Whew BACK! I Had NO Access! And New Upcoming Projects

Greetings and Salutations!
Dunno what happened, but I think DiveMedic got things unscrewed. I had no access to the site. So my apologies for tech issues.

Well… A quick recap: A couple of days? ago I got the flu. Like a full on bronchial infection that I picked up when I went to the VA. Missing 1/2 or more of an airbag from the Cancer leaves me wide open to air-based infections, and there were a lot of older guys hacking and wheezing and coughing in the hospital, and well…

Been down for a few days, and still have a nasty hack with nasty ‘stuff’ coming up. Ugh. Grossness. I should be back to 100% shortly. The pain of it is the whole ‘missing airbag’ thing… Shortness of breath in situations like this are real. I’ve done pretty good at adjusting to such things, to the point that I was able to deploy post-op (after the lobectomy) to Afghanistan…

I mean I couldn’t walk very far for a while until I adjusted… the whole “3300 feet above sea level” thing was a pain, with Bagram at “5000 feet above sea level” being even worse… thin assed- air… Maybe a ‘normal person’ wouldn’t have noticed, but missing an airbag? Yeah ‘sucking hind tit’ is real.

So I’m rolling.

Now, as far as current projects?
Well, Reader “ST” found some Enfield ‘stuff’ in his father’s stuff after Dad had passed. Seems Dad was an Enfield guy, so he asked (and I of course accepted) if I wanted a stock he’d found in the back of a closet.

It showed up today. It’s in great shape, but needed a wipe down with some Murphy’s I figured:

So I hit it:

And it’s pretty much pristine!
VERY few dents and/or scratches.
It’s magnificent.
And I also found the manufacturing stamps:

It’s a Canadian MK 1, Mod 4 Canadian Long Branch.
The Arrow inside of the “C”
and the “L/B” combo at the top.
It indicates it’s an original manufacture from 41-45.
New/Old Stock in perfect shape.

Now… how does this factor in?
Well…

The Next Project?

Well… I got a $70 deal on a barreled Lee Enfield MK 1 Mod 2A1 .308 Ishapore rifle. In total, $84 w/shipping to GunGirl’s FFL. Essentially it’s a SMLE except it shoots the .308/7.62mm round.

And to round out the various pieces/parts? $130 on Atlantic Firearms for a “DP” (Drill Purpose rifle, with a ruined chamber/barrel which is for ‘drill’ only) rifle. It has almost 95% parts of an SMLE, with a bad barrel and chamber.

I figure I can strip the DP down, and repurpose the remaining parts, and make a .308/7.62mm Ishapore rifle, and hey, we’ll see what happens. The 2A1 was made in India post-colonial times as a ‘modern caliber’ firing version of the SMLE.

Lots of people have said it’s (the barrel/receiver) is a POS, but what the hell… I’m on an Enfield kick, and why not? I’d rather try firing some .308/7.62mm at $0.20 cents a round as opposed to $1 a round for .303? And using the DP Rifle? The wood alone is worth MORE than $130 once I repurpose it… cleaned up/sanded and oiled?

A set of replacement wood is like almost $300.
Add on the “fiddly-bits”?
Yeah.

Looks like (provided everything goes smoothly) that I’ll be building a 2A1 for about $300+/- invested (the mag is the $$$ at $80 w/S&H) and then see who may or may not want it?

Also, the Curio and Relic license paperwork is done. I’m planning on doing this almost full time if I can. If not full time, at least time enough to make some side cash.

So…
Hope your weekend went like well.

More Later
Big Country