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The Rifle Factory at Ishapore India Produced the Last in a Long Line of “Old Soldiers”. |
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| Article written by: Mark Trope | |||||||||
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INDIAN Rifle Model: 2A1, Caliber: 7.62 NATO |
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Modernizing a military requires quite a number of things. Vision, technical advancement, skill, production facilities, time, coordination and money just to name a few. Often, modernization is put off until a situation happens. Then, everyone is energized, and long put off plans move forward. It was just such a situation that moved India to adopt a semi-automatic rifle in caliber 7.62 NATO in 1962. The Indians and Chinese had a war, and it didn’t go well for the Indians. It was quickly apparent to Indian authorities: as great as the .303 Lee Enfields produced at the Rifle Factory Ishapore were (and are), it was imperative a semi-automatic rifle would have to be adopted, and fast! The Indian government adopted the Rifle 1A, a version of the FAL. License was granted to begin production of the new rifle in India. However, as in the adoption of any new rifle, by any country, it takes considerable time before the new rifles are produced and issued to all units. In the interim, the old rifle continues to serve. However this wasn’t just the adoption of a new rifle, it was also the adoption of a new caliber. The existing Lee Enfields were in .303 British. The Rifle 1A is 7.62 NATO. This creates a logistical supply problem of having two calibers in use at the same time. The .303 caliber Lee Enfield (in various versions) had been in continuous production at the Rifle Factory Ishapore for decades, and was still being produced at the time of the Indian / Chinese war. The Indian government wanted production of the Lee Enfield to continue, because they knew it would be years before the Rifle 1A would be issued to all units. However, they wanted the Lee Enfield produced in caliber 7.62 NATO (Note.1) The design of the No.1 Mk 3* Lee Enfield action is inherently large enough to accept the 7.62 NATO round, therefore, engineers at the Rifle Factory Ishapore went to work on the Lee Enfield. Design changes were implemented to accept the new cartridge. The first issues to be addressed were matters of safety, longevity and pressure. (Note.2). |
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303 British round on top, 7.62 NATO round on bottom |
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The 7.62 NATO cartridge operates at 50,000 psi; and the .303 British round operates at 45,000 psi. To compensate for the higher-pressure 7.62 NATO ammunition; the steel used to make the receiver was changed to the much stronger EN type steel. A new heat treatment technique was also developed. The tough EN steel insures strength. Proper heat-treating protects against wear and maintains correct tolerances for durability. |
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Rifle 2A1 magazine designed for rimless 7.62 NATO round. |
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Rifle No. 1.Mk 3* magazine designed for rimmed 303 British round |
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Rifle No. 1.Mk 3* extractor on left is shorter for rimmed 303 British round Rifle 2A1 extractor on right is longer for rimless 7.62 NATO round |
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Rifle 2A1 clip loading slot for rimless 7.62 NATO round |
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Rifle No. 1.Mk 3* clip loading slot for rimmed 303 British round |
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Left: Rifle No. 1.Mk 3* brass butt plate Right: Rifle 2A1 Aluminum butt plate |
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The magazine was redesigned to properly feed rimless 7.62 NATO ammunition. The extractor hook was reshaped to engage the extractor groove in the 7.62 NATO case. Due to the difference in recoil between the old and new cartridge, the engineers’ subtlety reshaped the wooden buttstock. The slot in the charger bridge was reduced for the smaller 7.62 stripper clips. A new, alloy buttplate was designed. Most of the other parts were the same, or a slight change in machining specifications was called for to accommodate the 7.62 NATO round. The major commonality of parts made the change over fast and inexpensive. |
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Right rear side of receiver tells all! Caliber, model, factory, year manufactured |
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Rifle 2A1 rear sight, calibrated to 800 meters |
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Rifle 2A1 sight ramp, calibrated to 800 meters |
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Rifle No. 1.Mk 3* rear sight, calibrated to 2000
meters (Also used on first 50,000 Rifle 2A’s) |
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Rifle No. 1.Mk 3* sight ramp, calibrated to 2000 meters (Also used on first 50,000 Rifle 2A’s) |
