Fitting a SARCO mount to a No. 4 303

[Hornant]

Hi guys.
I have just finished fitting a Sarco mount and mounting pads to my no.4 303. It is always a bit of a worry when you start drilling holes in one of your favorate rifles but its not as scary as you think.
You will need a few things before you start. A BA No.4 tap, a BSF 1/4 tap some 1/2 inch long No. 4 BA counter sunk srews.
I clamped the front mount in position with some small clamps and fitted the mount with a scope in it so I could bore sight it and check the basic alignment. It turned out on my rifle I needed to grind abit off the bottom of the rear pad for the bore sight to be correct.
When I had the elevation correct I marked the pad positions allowing a small amount of clearance infront of the front pad. Drill and fit the rear pad first. Then you can screw the rearof the mount on and mark the exact position of the front mount. I didnt solder sweat the pads on . I just put some lock tight under the pads. I will post some photos tomorrow.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[jmoore]

Don't rely on the screws to hold the front pad onto the rifle!!!!!!
Won't hold up under recoil and will deform and eventually shear the screws.
If you don't want to solder, then drill and ream the front pad for hardened dowel pins.

Modern lightweight scopes will stress the system less, but a No32 has a lot of inertia!

Screws are for tension loads! Even w/ unthreaded shanks, its best to avoid single shear loads w/ threaded fasteners. Esp. in this situation, as the mounting screws aren't hardened at all, AND your loads are considerably off axis.

[Hornant]

some photosAttachment 7450

Attachment 7451

Attachment 7452

Attachment 7453

Attachment 7454

Still waiting for a cheek rest to arrive. Still looking for a weaver K3 scope.

Its good to have a lathe and mill for jobs like this.

[Badger]

Here's some additional material that is somewhat related to the discussion, that I thought might be helpful to members who are reading up on this subject ...

Thanks for the post Hornant ....

I believe there's another thread on the Sarco mounts here:

New Sarco No 4 Mk I T scope mount (click here)

In that thread, I commented as follows:

I have heard (and read) on other boards that some people have had zeroing and alignment issues with these mounts, but I have to say our own personal experience was positive and we had no problems. Perhaps we were just fortunate with the particular No.4(T)'s she's mounted them on.

~Angel~ uses them her No.4(T)'s that didn't come with their own matched No.32 scope, or at other times, simply to put a more powerful scope on any of her No.4(T)'s to see how well they shoot with better glass.

They install easily and work well, plus zeroed without any problems at all. She shot as accurately with it and the Weaver 4x, as she does with any of the actual period No.32 Mk1 or Mk3 scopes. I understand that there's also one that looks similar and its manufactured in India, as is the one from Sarco.

Reproduction Scope Mount (Sarco Brand) for Enfield No.4(T) Sniper Rifle with Weaver 4x

(Click PIC to Enlarge)

Enfield No.4(T) Repro Scope Mount (lots more detailed pics ... click here)

Also, check the Technical Articles for Milsurp Collectors and Re-loaders (click here)

There's a library entry titled Blueprints and Specifications for the Enfield No.4 Mk1(T) Sniper Rifle (click here)

Courtesy of "mudpuppy" with additional feedback from "Cantom", there's MOD Pattern Room blueprints from the 1940/50's for the scope mount, pads, pad screws, thumb screws and cheekpiece, plus instructions on how to properly mount the cheekpiece.

Hope people find some of this material useful ...

Regards,
Badger

[cosmo]

Still waiting for a cheek rest to arrive. Still looking for a weaver K3 scope.

A vintage Kollmorgen scope looks perfect on my No 4. and the quality is second to none. You might find one of these easier as not many people seem to know about them.

[Hornant]

What model do ou have. What is the eye relief on that scope. Does it mount forward like a No 32. I am looking for a weaver k3 but they are getting hard to get.

[jmoore]

"Kollmorgan" AKA Stith Bear Cub. Later became the bog standard Redfield of the 1960's. Unless cosmo has something different (and rather scarcer).

[cosmo]

"Kollmorgan" AKA Stith Bear Cub. Later became the bog standard Redfield of the 1960's. Unless cosmo has something different (and rather scarcer).

Mine is a 4 X Kollmorgen Bear Cub. It was made before the scope side of Kollmorgens business was sold to Redfield. Kollmorgen made high quality periscope optics for the US navy, and made sniper scopes for the Garand rifle.
The nice thing about these is that despite their age they don't usually need fixing. They can handle any recoil. I bought mine on ebay.

Kollmorgen is still in business today as far as I know.

Edited to add...My kollmorgen is mounted on a mount like yours, the eye relief is just right. One other thing I forgot to mention is that the tubes are 26mm as opposed to the usual 1". I lapped my rings to suit.

[Hornant]

Thanks but I got a weaver K3 with post and cross wire this morning on ebay

[jmoore]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that the tubes are 26mm as opposed to the usual 1". I lapped my rings to suit.

I've one also that's 26mm (a 4x tapered post reticle), but am still kicking myself for not buying the $5 Redfield rings on the closeout table at a local range. When I realized my error, I went back to buy 'em and POOF -gone! Probably sat there for two years and whoever bought 'em threw them away when they realized their 1" dia. scope was loose no matter how tight the screws were!