Enfield 303 conversion to .45 ACP with suppressor

[cal50]

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.

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0049_zps5yjcv0ig.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0049_zps5yjcv0ig.jpg.html)

Barrel extending thru bored clearance in receiver~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0073_zpsl6m1si5l.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0073_zpsl6m1si5l.jpg.html)




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~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0050_zpsqbov5f4f.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0050_zpsqbov5f4f.jpg.html)



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.

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0072_zpssskgonkr.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0072_zpssskgonkr.jpg.html)


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

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0051_zpsi5x3mv10.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0051_zpsi5x3mv10.jpg.html)


Off to the welder.....

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0052_zpsyfusydse.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0052_zpsyfusydse.jpg.html)


http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0053_zpshc9cjozj.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0053_zpshc9cjozj.jpg.html)


http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0054_zps1xctxfvl.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0054_zps1xctxfvl.jpg.html)


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 ******* 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.

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0074_zpsqqi6agns.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0074_zpsqqi6agns.jpg.html)


Checking mag height for feeding~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0043_zpske313voy.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0043_zpske313voy.jpg.html)




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. (http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/45-acp-heavy-raw-blank-17-5-x-1-25-4140-1-16/)

[cal50]

Its a very good quality blank and cut "clean" chips. I turned and threaded the barrel to fit the receiver end ( 1"-14 TPI) and turned and threaded the muzzle end to fit my suppressor with some added porting and 11 degree crown. I did a clean up cut and left the barrel a heavy profile. I like the weight and the gun has almost zero recoil.

Fitted to action ~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0055_zpsh6nwkdsi.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0055_zpsh6nwkdsi.jpg.html)

Muzzle end with porting~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0092_zpstph3ep3v.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0092_zpstph3ep3v.jpg.html)


Now that my barrel is chambered and mounted to the receiver I needed to add an ejector. There are a couple option for Enfield and all have some pros and cons. One is a lever mounted ejector on the magazine adapter. This looks neat but I prefer something mounted to the receiver that does not move once positioned. The DeLisle or destroyer carbine used a flat spring on the side of the receiver with a hole in the receiver for a pin to protrude to eject the case. I milled a flat on the side of my receiver and made a flat spring and tried it. It worked well but I did not like the spring. With the bolt closed the spring lifts off the receiver and created a space. If any dirt or mud gets under it the ejector is not going to function. I used a Velier spring plunger. They are pretty robust and it works well on the Enfield. I added a clearance cut on the bolt to allow the plunger to travel freely and catch the edge of the fired case for ejection. I tapped the receiver thru 1/4-20 and made a stainless steel sleeve for the Velier plunger with a stainless steel hex nut added to the body. I can easily adjust the plunger length and lock it in place.

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0093_zps2fq5yiiw.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0093_zps2fq5yiiw.jpg.html)


Now that most of the gun was coming together I needed to add sights or optics. I was going to add sights but since I use red dot sights this was a good application. I was going to add a full length picatinny rail across the action and down the barrel but once I started test firing I learned a rail was right in the path of my ejection angle. I decided to add a scout type rail on the barrel. I purchased a blank rail off flebay and cut a section off to use. I added a 1/4 minute down angle to the base and milled a flat on the barrel for the flat rail bottom. One of my Eotech sights now sits there.

Rail test fit~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0077_zpshswhkem8.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0077_zpshswhkem8.jpg.html)


One last unplanned detail was the magazine release cut right thru the lower trigger housing. I needed to address it and after considering option I went with cutting the housing and TIG welding in a sectioned bushing for the mag release clearance. It worked out well and I added an extended magazine release I TIG welded to a standard release I had laying around.


Off the welder-

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0076_zpshmmekxxy.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0076_zpshmmekxxy.jpg.html)

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0075_zpstdzvwt33.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0075_zpstdzvwt33.jpg.html)


Bottom view with extended release~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0094_zpsitawrce4.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0094_zpsitawrce4.jpg.html)


The home stretch was making the Ramline stock fit and look half way decent. I lopped off the fore end and ball milled a channel for the heavy barrel. I added an aluminum bar I bedded into the bottom of the stock and aluminum end cap for the stock attached to the aluminum block. I bedded the action and textured the stock fore end and grip area using Devcon. I added some flush cups and a 5 minute Krylon camo job. The barrel , action , metal parts and suppressor are done in black Alumahyde II.

