the genuine T will only go up where as you may never be able to get your money back out of a clone.
I certainly don't feel guilty about using my T's or L42 but I take extra good care of them while doing it. This is what mine get used for: