ENFIELD #7JUNGLE CARBINE

T

TABING

New member
I recently drove 250 miles to buy the above, (Ishapur, India) manufactured in .308. the rifle is in great shape but because the .303 type bolt is designed to be used on a rimmed cartridge, it won't push the rebated rim of the .308 out of the magazine into the chamber. This only happens when feeding from the left side of the double stack magazine. The seller (J&G sale, Prescott AZ) offered to make it right, but I didn't want to make the drive nor incur the round trip shipping +FFL related expenses. I brought it to a good smith who will try to correct the the problem for $15. He says he's seen a lot of these, and in addition, it doesn't eject reliably.

Has anyone else had these problems, and how were they solved. the rifle originally came from Gibbs Rifle in West Virginia.
Apparently hundreds of thousands of these were manufactured for Indian police use. How could such a faulty product be approved for use?
I asked myself that question, but having lived in India for 5 years, I guess I can answer it.
They're pretty corrupt and stupid.
 
As far as I recall there is no such thing as a factory #7 Jungle Carbine. These are usually #4s that have been converted to approximate the #5 configuration. They had some wood taken off, the barrel shortened, added a Jungle Carbine flash hider etc. The Jungle Carbine moniker is pure marketing hype. Now I'm not sure if the Indians did this on their own but the Enfield people never built a #7 Jungle Carbine. I do recall that there was a #7 rifle, but it was an experimental weapon only. I don't have my reference material in front of me at the moment though.

The Indians have always been less than scrupulous in weapons dealings. They screwed FN out of their dealings and reverse engineered a pos FAL replica from some of the trials weapons also.
 
Although J&G does not give a good description of this gun, Navy Arms does:
"Modeled after the WWII Australian No. 6 carbine prototypes, the No. 7 is a "Jungle Carbine" conversion of the "2A" No. 1 MKIII Enfield. This replica features ...(snip)."

Note the word replica. I have a Tanker .308 which is also a replica. This does not mean this is a bad gun, I love mine.

Feed problems with this gun are most often magazine related. The magazine, although removable, was meant to be left in place and recharged with stripper clips. There should be a serial number on the receiver, bolt, and magazine. Ideally all three should match. My magazine did not and I had to bend the feed lips to get it to feed reliably. Also, some of these guns have been shipped with the wrong extractor spring. Ejection is accomplished by a small screw through the side of the receiver. This should be checked to see if it is worn or loose. Also, have the headspace checked.

Hope this helps.

Dave

PS - This gun, if marked 2A or 2A1 on the receiver band was designed for use with 7.65x51 ammo. The magazine and other parts were redesigned for use with that cartridge. Therefore if all parts are correct, the rim of the .303 is not relevant.
PPS- Are far as I can determine, these guns are US modifications of Indian arms. I believe that Navy Arms is one large "converter". I have found no evidence of Indian corruption in this area.




[This message has been edited by DHH (edited August 07, 1999).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top