Lee Enfield Ishapore 308 Rifle 

An Indian politician said that SMLE-armed police were helpless in the face of AK wielding terrorists after the Mumbai attack. I think they were ineffective because they weren't well trained enough to use the weapons they had effectively. The cops involved in the 1997 North Hollywood shootout would have given anything for some 308 SMLEs at the time.

Made in Ichhapur factory in Bengal, India. The metallurgy in these are world class. Good video mate, cheers 👍

I remember way back when you could buy L-E out of a barrel in various stores - for the princely sum of $9.95. Carcanos & Mosins were $6.95 and Mausers were $12.95. If only I had the foresight, and the cash, I'd be rich today!

the 7.62 Lee enfields where not retired in the british army until the early 1990,s they were used in ulster as sniper rifles by various regiments.

man this rifle is great, recently got one but now I have the lee enfield bug. must collect them all :P

Very informative. Tried one of these at my local range. Very nice action and it was a good shooter.

about 15 years ago I was present when one of these Indian 7.62 rifles had a bolt fracture using 7.62 surplus ammo NATO (in the dry, there have been a number of bolt failures in rain of various no 4 actions!} **bolt retained in receiver /breach** no injury . I have got the Enfield enforcer sniper version of this rifle produced for the British Police in the 1960 s to 1970 s, slick action ,very accurate (if shooting in wet conditions make sure the bolt is dry)

Of all the military rifles I have the Ishapore is the one I enjoy shooting the most, I paid $59.95 and was one the best buys I ever made.

Wao... I lived in Icchapore side I Proud of Icchapore Rifle Factory'

Thanks for the vid Don. I have the SMLE No.4 in .303 incorperated into my 3rd or "CHARLIE" level battery of arms. these rifles will shoot very well, I can shoot sub 3" groups at 100yards with the battle sights with an occasional flyer. India's version are excellent examples. They're quality was so good someone told me that after Dunkirk England got some made in India and one could not tell the difference in performance. Hits count, eveything else is BS

AWESOME! I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE LEE ENFIELDs WERE ONLY MADE IN .303 CALIBER, SO THIS WAS A TRULY EDUCATIONAL VIDEO.

I picked one of these up from a gun auction site last year, and I have no complaints with it. I love SMLEs, but I chose to buy the Ishapore largely based on ammunition availability and price. Had to buy the magazine separately (seller didn't have one for it), and then decided to complete the set by getting an authentic Pattern 1907 bayonet for it too. Even found stripper/charger clips for it. (On that note, I also learned that the clips I bought were actually designed for M14/M1A1 rifles, which I never knew even used stripper clips. Learn something new everyday, I guess).

I’ve got one of these but it’s been shortened down and now it my hunting rifle!

A note to all the “armchair ballisticians” out there: .308 and 7.62 are BOTH SAFE in this rifle. According to Cartridges Of The World, NATO ammo and SAAMI ammo are measured completely differently, so there is no direct comparison as far as pressures are concerned. NATO is measured at the case mouth (lower pressure reading) and SAAMI is measured at the case body (higher pressure reading). Velocity is the direct result of pressure. If the same diameter bullets, of the same weight are launched at the same velocity, then pressure can be assumed to be similar enough to be considered safe. I have fired and chronographed both NATO 7.62 (Radford Green 147gr) and SAAMI .308 (Federal 150gr SP) in my Ishapore without incident and they show such similar velocities that I am unconcerned about pressure differences.

I didn't know about the .308 hopefully I cab find one in near excellent condition like my 1916 enfield

I have one. It is the best balanced rifle I've held. I love the fit.

You should not tell anyone that this is a 308 caliber rifle. It is not safe to shoot308 ammunition in the Ishapore Enfield. It is built to shoot 7.62 X 51 military ammunition ONLY!!!

where do you find these old school guns? Are they borrowed from a museum or are you a collector? Everyone's talking about polymer and this and that, and we sometimes forget about what the previous generations have used. it's amazing how many of these old guns are still working and we shouldn't forget about the evolution of guns

Love my Enfields!

You should keep a cigar in the cleaning supply chamber. That would add a touch of class...

Thanks! I've been looking for info on these, since I bought one some time ago (a 1965) at a gun show in the US for $75. I found the bayonet for it (17" blade) at the same show! I shamefully still haven't fired it, but I agree, these are very pretty rifles.

