Ishapore A2 .308 SMLE

Fatstrat

Picked one up today at a gunshow. Impulse buy. Quite a stir going around the show. Several vendors had them. But one was selling them for over $100. less than the others ($140. OTD). Going like hotcakes.
I know nothing about these rifles. What I got is this.
1965 dated. Decent cosmetic condition w/excellent bore. All metal parts painted black. All numbers including magazine match.
What's the scoop on these?

Wehrmacht_45

Made by Indian arsenal in the 60's to fire the more easily available 7.62 NATO. I and several others would advise to hesitate giving it a steady diet of 308 winchester as it is loaded hotter than 7.62NATO even though they almost identical in physical specs. Good plinkers.

Fatstrat

Thanks for the heads up. Was $140. a good deal? I know as far as this show it was. Others priced at $250.+. But what is usual value?

dfletcher

You may hear rumors these are refurbed WWI SMLEs and not safe to shoot with 7.62 or (the occasional) 308 Win. As already posted, although they look like similar to them, they're not the old No 1 Mk IIIs but are of modern manufacture and perfectly safe with the 7.62 Nato round.

I've had one for years, use 147 grain FMJ surplus and the occasional handloaded 168 BTHP.

nmyers

When they were imported (about a year ago) they were sold by the distributors for around $160. Anything under $200 is a good buy.

Neal

Fatstrat

Thanks for the replies. Curious about one thing, even tho it doesn't apply.
I always thought the .308 was less powerfull than most WW-2 rounds such as the 30.06, .303 etc.
I've known of many people converting old milsurps to .308 for the (then) cheaper ammo use.
Why would a WW-2 .303 be unsafe to covert to .308?

nmyers

The 7.62 Nato is close to the .30-06 in chamber pressure/muzzle enery. The "short" actions for high power rounds are possible because of the developments in powder technology. That is, you can get more energy out of a given case volume. The .308 & .30-06 overlap by about 75% for most loadings, with the .30-06 at the top.

As to conversions, you have to look at the specific gun & the specific loading to determine safety.

Neal

Fatstrat

Thanks Again.

Fatstrat

Got another question. This rifle has some cosmo on it. Not much, but can see/feel in recessed area's mostly. Want give a cleaning before firing. How durable is the painted finish? Kinda worried if some solvents might dissolve the paint. What solvents would you reccomend on this type of finish?
What paint might one use to touch up the finish in places where it's worn off? Thanks.

SuburbanNoize

When i bought my first SKS, it was covered in Cosmo, some one suggested i get a pot of poiling water, let it get to boiling and then hold the rifle over it where there was stuck cosmoline. my 2 cents. [:)]

11b6r

Go to surplusrifle.com, good article on "De-cosmo-ing" a rifle with moderate heat. Not just the metal- soaks into the wood bigtime. And the 7.62 NATO is a hotter cartridge than the .303 British. But as the man said, the Ishapores are made for the 7.62 round. BTW, if the painted finish comes off or gets scuffed up, you might want to investigate the high temp black spray paint sold for grills.