Gun Proof in India - An Historical Account

[Alfred]

Its possible that the Lithgow receivers that failed the conversion tests were made from a weaker alloy as well.
The rack full of Lithgows with damaged bolts but perfect bores I've mentioned before had dates in the late forties, when war time shortages may have been a problem.
The odd looking bolt head and extractor with Drill Rifle type coil spring that came with my Lithgow might have been a leftover spare from the conversion trials. It never ejected .303 cases properly but ejected empty mauser and 7.62 cases smartly.

I kept the action for possible sporter project in a less intense caliber, or for a .410 conversion.
The steel other than at the points induction hardened was deeply scored by a wire wheel so much so that the hardened areas looked like metal had been added there by welding and the surfaces recut.

The receiver serial number had also been restamped, the stamping so deep the numbers were unreadable and had raised edges like craters.
The track for cocking piece/sear is milled far off center.
This was at best a mismatched, out of spec, and suspect parts gun, not worth restoring, and I suspect not strong enough even for the .303 when new.

So you can see why I'm curious about the metalurgy used for the Enfields of various years and factories.