Source for a Longbranch Enfield #4 Mk1* barrel?

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Sold the rifle, don't need a barrel any more.

Thanks everyone for their help.

Dave

[skeet1]

Numrich has some barrels for a #4 Mk1 unknown if they are Longbranch or not but I might be worth a call. http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Products.aspx?catid=11954

Ken

[Hip's Ax]

You are looking for a difficult thing, in over a decade of collecting rifles and back up new repacement barrels I have never seen a new government made replacement barrel for any Enfield No1 or No4.

Looks like Numrich has some barrels that are not sportered but I doubt you would be able to get a certain manufacturer. Sarco and Springfield Sporters show nothing.

I would suggest trying to clean up what you have. If its that bad try fire lapping.

My first Krag rifle was a cut down farm rifle used to kill lame horses. Poor thing spent its entire life shooting corrosive ammo and was never cleaned. The barrel had fluffy live rust in the bore when I got it. Got it as clean as I could with just patches brushes and solvent then took it to the rifle range (after I slugged the barrel to make sure it was not constricted) and shot it and cleaned it, shot it and cleaned it. Before long it was down to bare metal, pitted mind you but it does shoot OK.

Short of a miracle and finding an old time gunsmith with a take off under his bench I'm afraid your options are limited.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I would suggest trying to clean up what you have. If its that bad try fire lapping.


Trust me, this bore is well beyond fire lapping. While I'm not big into Enfields, I am big into milsurps and I've owned and worked on hundreds over the years. This is the worst damage I've ever seen. Sad thing is, the barrel wasn't near to being shot out. But the pitting goes all the way through the lands to the level of the grooves, if you can call that pitting. Looks more like fluffy soft mud than rust, but rust is what it is.

[Hip's Ax]

Well, you can sell it to someone who collects Enfields and does not shoot them or try your luck with Numrich. I think if it were mine I would sell it with the understanding that the bore is toast.

Longbranches are dersireable Enfields and if your bore was as nice as the rest of the rifle sounds I would think $300 would be about it.

Once you change that barrel even if it works out well (IE no headspace issues which really never happens with Enfields and those long bolt heads no longer are available) you maybe have, well I dunno, a $175 mix master?

Likely what will happen is you pay Numrich $66.80 plus shipping for a barrel that came from a demilled reciever. I have delt with them in the past and they really send out some garbage at times. They will take it back and send another no problem but, well, you know how that goes.

Now you get the Numrich barrel installed and you might have head space issues. Long bolt heads are like chicken lips these days. I have a No1 Ishapore Enfield that had big BIG head space. I have an excellent local gunsmith here and he was able to shim the bolt head (No1's do not have different number bolt heads so shimming is the only option short of playing musical parts) and also made it eject (No1's in 7.62 and not very good at ejection) and he charged me $140 for the work. Thats the same price I paid for the rifle.

I do not mean to scare you off and of course all of this is just my opinion but I wanted you to know the road you might be headed down. I've been there.

[Hip's Ax]

Dave, just a caveat, I have 5 Enfields but have not bought one in 7 or 8 years. My prices may be dated. I also do not really keep up to date with a type of rifle once I have bought one so some priceing research on your part would be a good idea. Hope this helps.

[nanuk]

I"m not sure about the SouthBound shipping regs, but Epps Sporting Goods in Ontario usually has a pile... mey have a long branch.

too bad you can't ship them up here, it would make an interesting project....

[Hip's Ax]

I had checked Marstar in Canada and they showed no barrels in stock, I did not know about Epps. Good chance any No4 barrel they would have would be Longbranch but you would have to check shipping regulations. If they require a Form 6 you would have to go through an importer and last time I checked they were getting $75 for this service and that was years ago. That and the extra shipping to the importer and from the importer to you.

Then you still have to run the installation and head space gauntlet. After all of that even if it is 100% Longbranch it is not matching.