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The new model designation was Rifle 2A. The first 50,000 rifles (approximately) had the same rear sight as the .303 rifles. The trajectory of the 7.62 NATO is different then the .303 British. The sight needed to be redesigned. In 1965 a new rear sight; calibrated for the 7.62 NATO trajectory was developed. The rifle’s model designation was then changed to Rifle 2A1. Approximately 350,000 2A1’s were produced between 1965 and 1973 (Note.3). To get the full story on the all the arms produced at Ishapore, the best reference in existence is the book “INDIA’S ENFIELDS” by Robert W. Edwards. Read my review of this fine work: http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews2006/indiasenfields/index.asp I wanted a Rifle 2A, or 2A1. I haunted a couple of small, local gun shows and turned up nothing. I talked to folks I knew, and found out they hadn’t seen these rifles listed by anyone for several years. One fellow said a friend of his had offered one up for sale a couple of month’s prior. He checked with him, the rifle had been sold. My next step was looking for one at on-line auction sites. I located a Rifle 2A1 almost immediately! This was exactly what I had been looking for; I acquired title to said rifle. Since this would not be a face-to-face transaction, arrangements would have to be made. (Note.4). The rifle is dated 1966. The general ATF rule is rifles 50 years or older falls under (03) C&R license. Since the Ishy is only 40 years old, the vendor requested a regular, (01) FFL be sent with the money order. I went to WEST TEXAS MILITARY SURPLUS, 2413-34th St, Lubbock, Texas 79411, 1-(806)-785-4867, www.gunsandblades.com. Proprietor Randy Ward checked the ATF book. There are a few exceptions to the 50-year rule. The book disclosed that 7.62 NATO chambered Ishapore’s produced in 1965 or earlier are (03) C&R eligible, but guns produced in 1966 or later require a (01) FFL. Randy gave me a signed copy of his (01) FFL. It, and the money order were sent to the vendor (Note.5). I felt like a kid at xmas when I walked into the gun store exactly one week later. Randy smiled and said that a big box arrived with my name on it! The hardest part of getting a new gun is waiting for the weekend and range time. In the meantime we do our “straight 8”, counting down the days, clean the gun, load ammo, etc. |
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7.62 NATO Rifle 2A1 |
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Another view(Bald Eagle Rest had aluminum base, sand bags give it more weight) |
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Look closely the muzzle crown; you can see 6 carbon tracks at from the 6 groove barrel, very cool! |
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Note rack number stenciled on left side of butt stock; it’s part of the rifle’s history, it stays! |
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7.62 NATO round with LEE 150 grain cast, gas checked bullet |
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LEE 150 grain cast, gas checked bullet |
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LEE 150 grain cast, gas checked bullet |
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LEE 150 grain cast, gas checked bullet |
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After quickly perusing thru the loading manuals, I headed to my loading bench to put up some loads. As usual, I put up some of our Surplusrifle.com cast bullet loads. We developed a special cast bullet load that can be used in virtually any medium bore, bolt action, Mil-Surp arm. The Surplusrifle Cast Bullet Load is easy on the gun, shoulder, powder keg & wallet. It doesn’t get much better then that! For the full story on this load and the loading procedure, see this article. http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/castfiller/index.asp |
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Nosler J4 Competition 168 grain JHP over 40 grains of IMR 4064 |
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Nosler J4 Competition 168 grain JHP |
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I also put up some jacketed loads. The average bottom load (low pressure) for a 168-grain match bullet in the 7.62 NATO or .308 Winchester was 40 grains of IMR 4064 (cross-checked by 3 loading manuals). I used Hornady .308 Winchester brass, and Winchester standard large rifle primers. This gave a nice shooting, low-pressure (well below the 7.62 NATO’s 50,000 PSI maximum) load. The first few groups out of the Ishy were not that good; in fact they were rather casual! The wind was at only about ½ gale force today…not bad for this range, must be something else. What the heck was going on? Let’s see; good indent on the primers. I know every load I put up was done with tender, loving, unhurried care. What else…let’s see…hmmm? The rifle was clean when I got it, but I still cleaned it after it arrived, and I checked to make sure all the screws were tight. WAIT! This gun came from Alabama. Down in Alabama it gets down right muggy. Here in good ‘ole West Texas; it hasn’t rained in 93 days! Sure I checked those screws; but that was 4 or 5 days ago. The wood has had plenty of time to give up that ‘Bama humidity. Yep! After the wood adjusted to the very dry weather conditions here; the screws the needed to be tightened again, a moment’s work with a gunsmith’s screwdriver will fix this problem. Ah, that’s more like it, she’s settling down. This is the kind of thing we always have to look out for; assume nothing! I’m extremely pleased with my purchase of the 7.62 NATO Rifle 2A1. The fit & finish is at least equal to any other peacetime produced SMLE. The care and professionalism of the personnel at the Rifle Factory Ishapore is self-evident. The bolt literally “glides” back & forth in the action. The metal work is well executed and almost free of tool marks. The finish is in good shape for a 40-year-old arm. The only points of finish wear are at the edges. The Indian engineers, artisans and quality assurance inspectors take pride in their work. If you are looking to round out your SMLE collection, don’t pass on the chance to pick up a 7.62 NATO chambered “Ishy” (Note.6). |
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7.62 NATO brass on the left, commercial (Hornady manufacture) .308 Winchester brass on right. Either one is fine for handloading. If using factory-loaded ammunition, use 7.62 NATO ammo only! DO NOT use commercially loaded .308 Winchester ammunition in ANY rifle chambered for 7.62 NATO! |
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| Article written by: Mark Trope |
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