No. 7 Jungle Carbine as scout?

[rhill]

I've been thinking about using a No. 7 Jungle Carbine, or home-cut Ishapore 2A Enfield as a cheapie scout rifle.

Has anyone else done this?

And, what did you come up with for a scout style scope mount?

Did you use a commercial model, or roll your own?

Thanks for any and all input....

rhill

[Muggzy]

I have had the chance to use one of the original #7. They are light, look :cool: and the .303 British round is very potent. But shooting it in a light, short barrel is absolutely brutal. 10 round mag is enough. :eek:

[Templator]

Much has been said about the recoil of those cut down Enfields. I had an original type 5 for a while. It thumped my shoulder a bit, but no worse than my 03 Springfield and CERTAINLY no worse than a Ruger model 77 RSI carbine in .308.

The recoil of the Type 5 was managable enough,.. no big deal,.. but a .303 *ain't* a .308. I'd guess that a cut down Enfield chabered for .308 would thump ya right smart!
If you can handle it, I'd say that it'd be a good low cost rifle. Enfields are pretty tough old smokepoles. They go "bang" everytime ya pull the trigger and I've yet to hear of anyone breaking one. Accuracy wise, if you get one that'll shoot better than 3.5 MOA, you've got a good one.

[timccart]

scope mount http://www.ashleyoutdoors.com/

[doubletap]

I have two of these little beasties. Don't find recoil all that bad, but the muzzle flip is accentuated. As far as a scope mount, Ashleys works OK. Or if you have a mill handy, some uncontoured weaver rail blank like Brownell's sells works too. Just mill the radius needed for the barrel, drill and countersink for screws and drill and tap barrel.
Both of mine needed higher front sights, both used the original front sight and Navy Arms just slapped the old post in. Made higher fronts, then adapted a block for the receiver to mount a receiver sight as well. Instant (slightly portly) scout.

[hksigwaltherXglockXSA58]

I got the Gibbs Quest II Extreme. Basically started out as a handpicked 2A1 and cut down, refinished, and restocked. Looks actually very good. Like your idea, i wanted a short little scout-type rifle. It shoots very well with its open sights.

I have place a B-Square on it (receiver mount). The original rail that came with the gun was crap. The unusual thing about the B-Square is its flat washer-like attachment to the receiver in the front. As it was, it didn't hold the rail on very well under recoil. I had dremeled a dovetail into the receiver and the washer for a better grip and it seems to be holding OK. This, however, is without a scope (the rail allows you to use the open sights without removal). The original scope I had on it was a compact BEC. This make of scope is not just crap, but ABSOLUTE crap. Haven't replaced it yet.

The QIIE shoots very well and the recoil is not at all punishing off-hand. The compensator works very efficiently. Just be sure to allow your shoulder some room to move back under recoil.

http://www.gibbsrifle.com/images/quest2.gif

[ February 25, 2002: Message edited by: hksigwaltherXglockXSA58 ]

[ February 25, 2002: Message edited by: hksigwaltherXglockXSA58 ]

[aca]

If it doesn't work out with the No.7 or variants, and you really want a high velocity carbine, consider any of the mosin-nagant carbines. For under $100, you can get a near-mint condition M44 which is durable and accurate. There are plenty of after-market mounts/scopes for it.

[doubletap]

Originally posted by daveinpa:
<STRONG>

Would you be able (and willing) to post a picture? I'm especially interested in your rail and receiver sight solutions. Did you remove the original rear sight to mount the rail? What type of rear sight did you use?

TIA,
Dave</STRONG>

Dave, unfortunately with this gizmo deal I use for a computer, I don't have picture capability. Check out the Ashley Outdoors website for some more info, believe it is ashleyoutdoors.com. The rear sight is just a Williams cheapie, I made a base for the left side of the receiver, kinda like target .22's use, then drilled and tapped it for the receiver sight base. No magic involved, just a little head scratching, a hitch or two of the pants, and basic cut it out, mill to shape, and mount stuff.