Ishapore 2A1

M

Model12Win

Moderator
Hello everyone!

Well the darned Gun Broker done got me again!

This morning I won an auction for a great price, the gun is an Ishapore 2A1 which is an Indian-produced Lee-Enfield pattern rifle chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. These are not rechambered guns, but were made in that caliber and where the last military Lee-Enfields to be produced and they were made starting in the 1960s and ending I believe in the '70s.

I am wondering if anyone out there has an advice for a first time Lee-Enfield owner. I am brand new to the platform, but I've wanted one for years now. I just love how cool they are, but the .303 Briitish chambering always warded me off. A couple years ago, I learned of the Ishapore 2A1s and it's very neat how they are in 7.62x51mm because the local Wal-Mart has ZQI 7.62x51mm NATO for a great price and that's what I shoot in my PTR-91.

So what do you guys know about these particular Indian rifles? What advice and/or tips can you recommend to someone brand new to this weapons system? Any help would be tremendously appreciated.

Thank you! :D
 
I've had one for several years now, like you I was reluctant to invest in 303s so a lee enfield in 308 was a big draw to me. The gun has been great the one I got had been butchered by bubba but I restored it to a somewhat correct condition. The sights are ok very fine front post and I can ring the gong at 200 yards regularly. It is a rather heavy gun but it's tough and it eats up cheap Pakistani surplus and steel case junk with ease.
 
I had one of the chopped down "Jungle" versions for a short while. About all it had going for it, was it was accurate.

I had nothing but trouble with feeding and ejecting. The gun was designed for a rimmed cartridge, and did not work well with the rimless .308's. Tried adjusting and replacing the ejector (screw on the port side), and to no avail.

The magazine was junk, and had to be replaced, a new replacement was $35. The original sat to low, due to the "tab" on the back, allowing the mag to sit a little low, and again, the bolt did not like picking up the rimless case. The new mag seemed to have solved that problem, but I still had occasional issues.

Some lots of brass/ammo seemed to work better than others, but for the most part, it was a random thing.

Headspace on mine was not good, and I would suggest you get it checked right off. I was getting case head separations on once reloaded brass, and even had a couple of "ruptures" at the base, with factory on the initial firing. Could not find the bolt heads at the time to deal with the issue. Ive seen them since getting rid of the gun, but they dont seem to something that is readily available.

Not anything to do with function, but the finish was really pretty nasty. It looked like it had been dipped in black paint, and more than once. Looked like it was parked underneath. Pretty crappy job over all, but Im sure it would have probably been effective, as paint is a great preservative.

Personally, If I were to get another, Id go with one in .303, and skip the Indian versions.
 
Indian 2A and 2A1 rifles are excellent, as long as they haven't been abused, and the mags and bits are original. If all is well, load through the top and leave the mag in place as much as possible. Most problems with the rifles stem from too much mad activity and minor damage.
 
Sounds good, the gun is on its way. From the pictures, it appears to be a very clean example. I am hoping it runs well. I'll post pics as soon as I get it!!
 
Mine has been very accurate and gave no trouble feeding. I admit that I have not fired it enough to assess reliability or durability.

The Indians produced them for para-military organizations, police and militia, so as to have ammunition commonality with the army, which was then armed with a locally made FAL copy.

Jim
 
I had one for a few years. It was fun to shoot and decently accurate. the 12 rd mag was a blast to run through quickly. The finish was rough compared to my british enfields. And it was not as smooth. I sold it due to fact I don't believe the Enfield design is stout enough for 7.62 nato pressures. (I also sold my 1916 Spanish mauser in 7,62 around this time for the same reason. Even though I have not heard of any "blowing up" It just doesn't seem strong enough in my mind. " I am not a expert". I do kinda miss it from time to time.
 
IMO would only purchase in person unless I feel very confident of the seller. Got mine maybe around 2005, $150 @ Big5 sporting goods. Some have tons of sideways trigger play.
 
The 2A/2A1 is adequately strong for a limited amount of shooting with GI pressure 7.62 NATO. But I have seen some credible statements that it was not intended for extensive use, and that seems reasonable based on its intended use by police and paramilitary units, not the Indian Army.

Jim
 
"The 2A/2A1 is adequately strong for a limited amount of shooting with GI pressure 7.62 NATO. But I have seen some credible statements that it was not intended for extensive use, and that seems reasonable based on its intended use by police and paramilitary units, not the Indian Army."

The rifle is far more than "adequately strong". You can shoot it as much as any other milsurp 7.62 or commercial .308. They were not designed for, nor do they have, any round-count expiration number.
 
So if I shoot it too much, it's going to fail??
Click to expand...
No.
However if you shoot it with the wrong ammo its life will be shortened. Its designed for 7.62X51mm NATO spec ammo, not .308 Win commercial ammo. You could reload .308 win to 7.62 specs though.
 
Last edited:
Congrats. Lots of people report happily shooting .308 win ammo in old 7.62x51 rifles.

But to be safe, avoid hot handloads and .308 ammo marked "for bolt actions only".

Those are really the perfect truck / trunk rifle. 12 rounds of .308 and you can keep the magazine loaded but out of the gun to comply with laws which require "unloaded" in the car. Slightly regret parting with my 2A which had been "jungle-ized" - cut to 17" and a flared MB added to make it resemble a No. 5 jungle carbine. Now my car guns are a pump shotgun in one, and a normal high-powered turnbolt in the other (well, in addition to a handgun, that is. :) ). But that change was because the loaded-gun-in-car laws in the state were relaxed / liberalized, which opened up possibilities of pumps, levers, and hinged-plate turnbolts. Had the state law not changed, the Ishapore 2A would still be the ultimate car longgun for a Tyler TX courthouse scenario and opportunistic piggie & yote hunting.
 
The Enfields bolt was rear lugged so the gunsmiths could change the front of the bolt easily to fix headspace. If the bolt doesn't close home {besides having the wrong ammunition}, the front of the bolt has unscrewed itself some.

The bolt is so far rearward that I have to overlap my firing hand thumb over the stock. If I keep my thumb near the bolt...recoil will have the bolt ball handle slap my thumb on my Mark 4 fake T sniper or my Mark 5 Jungle Carbine in 303.

You can buy cheap German riot control 308 ammo, that uses 10 grain plastic bullets and cases --- Though the wind will blow that 10 grainer around a lot --- Not much recoil at all while using the riot control rounds. The 10 grain plastic bullets are still lethal to humans --- to a certain extent.
 
Last edited:
A few practical tips.

The Lee-Enfield bolt design means that a slight (about 3/16") upward movement of the bolt knob is perfectly normal, don't sweat it when your bolt knob "kicks up" a tad. Its perfectly normal.

Don't "palm" the bolt. Instead bend the index finger, sit the bolt knob in the curve & place the thumb over it. With practice you can leave the thumb & finger there & work the trigger with the second finger.

If you get "chargers" (never, ever *urghhh shudder* stripper clips) avoid the rough parkerized chargers & look for the good blued ones instead, it makes a huge difference. When feeding the magazine the thumb presses down immediately in front of the charger bridge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top