My New 1941 Jungle Carbine!!!????

[Headhunter]

Hey Guys!!
I just bought this gun tonight( it just showed up). I believe it is a 1941 Jungle Carbine. It is missing the rear sight and has some repairs to the tail stock. The barrel is marked " Santa Fe Jungle Carbine Mk1 MD 12011 Golden State Arms Corp Pasadena California". I assume this is the U.S. importer. The Bolt matches the gun and the rifling looks very crisp. The serial number is 95341E. The over all condition of the gun is pretty nice and does not look abused. I dont have anything like it and thought it would be a good addition to the collection. I dont know antything about these. Take a look at the photos and any info is welcome. I paid $300.00 for it.

Thanks Guys !!!!!
Scott

Information

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[enfield303t]

It is not a real jungle carbine but one "built" to look like a real one. The real one would be a No 5, the one you have is converted from another Lee Enfield.

[Parashooter]

That's a premium price for a fake.

It's an Ishapore (India) SMLE Mark III* modified by/for the importer for sale to Americans who didn't know or care that it's definitely not a genuine No.5 Mk.1.

[Headhunter]

That is interesting........so what was it? And should I try to change it back to original? Or should I just shoot the crap out of it!( that would be fun).
Thanks for the info!

[Headhunter]

I havent paid for it yet........What is it worth? Or should I just walk away? A friend of mine had traded some stuff for it today...and brought it to me ...I can still beat him up on the price but want to be fair.

[spinecracker]

IMHO (which is very humble), I probably wouldn't pay more than $100 for that rifle. It is a fake, as mentioned above, and would have maybe been worth $200-250 if it hadn't been monkeyed with. It cannot be returned to original configuration as a No.1 Mk.III*, and it will never be a No.5 Mk.1. If it were me, I'd hold onto my $300, add $100-150 to it and look for a genuine No.5.

Regarding the "missing" rear sight, they cut the charger bridge out, and stuck in a made-up flip sight. They also cut the end off of the barrel and stuck on a flash hider. I seem to remember a post on another forum (my memory is like swiss cheese these days) that mentioned a Santa Fe copy of a No.5 that ended up launching its poorly-fitting flash hider down range.

This is all my own opinion, and no offence is meant.

[Beerhunter]

Or should I just walk away?

That is what I'd do. The worst bit is the way that the Bridge Charger Guide has been butchered.

[jmoore]

Not even a fake, really. It's just something make to look vaguely like a more popular (at least more costly) rifle. Sort of like a VW bug made to look like a Ferrari. It won't fool the Ferrari guys, but it's kind of sporty. If it shoots and does what you want, then maybe a $200 rifle give or take $50. Otherwise, I'm w/ Spinecracker.

The rear sight mod was apparently done by Santa Fe when they were busy cutting it up.


Here's a similar thread wherein Steve H. in NY first "'splained it" to me. If I've seen one in person, it didn't register beyond "not original-move along...".

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=19660

Thanks for your additional photos, Headhunter. The ventilated handguard DOES look sort of familiar, but still it's nothing to get all excited about.

[jrhead75]

Leave it as is...there's actually a bit of a collectors' niche for the Santa Fe conversions. They were pretty nicely done starting in the late '40s or early '50s, back when such "vandalism" wasn't quite so roundly frowned upon.

That said...$300 is too much by about half.

[Headhunter]

Thanks for all the info guys!! I will let it soak in for a day or two....It does look cool hanging on the wall...maybe not $300 bucks cool ...but still cool. I need to talk one of my buddies into shooting it first!!!!!! I dont want to be the first one! Ha HA !

Thanks again for all the help!