My mag sucks, and I vastly prefer a detachable mag, one that's meant to be detached. I posted that 7 months ago, and I have since found that a G3 magazine will work with extensive work done to each mag. I wanted to try the G3 first because the aluminum ones are really light and cost $3. That was too much work though, and I'm now in the process of getting it to feed from LR308 pmags. The setup will work with an 80% AR10 lower and a free float aluminum chassis.

Is Lee enfield rifle better than Mosin Nagant.

You can Also simply hold the trigger and close the action and that will lower the striker safely. As with most all bolt actions, And thanks for showing the Unloaded rifle, I would hate to be shot from your computer. lol.

last of a long line of excellence

You do not need to check headspace if using commercial 308, external dimensions of the 308 are the same as the 7.62X51 military round. The difference is that the military cases use thicker brass, so any difference in dimensions would be internal, which means less powder capacity, which is why the commercial ammo shoots at a higher pressure....because of the thinner brass the commercial ammo can hold more powder: more powder means higher pressures. When reloading surplus military brass, you should always drop your powder charge by 10% compared to your commercial brass loads and work up, checking for high pressure signs. I don't hand load near max levels anyway so it would not be a problem.

It's true when they say the the Germans brought a hunting rifle to WW2, the Americans a target rifle, the British a battle rifle and the Russians just brought a rifle! But it's interesting that the Lee Enfield is really the only true bolt action battle rifle ever made.

Indian cops still use these Ishapore 2As.

Sweet! I just purchased one in great condition..

In normal practice, the magazine is never removed except for cleaning or unloading. Instead of magazines, this rifle was meant to be loaded from stripper clips. I recommend that anyone shooting one of these rifles get some 7.62 NATO stripper clips. This makes the rifle even more fun. Insert the stripper clip into the notch in the bridge over the receiver, push the rounds in and leave the stripper clip sticking out of the top of the receiver. Cycle the bolt, and it will eject the stripper clip. It's very fun and very cool, and with a little practice, much faster than a magazine change.

I picked up mine in good condition and I have to say it is among my favorite rifles. It has a very fine front sight for a battle rifle but is a natural pointer if a soldier would have to shoot close. I just love shooting this gun. It just seems like you just point it at what you want to hit and it does the rest in a very strong caliber BUT it is almost like shooting .22's as a kid . I have a Lee Enfield .303 and some of the main WWII small (Garand, 03, Mauser, Mosins, Arisaka, etc) arms but this Ishy and my MAS 49/56 I got working correctly in .308 are my favorites.

I want one so much now.

I gotta disagree with you on .308 vs 7.62X51 pressures...the peak pressures are essentially the same, one uses SAAMI piezo units or measure, and the other uses CUP. The problem comes in when people try to load 7.62X51 brass with commercial .308 loads - peak pressures will be higher because of the smaller internal volume of the 7.62X51 case. Be sure to check head space though, in any case!

I have an Enfield as shown, however it is 1965. It was given to me after purchasing a few other rifle and shotguns. I was amazed at my first 2 shot of the rifle out of the box hitting 2 100 yard center target shots. I am intrigued to see what kind of scope mount or mounting configuration you may or hopefully could research and show. Thank you for your time and your well formatted videos...

I used to own a British Enfield 303. To de-cock my rifle, I would raise the bolt handle then pull the trigger as I closed the action again. That was easy as pie and less cumbersome than the way you did it.

@samuraitactical556 800 yard was for volley fire, don't forget this was a military weapon

Great review, great weapon!

thanks sootch

Very cool review for the gun. This was my first firearm purchase, and I still have her to this day. It certainly is a beast of an old school, bolt-action rifle.

Sir Australian International Arms made in about 1990 the B 10. Wich i have cant even find a picture on the internet from my rifle.

This is another great video, but... man, come on. The Lee bolt is smooth as silk, far better than the cock-on-close Mauser or Mosin, yet you act like the thing is rusted shut and needs conscious effort to work. lol Doesn't take much muscle to rechamber another round within a second. Check my video 'Speed of the SMLE' to see how quickly a 1915 No.1 Mk.III can be fired; 2 shots per second is the best I managed on a couple occasions. I had only owned the rifle for a year or two at the time however, but you can see the speed it's capable of. Every time this video comes to a clip of actually shooting, I cringe, because it's just... so... slow lol Work that bolt like a man, and you'll be lining up your next shot less than a second after pulling the trigger, almost as though it were a semi auto. I don't really agree with the 10% difference in strength comment between .308 and .303. Mk.VII Ball .303 British used a 174gr bullet that went about 2400-2500 ft/s from a 24" or so barrel. 150gr M82 7.62 Nato from a 24" barrel offered roughly 2700-2800 ft/s. Now if you put a 150gr bullet in a Mk.VII Ball cartridge, or a 174gr bullet in an M82 cartridge, the velocity wouldn't be 10% off. A wager perhaps 5% at most. .303 British (7.7x56r) is longer and skinnier (except at the rim), while the .308 (7.62x51) is shorter and fatter (again, except at the rim, where it's thinner). I wouldn't say there's much difference in case capacity at all.

