.45 ACP/9MM parabellum Lee-Enfield

[kevin.303]

during the second world war the british devolped a commando weapon called a delise carbine that was a lee-enfield rebarreled and rechambered to fire .45acp. the mag was modifeid to incorperate a 1911a1 clip. a few us companies have offered reprodutions in several pistol calibers. i was thinking of having one bulit of a No.1 ishapore that i have no use for and is in good condition. it would be either 9MM or .45 acp. i've already designed a way to use the pistol mags with out modifying them. it should be possiable as it has been done before. my question is will no.1 chambers hold up to it or should i use a no.4? i 'm thinking of using a douglas barrel as i've heard that are accurate and not overly expensive

[gunnut69]

Is the Ishapore N0-1 you have chambered in 7.62 nato?  If so the metalurgy and heat treat are quite capable of what you want and then a bit.  Even a 303 chambered N0.1 would safely handle the much lower pressure of the 45acp or 9mmParabellum.  A rifle originally a 303 would however present another problem.  The extractor/ejector system on the Enfields is difficult to alter.  I don't know how the Brits handled the problem during the war but suspect they had a purpose designed bolt head with a cartridge guide inbuilt, much as a mauser.  Altering the extractor/ejector system on an enfield is tickelish..  The action would of course be amply strong.  Perhaps an easier to accomplish change would be to 45 Colt(long) or 44 mag.  Either have rim diameters that are closer to the 303 for which the rifle was designed, simplifying the conversion..  If converting to 45 acp the Ishapore would definitely be the way to go.

[Mikey]

kevin:  the gunnut is right about the various chamberings and bolt heads.  With the Ishapore you can easily go to the 45 auto cartridge.  But with a #1, you might be better of going to the 45 colt cartridge rather than trying to deal with a bolt change from a rimmed case to a rimless one.  Also, if you use a #1 and rechamber to 45 colt you can use the 410 guage in it.  You could probably make yourself a functional Delisle without too much of a problem.  Good luck with this project.  Mikey.

[kevin.303]

it's an original 1942 .303. if it was an 1960's 7.62 i don't think i would consider altering it. .45 long colt is an interesting idea, it would need a custom made magazine but i don't think that would be to much of problem. local gunsmiths might not have the reamer and that raises the cost even more. the other problem is the cost of ammo, which is why i also suggested the 9MM, bulk from cabelas is a lot cheaper. i know wolf brand ammo gums up the workings of semi auto's, but what about in bolt-actions? i keep them pretty clean so tha might not be a problem

[jschance]

Just a thought, but if you switched it over to a .44 Mag, could you alter the action to accept a magazine from a Desert Eagle?

[kevin.303]

i had that same thought yesterday when i saw the DE mags in the cabelas catalogue. i've shelved this project for now but someday i'll build one