45acp enfield

T

tahunua001

New member
hello all.
I am a sucker for a pistol cartridge rifle and I have recently heard a few people alluding to a 45acp conversion to an Enfield and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with them and how well they handle as far as accuracy and reliability?

also, is it just a drop in barrel and magazine or is a more complex conversion that will require a gunsmith?

any info would be much appreciated.
 
Don't know about going with the .45ACP in a SMLE. I would go with the .44 Mag, uses the same head holder as the 303 British, so I would think that if any modifications to the bold face was needed, it wouldn't be much. The extractor should work as is.
As for the magazines, I would think that cutting the follower and putting a simple 'U' of metal in the rear as a filler and using the existing mag spring would work. So the major problem I would have is killing a grand classic weapon like a SMLE. Get one with the barrel shot or rusted out, with no historical value, maybe 'bubaized' in the past and install a barrel. The head spacing is on the rim, so no biggie there. I may just have to look for a piece of crap SMLE now. No chance I would touch any of the ones I have now.
Can I blame it on you? Me having to get yet another SMLE.

But if you are just wanting .45 ACP change over, look for a rifle that is chambered in any of the original Mauser rounds (8MM, 30-06, 308, and on and on). They should work as well. And no or very little alteration to the bolt face and extractor.

Sounds like a good winter play project.

OSOK
 
yes you can blame your new purchase on me...I'm in the middle of the indian ocean right now anyway, whats the wifey gonna do to poor ole random interweb guy? thanks for the input, if it is only for the SMLE then I may reconsider, if they have them for the MK4s that are a dime a dozen then I'll probably still try to continue with the enfield platform
 
special interests are just what I'm looking for. I wouldn't mind having the 7.62x39 kit either but I already have an AK47 and I dont like having more than one gun in the same caliber for the same reason(this would be a plinker). if they made a 5.45 conversion I would get it in a heartbeat though. I'm trying to keep my budget fairly low so no NFA kits, and I'm trying to stay within $400 for the kit. I'm trying to see if one is made specifically for the #4MK1 enfields that used to flood the market like mosin nagants are now
 
well good news, the special interest kits are designed for the #4 enfields so if I can find a rusted up our fouled enfield this can be a winter project. the kit uses unmodified 1911 mags so even though it only has a single 7 shot capacity, mags will be easily available and I dont really need that much cap for a bolt gun anyway. does anyone know the ballistics of a 185gr or 230gr fmj out of a 24" barrel? the only other 45 rifle I can think of is a 16" AR15 which would b a blowback design and probably offer less in the way of velocity.
 
I have no experience with the 45acp in a LE ... but I have a 45acp Turkish Mauser that I built ... I can shoot 300gr XTP-HP bullets out of it at 1000fps and it is quieter than a 22LR ... WAY quieter. I also have no problem loading it up to 460 Rowland pressures and velocities. 1500 fps is not out of the question for a 230 grain bullet out of a rifle barrel. You will need to maintain tight inventory control if you are going to load up rifle hot loads in a round that would chamber in a 1911 ... you wouldn't want anyone to pick one up off the ground and blow up a pistol. I tend to load my hot rifle rounds with 250 or 300gr bullets and leave them too long to chamber in a pistol. that also leaves more room for powder ... and added benefit as there just isn't enough room there to take effective advantage of the longer barrel.

Saands
 
saands, I dont do any of my own loading so I'll be sticking to factory loads, I might have my brother in law finagle up some +p loads if I ever decide to do anything more than close range plinking but for now it'll just be a soup can killer.
mike irwin ended up at ebay? I ended up at a gunbroker auction for .32 blanks haha
 
You also might look for some 45 Super loads ... I'm pretty sure that they are dimensionally equivalent to 45acp but loaded hotter.
 
not to hijack my own thread or anything but would a 45LC or 45/70 bullet fit in a 45 ACP case? a lot of the 45acp ammo anymore has a bit of extra space in them so theoretically(again I am not a reloader) if I were to add a little extra powder and drop a hornady VMAX or SST(never really understood the difference) for a 45/70 into a 45ACP case I could end up with a fairly decent close range hunting round. are they the same diameter or are they misnomers like 222, 223, 5.56, and 22 hornet that all use .224 bullets?
 
tahunua001, good idea, except, the .45 ACP is a nominal .451 inches, so you can get by with an over size to maybe .453 with a jacketed bullet and with some leading maybe to .456 or so with lead. (I wouldn't go that much but if I did, I would start building the load from a minimum charge and chambering would be a bear.)
But the 45-70 is a nominal .458.
I think the original idea was to use a pistol round. Good thought though.

OSOK
 
I did the Special Interest .45 ACP conversion on a throw-away No.4 I had. Very happy with the result, accurate and fun to shoot. You can also use 10 round 1911 mags. The only 'smith job was removing the old .303 barrel, you really need a lathe. I load 230 gr. FMJ and JHP for it, to .45 SUPER specs, using Power Pistol. I followed all the directions and extraction is fine, but ejection can sometimes be a bit iffy.
 
a lady near my mothers got stuck with her husbands old inventory when he died and left her the FFL business and according to my brother she has a bubba'd up #4 that is either nickle plated or stainless and has either a black spraypainted stock or a synthetic sporterized stock. she's selling all of her guns for what he picked them up for 10 years ago with a 10% markup so if I can get that bubba gun for under $125 that is going to be my conversion rifle. my brother wants to start a home parkerizing business as a bit of a hobby/ extra income type deal so I figure sandblasting and parkerizing a bubba'd enfield that is basically worth nothing will be good practice before he starts taking in strangers babies. I just cant imagine a black spraypainted sporter stock on an enfield with a nickle plated reciever and a blued barrel in 45 ACP, that sounds like a jerry springer, trailer park defense gun right there haha
 
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