My "Jungle Carbine"

[racerzeke]

I recently picked up a Jungle Carbine or at least a nice replica I had a few questions about it that makes me question the authenticity or at least maybe a few mismatched parts. I took it out to the range and it fired fine so at least I have myself a nice shooter if it turns out to be fake.

I think I may have a mismatched bolt I'm not certain it has MK II engraved on it also the number "2". And the bolt handle is hollowed out but not as much as some other Carbine pictures I found on the internet.






Another issue I have is that the front sight post is offset to the left. It looks like it can be forced more to the right I'm not sure if that is normal or if it is a cheap add on or something along those lines?



I will include some pictures any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated!

[Erno86]

I'm not an Enfield expert, but it looks like a Mark 1 --- that means the trigger group has not been upgraded. If the trigger group has been reworked/upgraded, it would then make it a Mark 2. The marking indicates that it was made in November of 1944. How does zero shoot with that front sight all the way to the left. If it still shoots to the right of zero...the barrel might be bent to the right.

I see the bolt is stamped Mark 2, can't say much about that, except that the bolt might have been upgraded to a Mark 2.

[wogpotter]

It looks genuine to me. It has the lightening cuts on the action & barrel, its a Fazakerly ROF(F) & its stamped correctly for a No5 Mk1.

I think you're confusing the stampings on the bolt a bit. Mk number can refer to the part its stamped on as much as to the whole gun, so you have a Mk2 cocking piece! There's probably a Mk # on the rear sight as well if you look for it. Is the "2" on the bolt body, or the bolt head? Bolt heads were numbered each number being a different length so it may just be a #2 length bolt head.

If the serial number of the bolt, stamped on the flat rear surface of the bolt handle matches the receiver's serial number its not mis-matched.

Holes in the bolt knob came in lots of different sizess so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

The front sight is adjusted for windage by drifting in a dovetail (possibly secured from the front by a reverse-head screw. A little off center is fine as long as it shoots OK left<>right at the target.

[racerzeke]

Here is the 2 on the bolt head.



Thanks for your help here are just a few more pictures:

[tahunua001]

I'm not an expert on NO5s but it looks pretty legitimate to me.

[thickice]

I'm no expert either, but it looks like a real "Jungle Carbine" to me. The 2 on the bolt head refers to which bolt head is on the bolt. The bolt heads were interchangeable to adjust for headspace. They just screw off for replacement, came in 0 through 4 if I recall correctly.

[4V50 Gary]

Why is the foreend black? Shouldn't it be the same as the rest of the stock? The flash hider looks a bit small to me too. I think they're supposed to be a bit bigger.

[wogpotter]

Yep, thats just a No2 bolt head. No biggie they were picked by number/length to quickly headspace the barreled action. No2 is good as you have room for wear over time if you need it.

Why is the foreend black?

Some #5s were fitted with a metal end cap which was painted with the same "Suncorite" paint as all the other metal, some came without a cap. It seems there was some indecision about which was better the end cap to protect the end grain of the wood, or leaving it open so water didn't get trapped inside the cap, causing corrosion.

The flashider looks OK to me & a quick image search seems to confirm that. Maybe you're thinking of the Bren's flash hider which was a good bit bigger?

[Ignition Override]

A detail I noticed, comparing my "Jungles" to my #4s, which is Not mentioned in my LE #4/#5 book by Charles Stratton is this:

The metal area just forward of the magazine in an authentic #5 does not match the contour of the wood. The metal has a slight figure 8 shape. It's slight, and at first glance it is not obvious.

On a #4, the wood matches the exact shape of the metal.

[Tidewater_Kid]

The trigger guard on the No. 5 is "lightened" at the front. This rifle looks legit, but it has a BSA Shirley (M47) replacement butt stock.

TK

[SF Mike]

Looks legit.
Surprised you did not mention recoil.
These are brutish.

[Ignition Override]

SF Mike:
If surplus ammo were still available at about .25/rd, I would be shooting fifty rds. per session in one of my "Jungles" quite often. A 1" recoil pad takes care of most bruising. If THose prices came back, such recoil would be very welcome.

The gun bug did not bite me until '07, age 52.
By '09, when the Enfield bug first bit me, all surplus was vanishing or soon afterwards getting so pricey that it was almost as much as reloadable Prvi.

[Brit]

I had a great Jungle Carbine, my Cousin borrowed it to go deer hunting in Ontario Canada. Yes it kicked!

Did not clean it after shooting what crappy ammo? Barrel ruined.

A little history, Fazakerly, is just a few miles from where I was born in 1935,
when that Rifle was being built, I was living in a Pub called the Victoria Hotel, in Prescot Lancashire. My Dad kept Pubs, a Landlord.

A big Army base was close by, an American one, lots of Yank customers, then one day in 1945, they all were gone!

[Ignition Override]

Brit:
Now they are under-sexed, underpaid, mostly deceased, and 'over there'.

[racerzeke]

The kick is comparable to my M95, I love it! Does anyone know where I can get myself a firing pin removal tool for the Enfield? Thanks!

[CowTowner]

Ebay has a couple of listing for the tool.

[JL Wesson]

Hi Racerzeke,
I made mine out of a 6mm (or was it 8mm?) aluminium tube and the ubiquous Dremel. Just file the end to specs and it is done.
Steel would be better but the aluminuim tube was already at hand.
It is also something you do not use everyday so whenever I'll break mine I'll have a new one done.

[Tidewater_Kid]

It's a 6mm socket.

I posted some pictures I used to make mine here:

http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirearm...-takedown-tool

There's some other suggestions there too..

TK