Since I do not fire my SMG as much as I use to ( damn ammo prices ) I decided to get more use from the suppressor on a new host. In the past I converted a K98 Mauser to 45 ACP with a different suppressor and it was a fun gun to shoot. I ended up giving the K98 to a friend and missed it ever since. I have been looking for another host platform and found a nice Enfield #1 MKIII that had been sporterized so it was a perfect host for my intended project.
The rifle I started with had a Ramline stock , a REALLY crappy scope mount that someone cobbled together and a polished blue finish. I ended up getting it for $175 so not horribly bad. Once i got it home the demolition began. The barrels on Enfield's can withstand atomic shock trying to get them off. I ended up turning the barrel down in diameter and kissed the front receiver ring to relieve any pressure. I thought I was home free but the barrel would still not budge. I used my smoke wrench ( torch ) to apply some heat to the 1" -14 barrel threads and the barrel started to move and came out. I also pulled the rest of the rifle apart completely.
The receiver on the Enfiled has a small diameter that passes thru the barrel thread diameter. The .45 cartridge is short and the barrel needs to extend back into the action to aid in feeding.
My 1st operation was to set the receiver up in the mill and bore a clearance hole so I could get a barrel back into the receiver and still have adequate chamber wall thickness.
Barrel extending thru bored clearance in receiver~
The receiver cuts easily and not a hard operation to complete.
I used a different barrel stub to eyeball where I want feeding and chambering to take place~
Now that I can mount a barrel to the action I needed to do some mods to the bolt and bold body.
The bolt needed a counter bore added in the bolt face to control the cartridge on extraction / ejection. Without it the case is not held firmly which can hurt ejection. I placed the bolt in the lathe and used a carbide boring bar to counter bore the bolt face to fit the 45 acp rim. The stock .303 extractor was re-worked to fit and function with the 45 acp case. Both of these were pretty simple operations.
Bolt body~
Moving the barrel farther back into the action means I needed to shorten the bolt by the same amount. The Enfield is a rear locking lug action which makes it easy to do so. I had two option in doing this operation.
1) Remove the amount from the front of the bolt.
2) Cut the amount from the center of the bolt.
If you remove the length from the front of the bolt be aware that the bolt head thread is timed and the bolt / bolt lock up orientation needs to be reestablished. The thread is some odd ball and I do not feel like grinding a threading tool to cut it or buying an odd ball tap. I opted measure the headspace length I desired , measure my bolt length , subtract the amount and this was my target to remove from the center of the bolt. I cut the bolt in half and faced off both sides, put together and measured again then faced off to the needed OAL.
Doing it this way the bolt head, threads and thread timing are not touched and all that is needed is TIG welding the bolt halves together.
I used a piece of .375 reamer blank to align the bolt sections on center. The flat part of the bolt I clamped to a parallel for alignment.
The center part I removed was about .685" long
Off to the welder.....
The bolt internals also needed to be shortened like the firing pin, spring and cocking piece.
Now that I have a receiver I can put a barrel into and a bolt that locks up at the correct location I can focus on other details. I saved the steel magazine housing I made for 1911 mags on my K98 conversion and needed to adapt it to the Enfield. It was a far amount of dicking around getting it positioned for feed angles and locking into the receiver without changing anything else. I can lock it in or pop it out with the stock magazine release.
Checking mag height for feeding~
Now that I had all the major parts fitting together I turned , threaded & chambered my 45acp barrel blank. I used a Green Mountain 4140 barrel blank / 17" long blank for $38. That is a frigging bargain IMHO.
.45 ACP Heavy Raw Blank, 17.5" x 1.25" 4140, 1:16 - Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Co.
The rifle I started with had a Ramline stock , a REALLY crappy scope mount that someone cobbled together and a polished blue finish. I ended up getting it for $175 so not horribly bad. Once i got it home the demolition began. The barrels on Enfield's can withstand atomic shock trying to get them off. I ended up turning the barrel down in diameter and kissed the front receiver ring to relieve any pressure. I thought I was home free but the barrel would still not budge. I used my smoke wrench ( torch ) to apply some heat to the 1" -14 barrel threads and the barrel started to move and came out. I also pulled the rest of the rifle apart completely.
The receiver on the Enfiled has a small diameter that passes thru the barrel thread diameter. The .45 cartridge is short and the barrel needs to extend back into the action to aid in feeding.
My 1st operation was to set the receiver up in the mill and bore a clearance hole so I could get a barrel back into the receiver and still have adequate chamber wall thickness.
Barrel extending thru bored clearance in receiver~
The receiver cuts easily and not a hard operation to complete.
I used a different barrel stub to eyeball where I want feeding and chambering to take place~
Now that I can mount a barrel to the action I needed to do some mods to the bolt and bold body.
The bolt needed a counter bore added in the bolt face to control the cartridge on extraction / ejection. Without it the case is not held firmly which can hurt ejection. I placed the bolt in the lathe and used a carbide boring bar to counter bore the bolt face to fit the 45 acp rim. The stock .303 extractor was re-worked to fit and function with the 45 acp case. Both of these were pretty simple operations.
Bolt body~
Moving the barrel farther back into the action means I needed to shorten the bolt by the same amount. The Enfield is a rear locking lug action which makes it easy to do so. I had two option in doing this operation.
1) Remove the amount from the front of the bolt.
2) Cut the amount from the center of the bolt.
If you remove the length from the front of the bolt be aware that the bolt head thread is timed and the bolt / bolt lock up orientation needs to be reestablished. The thread is some odd ball and I do not feel like grinding a threading tool to cut it or buying an odd ball tap. I opted measure the headspace length I desired , measure my bolt length , subtract the amount and this was my target to remove from the center of the bolt. I cut the bolt in half and faced off both sides, put together and measured again then faced off to the needed OAL.
Doing it this way the bolt head, threads and thread timing are not touched and all that is needed is TIG welding the bolt halves together.
I used a piece of .375 reamer blank to align the bolt sections on center. The flat part of the bolt I clamped to a parallel for alignment.
The center part I removed was about .685" long
Off to the welder.....
The bolt internals also needed to be shortened like the firing pin, spring and cocking piece.
Now that I have a receiver I can put a barrel into and a bolt that locks up at the correct location I can focus on other details. I saved the steel magazine housing I made for 1911 mags on my K98 conversion and needed to adapt it to the Enfield. It was a far amount of dicking around getting it positioned for feed angles and locking into the receiver without changing anything else. I can lock it in or pop it out with the stock magazine release.
Checking mag height for feeding~
Now that I had all the major parts fitting together I turned , threaded & chambered my 45acp barrel blank. I used a Green Mountain 4140 barrel blank / 17" long blank for $38. That is a frigging bargain IMHO.
.45 ACP Heavy Raw Blank, 17.5" x 1.25" 4140, 1:16 - Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Co.