Dave, I'll post this question on Culver's in the Enfield forum and see what the experts say. Here's the link.

http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?21975-Longbranch-Bad-Bore-Question&p=167436#post167436

[zuke]

I'd say you have all the part's to rebuild a sporter back to military.
If it's that bad use it as the donar gun.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Well, using an electric bore cleaner, serious doses of Ed's Red, then polishing more crud out with JB bore paste, I managed to get the bore down close to the bare metal. It's definately pitted, but the lands and grooves are solid to the muzzle. The worst place is the crown. I'm considering redoing the crown on the lathe vs. putting it up and selling it.

I took it apart and thoroughly cleaned everything. During the break down, I discovered odd looking sand underneath the buttstock. Stuck my finger in it, got a dab and smelled it. Smelled like the ocean (I spent every summer growing up living on Atlantic Beach, NC, so I know beach sand when I smell it.) Tasted it and sure enough, nice and salty. I took pictures and I'll try to post them later, but I suspect I know why the bore has some corrosion issues. It ain't because of corrosive ammo.

[MBTcustom]

hmmm, looks like you have an enfield that doubled as a shovel.
You should check out some of 303Guys posts. He uses paper patch boolits to make sewer pipe barrels shoot decent when I would have definitely thrown them away and started fresh.

[quasi]

I think it is now against AMERICAN law to ship any barrel to the U.S. without a ton of import-export paperwork. Longbranch barrels can be found in Canada and new #4 factory replacement barrels were once so common that the Owner of Marstar used them for rebar in a slab he poured.!

[Bloodman14]

Are any members close enough to drive up there, buy the barrel (or two), bring it back, and then ship to Dave? Might be worth a look-see.

[leftiye]

Check with Sarco maybe. They have Enfields.

[Hip's Ax]

Are any members close enough to drive up there, buy the barrel (or two), bring it back, and then ship to Dave? Might be worth a look-see.

Last time I drove to Canada I was torn down and checked out at the boarder when returning. The US boarder guards made us leave the car and go into a building to wait while they tossed the car thoroughly. I would Not recommend trying to bring back a barrel without proper permission.

[nicholst55]

Check with Brian Dick at BDL, Ltd (http://www.bdlltd.com/BDL_LTD/Home.html). He has Enfield parts, although they're not listed on his website. Northridge International (http://northridgeinc.com/store/index.cfm) used to carry #4 Lee Enfield barrels with a piece of a demilled receiver still attached, but they no longer list them. It might be worth a phone call to see if they still have any kicking around.

[MBTcustom]

I think there is a sticky on the subject of "exporting from canuks" or something.

[Von Dingo]

Call NAFTA...

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

LOL, now that's funny right there....

[303Guy]

I have sewer pipe bore Enfield that shoots just fine, It had a solid layer of rust scale in the bore which fire-lapped out. The bore is now oversize but does have enough rifling definition to engage the boolit. It definately will not shoot a j-word. There is fire-lapping then there is FIRE-LAPPING!:mrgreen:

Here is a recovered paper patched boolit showing just how rough the bore is.

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/MVC-135F.jpg

This is my fire-lapping 'bullet'. It's custom sized to the throat and bore and carries the abrasive in the groove within the case neck.

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/MVC-565F-1.jpg

These things clean the rust out of the pits with just one shot! I have had them get stuck in the throat and this requires a special tool for drilling out so its best to have such a tool before starting and its also a good idea to have a few gas escape grooves in the 'boolit'.[smilie=1:

Here is the front bit of my 'rust-textured' two-groove. After fire-lapping this gun is scary accurate with j-words. It's like that all the way through.

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/Two-GrooveRustTexturedBore.jpg

And a fired bullet jacket.

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/MVC-201F-1.jpg

The gun just does not like cast boolits so much. Not at higher velocity anyway.

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/Two-GroovePP30grAR220957grBran.jpg

[10x]

Try Milarm in Edmonton AB.
They have a back room with a number of No. 4 barrels...

[fireball168]

It isn't a Longbranch...but the folks at Criterion told me earlier this year that they are planning a run of #4 replacement barrels sometime in late 2011/early 2012, once the P14 run is complete.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Folks, I sold the rifle, don't need a barrel any more. Thanks everyone for their help.

Dave