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The Curio & Relic FFL License

I finished my Curio & Relic Ishapore Enfield project rifle.  It was pretty beat looking when I first got it (I should have taken “before” photos) but the important stuff was in great shape. 
The metal work on the entire rifle was covered in some crappy black paint that looked as though it had been applied with a cotton ball.  The stock was dinged up badly and black as coal from cosmoline and grime.  The bore and chamber are like new however (1965 vintage rifle) and I don’t think it was fired much, if at all.
 
After a good deal of TLC and a complete disassembly and refinishing, it looks great.  Under the crud, the stock was very nice Mahogany.  After degreasing, bleaching and steaming the wood to get the dings & gouges out, wet sanding and hand rubbing about 8 coats of Tung oil into it, the wood came back to life and shows its real beauty.

I managed to get out to the Burro Canyon Range last weekend to shoot it and it was a very successful and rewarding experience.  Although the rifle only has iron sights and I was shooting .308 ammo from WWII, it performed much better than I expected.  This old girl can really shoot!

I am afraid I am really hooked on the Enfields now because of their inherent accuracy and smooth actions.  The two-stage trigger is also very good.   It feels like a custom trigger.  All I did was highly polish the trigger parts and it really feels great.

After seeing the accuracy with iron sights, I was immediately tempted to scope the rifle.  But, that’s not why I bought it.  It is a fun rifle to shoot and I am looking forward to collecting more of them. 

If you haven’t already, consider applying for a Curio & Relic FFL license.  It will allow you to purchase these great rifles at a significant discount.  Another benefit is the fact that you can get dealer prices from many of the internet and mail order stores and have the firearms shipped right to your front door.  The $30.00 fee for the license is a great investment.  You’ll save lots of cash and enjoy the C&R rifles you can purchase.  As an added bonus, you get dealer pricing from many of the firearms-related supply stores on the net.

Stock Cleaning Tip:  OK, this is going to sound so strange but it works.  Many C&R rifles have grungy stocks that have dings and stains.  Solution, put it in your dishwasher.  Ha!  No kidding, put it in the dishwasher with the regular dishwasher detergent and use the drying cycle.  When you open the dishwasher, it's like magic.  The wood is clean, 99% of the dings are gone and all you have to do is let the stock dry for a couple of days, sand lightly and start oiling.  I didn't believe it either but it works.