One of the best bolt rifle designs. the .308 version is awesome. would love to get my hands on one. If you hand load your .303 you will have close match to the .308. I have both calibers and notice a custom load for the .303 will usually out preform the .308 factory loads... then again hand loads always out preform :)

my grouping depends on the bullets, and not the rifle. i have gotten quarter size groups at 35meters [yea i know this is close distance] and some ammo i shoot pie pan groups at 35 metere, [note this is with iron sights...

Geeze Sootch if the bolt is cocked just pull the bolt handle up, pull the trigger and hold it as you close the bolt. The bolt is uncocked and closed. I guess your experience with Enfield rifles.

I have 6 Enfield s love them. Need a second 7.62.

I'd really like to see someone iron site a shot at 2000 yards. It's almost pointless to have markings that far out.

Thanks for doing that review. Very interesting.

These were made to shoot .308s, unless you meant you saw an original .303?

2A1 are not conversions.

Nice.

I sold many of the Ishapore .308's in the late 80's. I did not know at that time that the steel in them is supposedly better than the English Enfields, and that is interesting. I found them to be reliable but not overly accurate. They also seemed a bit cruder made than the English guns with more mill marks, scratches and such. I found English built guns had much smoother actions than the Ishapores. It was also apparent that the Ishapores were not cared for by the soldiers they were issued to like most of the English .303's were. A very good buy for the money though. As I recall we sold them for 100 bucks or less.

Snagged a jungle carbine version week ago,would love to add a SMLE

The full wood Lee Enfields are a beautiful classic military rifle. This 308 model is something very special, thanks for the vid, I'd not heard of these before. Very interesting.

Yes, you can, but why? The normal operation of the rifle did not detach the magazine, it was loaded via stripper clips. The mags were considered a gun part and serial numbered. Aftermarket mags require a lot of fiddling to get them work properly. I've had a Ishapore for over 25 years and I speak from experience. A mag should never be removed except for cleaning.

Just wish they came with a rear peep sight

That is the first I've heard of that one.

You should get a bayonet on that! Back-up rifle for your tactical shooting club

in ncc i used 303 for begineers

wish i'd have known that. it was a decent price.

I really miss my 303 SMLE Enfield, but this, in 308 looks like a right handy replacement. Thanks for sharing with us all.

I love the old Lee Enfield. My great grandfather carried one in the Boer war, the great war(WW 1), and his son my great uncle carried one in WW 2. I have two of them my self. A Mark 3 and 4. I moose hunt and have harvested 2 with the Mark3. My uncle gave me the Mark4. He originally bought it out of a 45gl barrel in a Canadian tire store in the 70's for $9.99. I love the smoothness of the action and how fast and accurately they can be fired. I was hoping that you would have some stripper clips and shown how fast the rifle could be reloaded. The original intention was that the rifle was a breach loader and the clip is detachable for cleaning purposes. Good video.

Cool gun. Like a Ruger Scout but better.

So Sootch, what is the difference between the Ishapore and the Boar Rifle?

hey i have a bayonet for this rifle !! well it can go on this rifle haha i have it for a 303 1907 . but yeh i still would stick with my Canadian 303 ; the 308 is nice . but i love using a rifle that my great grand father used in ww1. still an amazing video . keep up the awesome work !

I picked one of these up back in the early '90s when they were $90, it's pretty beat up but still mechanically in good shape. I have yet to fire it though. I've seen a couple that people have really cleaned up and restored the stocks on, they're very nice looking that way. Haven't really decided on what I'll do with this one, as for ammo being an issue right now, I have plenty of time to wait, but I wouldn't mind finding out where I can get a couple parts for it.

The same exact story was said about Sgt. York.

wow nice gun. other than the springfield its closest to the mauser design.

Just bought my first Ishy 2A1 on Saturday! Can't wait to take her to the range. Thnaks, Sootch!

I happen to buy one in the early 90's for $70, glad I did , great shooter.

Various 303's are still in service here and there with the police and para military units in India and Pakistan even today.

