Went to a gun show here in Michigan (Biggest show ive ever been to, it was packed) There were also a LOT of rifles there ranging from the Lee enfield to the ak-47 to the luger.... C96 broomhandles, Chinese C96's... Arisakas... ALL sorts of stuff to be had. (Including some BS from quite a few dealers)
I was walkin along the tables lookin at ammo, bayonets, gear, boots, GUNS (of course) helmets, Badges... all sorts of goodies and out the corner of my eye I see that little jungle carbine... a Rifle designed by the British for soldiers who were fighting in areas like japan and Indonesia etc... Its a whole two pounds lighter then the standard model (pictured above) and was fitted with a hard rubber butt pad to help absorb recoil. There was also a Conical flash suppressor attached to the shorter barrel as well.
Also they did something similar to what Nascar does on their race cars to lighten them up by stripping as much weight as possible from the parts without compromising integrity. The British milled out steel from the barrel, receiver, bolt knob, magazine housing, stock bolt, sear, trigger, and trigger guard, they even carved wood from under the butt plate to make it hollow and reduce weight.
The guy selling it had it marked at 475 dollars... (ouch... but that is the going price for them so its not horrible to some people) BUT in this part of Michigan there are not a whole bunch of people who care about the enfield... so he couldnt sell it and had it marked to 375 (thats lookin a LOT better) I walked over to him and asked about the rifle... said everything checked out safe... so I asked if I could possibly get it for a lower price... He thought about it and said he'd take 320 (WOW big price drop) told him Id think about it and get back with him in a little while.
Kept lookin around and listening to BS form dealers trying to sell me second grade ammo or guns... But i kept lookin over my shoulder to make sure that jungle carbine was still there. After talking with my dad about it we decided to go ahead and grab it. Gave him the cash and went home. Spent 3 hours cleaning it, then shot it, then spent 3 more hours cleaning it (its not very fun the second time) then today i spent a couple hours cleaning it up...
Been researching it as well, turns out this was made at the British small arms factory in Shirley UK. Made in1945 near the end of the war.
Hope you enjoy the pics and the little story.
) and are trying to get our hands on some good ol'.22's and are getting help from local NRA reps, but so far, we aint found any yet.