[cal50]

Finished for now but I am still playing with the barrel porting and a few other small items.
Its a REALLY fun and cheap shooter.



http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0090_zpsvl3cyws7.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0090_zpsvl3cyws7.jpg.html)

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0080_zpst9wp2jq9.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0080_zpst9wp2jq9.jpg.html)


100 yards with hardball on a windy day~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0089_zpsvblgl6qr.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0089_zpsvblgl6qr.jpg.html)


Its not a death ray for accuracy but I would not want to catch one in the melon~

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w560/jkh62/45%20Enfield/NCM_0091_zpsssufv6d1.jpg (http://s1329.photobucket.com/user/jkh62/media/45%20Enfield/NCM_0091_zpsssufv6d1.jpg.html)

[duckey]

That's a crazy build right there!!

[Isaac]

An incredible amount of ingenuity and workmanship.

Well done!

Isaac

[andremajic]

Bravo. The delisle is on my bucket list. Thanks for the helpful posts and inspiration.

My idea on shortening the bolt would be to cut in half, then turn down a sleeve/nipple on the rear half and bore out the front end so they fit back together, then silver solder them together to make it permanent. I'm just worried about softening the lugs, but I'm sure the .45 is mild enough not to worry about that.

Nice work!

Andy

[endwrench]

Quite awesome! Congrats on thinking outside the box. Very inspiring.

[webradbury]

Is it scary quite like the delisle? (Sigh)...I want a milling machine

[andremajic]

Ah, that is the HARD way!
Much simpler to just use one of my mag adapters or full kits.

http://www.specialinterestarms.com/index.php?page=enfield_conversions

Hi Richard,

Have you ever considered making a more "streamlined" mag adapter that won't stick out as much underneath?

I'd love to buy one of your adapters because of the ease of installation, but the extra hunk of material sticking out underneath the rifle (like the original magazine) isn't the most attractive design.

Anything that looks more like the original delisle will help you sell more of them, because most people who are buying these are history buffs that enjoy having something "almost" like the original in their hands, and the closer it is, the more desireable it will be.

JMHO

Andy

[Artful]

just stick a Officer's model magazine instead of a Gov't model magazine if it bothers you
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/SMLE45SIAConversion_zpsd36e4ef1.jpg
vs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/SMLE303refinished.jpg

compared to an original
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/De_Lisle_Carbine_Folding_Stock.jpg
http://www.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/deliseplans3.jpg

[roverboy]

Looks like you did a great job. I like it. You gotta love a .45!

[andremajic]

(I meant the enfield magazine, not the 1911)
I'd compare the enfield magazine to a mosin nagants external magazine. Practical, but ugly.

To each his own.

Would you mind sending a larger version of that picture to me Artful? The plans.

Andy

[Artful]

Andremajic, I don't have the actual - that's just a link to a pic from google.

But here's some links to inspire you. - You might talk to Richard/SIA as I think he did an actual copy of one.
http://www.prexis.com/sten/delisle.htm
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2011/09/praxis-delisle-carbine-almost-totally.html
http://specialoperations.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/de-lisle-2.jpg
http://world.guns.ru/rifle/repeating-rifle/brit/de-lisle-e.html
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/The_DeLisle_carbine.htm
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/EnfieldNo2SAID.htm
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Images/deLisle_drg2.gif
http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=123367&start=25

[cal50]

Ah, that is the HARD way!
Much simpler to just use one of my mag adapters or full kits.

http://www.specialinterestarms.com/index.php?page=enfield_conversions



A little more elbow grease but cheap and a winter project.
I hate to buy anything sight unseen but your conversion parts look. I would love to see one of your magazine adapters but never saw a posted price for it alone.

Sadly Enfield's have been drying up for years and the days of getting them cheap are fading as well.

[HollowPoint]

Excellent Do-Thats-Manship.
I love this kind of stuff.

HollowPoint

[rondog]

Wish I could afford to hire someone to build me one! I have a SMLE No.1 Mk.3 with a pooped-out barrel that would make a good building platform. Alas, I'll be lucky to have it rebored to .35-303.