I would advise shooting the round the rifle was made for, namely NATO 7.62 x51. The .308 cartridge is more powerful than the cartridge for which the rifle was designed.

they will take a ww2 short bayonet. in my mind they aren't complete with out there bayonet.

Today, 16 Aug. 2024, Lee Enfield 303 is still used by Indian police in peaceful areas, mostly used as a club than that of a gun. Enfield 308 is not available in these areas, not in use. But a perfect beauty of a gun you can say, and of course a 'brut'.

where would I got to find one of these not this one in specific but just a lee enfield?

Just looking at that gun you can see the craftsmanship and character. Awesome!

IOF still makes these rifles its civilian version is named .315 bore

I picked one of these up in a pawnshop for 230 dlrs. Best investment ever, I can easily make a 200 yard shot at a 6x6in steel target and not miss! Buy them if you can and don’t let them go, they are just very accurate rifles ♥️ I honestly don’t have anything negative to say about this rifles!

I used to read all of the old big game hunter books. I had a huge collection of them at one time. More than one of the old hunters who were British actually used leftover world war 1 303 Enfields. To shoot elephants. As they explained, placement is the key.

Its NOT A .303...ITS NOT A .308...ITS a 7.62 x 51...Nato... Ishapore RFI. Very nice rifle. Ishapores came in 7.62× 51 only.. i believe

I found a lee enfield chambered in 7.62x54r so was that a Russian enfield ?

They take standard .308 stripper clips for M14

I love the look of that gun, with that ugly, action, the ugly bolt action lugs sluding thru a slot in the top strap, and then locking down against the stock. So ugly it's beautiful, it's HONEST. "I'm a bolt action, this is how I work. Deal with it."

Great vid its good to see some of the old lee enfields still being used and enjoyed

My understanding is 308 is higher pressure and should not be fired in 7.62x51

didnt they Enfields have slick bolts for fast firing.

I love your videos, and own an smle myself, great rifle, where did you get the cap, very cool

I found one with a hard polymer stock but otherwise unchanged. Is $300 a good price?

My grandfathers carry them in ww1 one of them said he took down everything with his buffalos elephants German generals and everything in between I'm sorry I wasn't old enough to keep it when he passed away

I have one of these. It has very little extraction effort and no ejection effort. The spent cases come out just by tipping it up and dumping out the empty case. Anyone have an idea of what to do. No parts are missing.

The last Lee Enfield issued to troops in the field? Don’t think so. The Canadian Rangers were issued Lee Enfields up till 2015.

I picked mine up from “that darned Lochness Monster for around tree fiddy… someday, before I croak, I hope to get out & fire it….

There's a story about a rhino being dropped by a single shot from an Enfield 308 . Perfect head shot at 200 yards. This ain't no toy.

Mine is a 1966. Got it in 2001 collectors re arsonaled condition. Paid Xtra $350.. My furniture and metal is perfect.

I have vz 24 converted to 308 .. very light, very accurate ❤❤❤but i wish if I can gain lee anfield 303

For what it's worth, I've had an Ishapore Enfield for over 25 years and have shot thousands of rounds through it. If there is any difference between civilian .308 and 7.62 NATO then neither the rifle nor i can tell the difference. Military ammo uses a different scale (CUP) for testing than does civilian ammo (PSI). Comparing the two one for one is not accurate. Either way, the Enfield is more than strong enough to handle any slightly higher .308 pressures, if it does indeed exist.

im in Canada and to the best of my knowledge we didn't use a 308 enfield, Australia did though www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/08/22/the-5th-generation-lee-enfield/

Hey Sootch. Do you know if the average soldier actually removed the magazine to reload or did they load from the top using stripper clips as they did with the SMLE?

Bought my first Lee Enfield (No.4 MK1) in my local gun shop about a year ago for $250. When I went in a week later, they commented on what a great deal I had made. They had just received the latest copy of the Blue Book of Gun Values. My gun was valued around $750 according to the book.

They were not designed for 308. They were designed around the nato standard 7.62x51mm.

Ah yes, but he reviews that in this video, the pressures in civilian .308 are slightly higher, however even the barrel on my .303 is stamped for "18.5 tons" of pressure. The difference in the pressures from the 7.62x51 and the .308 are about 10 thousand lbs, which sounds like alot but a rifle in decent shape should be able to take that kind of variance. NATO at 50,000PSI and .308 at ~60,000PSI. The difference in pressures from .223 to 5.56x45 are much greater, those are the dangerous ones.