No.4 in 7.62mm x 51

[newcastle]

Morning folks. I have a DCRA rifle but recently got hold of another No.4 in 7.62mm as i thought it might be a DCRA but it doesn't have the 4 digit number. It' made on a No.4 Mk2 and has the chargerbridge insert for charger loading of the 7.62mm ammo. Magazine is a Sterling, marker with the 1965 and the part number etc. Bolt head has the 19T stamp. Only mark I can find on the barrel is 7.62 and a C with an A inside it and it doesn't have athe baynet lug. Anyone got any idea who made the barrel from that mark?

Information

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[Lee Enfield]

Your barrel was made by CAL, it is a "DCRA 7.62" barrel.

Look on the top of your bolt arm for the "maple leaf" over P proof and a 2-4 digit number. Often the receiver number is located under the forend wood on the right side of the receiver ring (it should also include the maple leaf over P proof mark).
The barrel should have the same conversion number on the right side of the know-form reinforce. Sometimes this is visible with the rear handguard removed.

The number of the bolt handle, receiver & barrel should match. Canadian bolts were not marked with a "19T" proof marking, the "maple leaf over P" was used.

[newcastle]

I'll check under the wood and see what is there.
thanks

[jona]

Several extra Canadian Arsenal made 303 barrels made it to the market and were used by gunsmiths to make up 308 rifles. It is possible that you have one of those made up rifles.

[Longshaor]

How common are the DCRA guns? I've been collecting Enfields since the early '90s and I've never even seen one.

Cheers

[newcastle]

There were about 2000 or so with the DCRA numbers stamped on them. Off the top of my head I have #1049 I think. Not all had the 7.62 magazines, many kept the .303 mag as a single shot loading platform.

[airborn_69]

Is it made by Long Branch, if so which year?
Thx

[breakeyp]

The DCRA made arrangements with Long Branch to manufacture .308 barrels and also rebarrel member's rifles to .308 as the government supplied .303 for match shooting was drying up forcing the matches to go .308---same as the SLR rifle. The program ran during the 1960's. I have one rifle with the DCRA hang tag that was filled out by the owner and travelled along with the rifle during the rebuild.

Long Branch would rebarrel any manufacturer's action provided it was deemed safe to do so. These rifles have the referenced Maple Leaf proofs. I have examples using Savage as well a Maltby actions. I believe they left Long Branch as singles shot actions with a .303 magaine loading platform and the rifle may or may not work well with the .308 magazines. Period literature of the time, indicates that some rework on the bottom of the receiver was required to get the magazine to function properly in rapid fire events.

Apparently the barrels also found there way to England as (like your rifle) as they are seen with British 19T proofs. I have a Fulton .308 rework using a L B barrel and a funky flat spring deal on the receiver. (I will have to dig it out again---memory is fuzzy).

I have one strange .308 Savage with unmarked barrel that has the bayonet lugs. It may be a cleaned L8 barrel. The joy of Enfield collecting--nothing is cast in stone.

[Brian Dick]

I think most of the barrels for the L8 project were also supplied by CAL/Long Branch and lack the bayonet lugs although CAL/LB 7.62 barrels with the bayonet lugs have been examined and do exist. I converted a No.4Mk.2 several years ago using a 7.62 barrel with bayonet lugs that apparently was made in Belgium?? It's also unmarked except for the British commercial proof marks. We machined the receiver internally for an Enfield 7.62 magazine and it shoots well. I had 400 or so Interarms/South African surplus No.4's at the time and there was one Mk.2 that had a bulged barrel so that's the one I utilized for the conversion.

[Warren]

There was a run of "clean barrels" with bayonet lugs and no markings done at Long Branch. They were sold off in the 60's and the dealer selling them marked them with .308 on the breech face. I still have a small quantity of them and you do see them surface from time to time as many of us who bought them had ideas of making up rifles but just never got around to it.