An oldie & goodie....375 H & H

[tidbit824]

Here ya go guys,
An old Enfield from about 1960...
Was dads big bore. Made by some smith all those years ago.
Comments would be appreciated as i know little about this rifle other than dad hunted with it quite a bit and i have shot it some. It shoots well but is heavy (over 10 lbs.) and gets tiresome to carry.
Would ejjoy looking at other big bores...as i m sure most of you do too.

 

[deewayne2003]

Pictures would help…

 

[tidbit824]

Thought i hD attached them...sorry
I ll try again.

 

[tidbit824]

Hope this works...

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Here ya go guys,
An old Enfield from about 1960...
Was dads big bore. Made by some smith all those years ago.
Comments would be appreciated as i know little about this rifle other than dad hunted with it quite a bit and i have shot it some. It shoots well but is heavy (over 10 lbs.) and gets tiresome to carry.
Would ejjoy looking at other big bores...as i m sure most of you do too.

Do you hunt with it? Looks to have ivory accents. At one time I did a lot of piano restoration and salvaged some ivory key caps. Might have one long enough to replace the cracked diamond. Ivory keys were typically covered with half caps. That way the bottom half which wore out quicker could be replaced relatively easily and at considerably less expense. I only have half caps.

 

[tidbit824]

Oh, yes i do hunt with this rifle. Mostly on elk hunts but a bear and mule deer. I ve nevern taken it to Alaska or Africa. It is rarher accurate and easy on the shoulder because itviscso heavy...kinda nice really.
I do not kniw itvthose covers arecivorybor not...had different people say it is/ it isn't..
I just enjoy the rifle as is. Do you do that kind of
work?
Thanks for your responce ,
Tid

 

[colorado]

beautiful rifle!

 

[tidbit824]

Thx u...for as old as it is and all the places dad dragged it looks "ok". Dad was not very nice to his firearms...used them as tools.

 

[Rule 303]

Good looking rifle, but to me they disfigured it with the straight bolt handle. I kinda like the dog leg look. I know, not everybpdy's cup of tea but it put the bolt nob directly above the trigger. The M17/P14 Enfields are a big heavy rifle but they are as tough and hard working as they come.

The main thing in my opinion is that is was your dads and now you are using it. That is great.

 

[tidbit824]

I agree...i liked that "dog leg" bolt also. I was a kid of 9-10-11 years old when this rifle was built. They did leave it to "cock" on closing...and yes, u do get used to it. Haha
Thx for ur comments.

 

[CJW]

Yeah that original bolt handle would be better but darn nice rifle regardless. Of course you could always put your own mark on it and return it to original, wink, wink.

 

[tidbit824]

Yes, if you vould find a guy that would do it... i live in ohio? Any ideas...i would condider doing it.
Thx u

 

[Rule 303]

I agree...i liked that "dog leg" bolt also. I was a kid of 9-10-11 years old when this rifle was built. They did leave it to "cock" on closing...and yes, u do get used to it. Haha
Thx for ur comments.

Just some info for you. If you know then sorry to bore you with the details. The Cock on close was done due to the rapid firing that could happen on the battlefield. When the rifle becomes extremely hot and the action expands on cock on opening the bolt can become harder to open as the working tolerances diminish or disappear for the primary extraction. With cock on close the camming surfaces are not there so no galling. Also they have a helical cut on the locking lugs and their bearing surfaces in the action.

 

[tidbit824]

I did not know most of that information...thx u

 

[CJW]

Yes, if you vould find a guy that would do it... i live in ohio? Any ideas...i would condider doing it.
Thx u

Unfortunately I wouldn't know who to point you to for that. You wouldn't necessarily need a gunsmith. Anyone who's proficient with a tig welder and making jigs could do it. Or you could just replace the entire bolt, but then you have a non original bolt which may not be what you want.

 

[tidbit824]

I'll give all this some consideration...thx u

 

[F. Vaccaro]

Nice rifle & that it was your Fathers makes it special!

 

[tidbit824]

Oh yes and thx you for your response.
It is a heavy rifle to carry around though.

 

[Jim Golden]

Very nice rifle! I built a .375 (Weatherby) on a big Enfield action and am very happy with it. They are great actions. Am doing a .458 Lott on one right now.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Something to think about.

Dad mail ordered two WWII surplus Springfield 03A3 30-06 rifles in 1962. He sporterized one that year and had the second finished two years later when I started hunting. He gave the first one to me. I shot a ton of game with it and, like your dad, hunted hard. At one point it went down a mountain with me ... end over end on my horse. The stock had to be replaced but somehow its 3x Weaver scope survived. Generally it grouped "okay" but always an occasional flyer. Four years ago I discovered its two-land bore had a badly corroded section a few inches below the muzzle. Perhaps it spent too much time in the salty South Pacific shooting at Japanese soldiers. So I had it rebarreled. The old Weaver scope was retired the previous year for better 3-9x glass. Since I had it apart why not complete the upgrade? I tossed the military two-stage trigger for a new Timney. The Buhler style striker safety Dad put on it was faulty from day one. Jiggle the bolt a few times and the safety disengaged. I found a Dayton Traister style scope relief safety online and modified it to work with my previously modified bolt shroud. However, that safety was left hand side. I removed the Springfield's trademark knurled striker knob so my thumb could slide under the scope eyepiece to disengage the safety. Many times over the years I struggled with keeping the Weaver scope clean in foul weather. Decided to make the scope quick detach and add iron sights. To accommodate the new scope's short tube, I bought a rail from Sarco and modified it to fit the Springfield's base mounting screw holes. Then I drilled and tapped the barrel for a set of iron sights from a 1990s Model 70 Safari Express. Warne Quick Detach rings finished it off. I found a young moose outfitter in New Brunswick who blues guns on the side. He did a beautiful job. While I was waiting on the bluing, I stripped the stock and refinished it with ten coats of Linspeed oil. Most of the dents were steamed out but three serious gouges on the comb and cheekpiece had to be filled. So now very little of that rifle is as it was when Dad gave it to me, but he would not disapprove. Indeed, I felt he was with me through the entire project. Sometimes I found myself talking to him ... though he's been gone twenty-five years (Dad died on the third fairway of the same golf course where I shot a huge cow elk with him in 1977).

Here's the Springfield before

And after