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Thread: Acquired an Ishapore 2A

  1. #1

    Acquired an Ishapore 2A

    I shot a friend's 1916 SMLE and said "I gotta get one of those!" I opted for an Ishapore due to the availability (relatively speaking) of 7.62 NATO. This this being said, my rifle is a 1964 2A. The finish is hard to determine, as some parts are clearly blued, while others (magazine in particular) have a parkerized finish. All the parts have matching serial numbers. There is a gunsmith near me I am taking the rifle to for all the metal to be refinished (long story as to why I am not going to attempt it, but hinges on my small apartment, limited tools, and my pets). They specialize in hot black oxide finishes but state that they can also apply baked on finishes (costs are roughly equal).

    My question to folks: Should I go for black oxide (deep blue) finish OR go with a satin black baked on finish (which would be similar to the original suncorite finish on the Ishapore) ???

    My thought is "deep blue finish on an Ishapore might look a bit weird" hence maybe opting for the baked on black with just the rear sight blued and polished up.

  2. #2
    Moderator & Team Gunsnet Platinum 07/2011 O.S.O.K.'s Avatar

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    I'd chrome that baby.

    Just kidding.

    I agree with you - the matt black will look really nice and correct.

    Congrats on your new Ishy!!

    I had one of those at one time and still have an Ishpure but it's a 303 Brit - "ex" grenade launcher. Most accurate SMLE that I've ever had and I've had a bunch.
    ~Nemo me impune lacessit~




  3. #3
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Lightbulb

    Congrats on the Ishapore Enfield. I have owned them in the past. The ones I had were finished in a baking lacquer finish which was quite shiny but not really all that sturdy a finish. I think that was applied over parkerizing possibly. I did not see any bluing as such and really bluing is a piss poor finish. It does almost nothing to prevent rust.

    Before you go hosing a bunch of money into it, make sure it actually works. Go shoot it and see if it groups or patterns and if it will extract the case and eject it. Some of these were built uisng .303 extractors, they do not work well. The extractors are different for a .303 vs. 7.62 NATO Enfield like the 2A Ishapore types.

    I also found that most of the Ishapre enfields don't feed ammo out of their magazines worth a damn. I did figure out how to tweak the feed lips and get them to feed reliably. Took hours of analysing and adjusting with pliers, but I eventually got it to run 100%.

  4. #4
    This one so far checks out and hasn't given me any problems. I started stripping the wood last night using Purple Power and wow, that stuff is amazing. The grease, grime, tar, sand, cosmoline coming off the furniture blows me away. Best part is the grain of the wood is showing zero damage and I can easily see stamps and other markings in the wood previously obscured.

    There is a slight problem, however. Apparently my Enfield has furniture from three types of trees: black walnut (butt stock), beech (main stock), and mahogany (front and rear handguards). My plan is to try and bleach out as much oil and grime as I can, then rub them down with several coats of BLO, then a rub down with 0000 steel wool. The issue is the wood will be a mix of light/dark/darker. Any way to try and even things out without resorting to stain?

  5. #5
    Moderator & Team Gunsnet Platinum 07/2011 O.S.O.K.'s Avatar

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    What? No coachwood?

    That's not that unusual. I would suggest going with a dark stain to help match them all up. It'll look the best considering the different woods that you've got there.
    ~Nemo me impune lacessit~




  6. #6
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Probably Rosewood from India for the handguards. Mine had all 3 pieces made out of it.

  7. #7
    This very well may be rosewood. Stain or maybe tung oil instead of BLO is a thought in terms of matching things up. Whatever the case, I'll stain to the black walnut.




    I just can't get that last grime out of the butt stock.
    Last edited by pastfinder; 03-08-2012 at 11:43 PM.

  8. #8
    I just picked up the rifle from the gunsmith and reassembled her. The safety I am not entirely sure about. Unless the lever is all the way back, the safely does not engage. I'm guessing this is a "well what did you think it was supposed to do, Pastfinder?" comment but well, if I reassembled it incorrectly, I'd like to know (hence I mention this).

    Anyhow, the original finish was blue, so I stuck with that. Hope it fires as good as it now looks.








  9. #9
    Senior Member Penguin's Avatar

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    That does look nice. Did any one besides Ishapore make them in 7.62, besides the Brits and their L42?
    Doobie Doobie Doo..

  10. #10
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Nice grain in the buttstock, almost looks like Walnut. I see you have the heal patch that is so typical of these weapons. Smacking the buttplate on the ground smartly when drilling causes this. Congrats, looks good.

  11. #11
    Many thanks. The buttstock is walnut (and was drilled for the brass buttplate), the fore end is birch, and the handguards rose wood. Attempting to at least have anything match was a pain.

    I do have questions regarding the bolt and the safety. The washer on the safety has no markings to indicate which side faces inward (toward the receiver) and which side faces out (away from the receiver). While both sides are flat, the one has a recessed area around the hole. I ask because unless the safety is all the way back on "SAFE", if you pull the trigger the rifle WILL fire. My question to all: "IS THIS NORMAL?" Also, the bolt matches the receiver (all the numbers match on this rifle) but the bolt is stiff to cycle (perhaps due to bluing) and you have to really smack it closed on every shot. My mosin bolts are loose and cycle smoothly. This Ishy is very stiff. I disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, and reassembled the bolt and everything there seems within specs. I am going to take the rifle to have the headspacing checked, but my question here is if the bolt operation I am describing normal, or may something be amiss?
    Last edited by pastfinder; 04-23-2012 at 09:38 AM.

  12. #12
    I did discover another issue that is a problem. The front sight blade does not dovetail cleanly with the base of the front sight. There is actually a gap. I can push the sight blade from side to side when the muzzle cap is removed. Ugh. Well, I see Springfield Sporters has the front sight base for $4 and the blades for $2. Mine is marked "N2 .015" so at least I know the size I need. I asked the refinisher if he noticed the issue and he said this happens on occasion and graciously offered to repair the issue free of charge. I may order a replacement front sight base and have that on hand if he feels he cannot repair the problem (picstures below) and that way he can blue and replace stuff in a day. This might be the easiest method of all, at least in terms of getting something set right.


    You can see the gap in this photo


    Mangled alignment.
    Last edited by pastfinder; 04-24-2012 at 05:31 PM.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Schuetzenman View Post
    Congrats on the Ishapore Enfield. I have owned them in the past. The ones I had were finished in a baking lacquer finish which was quite shiny but not really all that sturdy a finish. I think that was applied over parkerizing possibly. I did not see any bluing as such and really bluing is a piss poor finish. It does almost nothing to prevent rust.

    Before you go hosing a bunch of money into it, make sure it actually works. Go shoot it and see if it groups or patterns and if it will extract the case and eject it. Some of these were built uisng .303 extractors, they do not work well. The extractors are different for a .303 vs. 7.62 NATO Enfield like the 2A Ishapore types.

    I also found that most of the Ishapre enfields don't feed ammo out of their magazines worth a damn. I did figure out how to tweak the feed lips and get them to feed reliably. Took hours of analysing and adjusting with pliers, but I eventually got it to run 100%.
    +2 I've owned on for years.... plan on adjusting the feed lips.

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