Yesterday fun show, today range.

So yesterday, I managed to convince myself to get out of bed when the alarm sounded. (Damn that Murphy...he just raised his head and looked at me, then put it back down again to resume sleeping.) I met up with Proud Hillbilly and we took off towards Chantilly, VA for the Nation's Gun Show, aka the Fun Show. After a painfully slow and somewhat frightening drive in PH's car (OMG, OMG, OMG!), we finally arrived there and met up with Old NFO and Andy.

You can go to the inks for their versions of the day, but the long and the short of it as that Old NFO scored a couple of great deals like he always does, and Andy bought an Enfield #1Mk.3 that had been sporterized but not too badly. We wandered around a fairly empty show for a couple of hours, and then we went to a nearby restaurant that I'd heard had great wings and beer. Well imagine my surprise to find out that it was a Hooters. Still, we were there, so it only made sense to go in, right? After all, if you're just there for the wings, it's not really your fault if there's a bunch of hot gals roaming around too now, is it? As my arm was still really bothering me after yesterday's bite/sting by the Insect of the Armegeddon, we all went our separate ways after the show and I went to the urgent care to get a bunch of shots. Oh, joy. I'd almost rather ride with PH some more. Almost.

So today, PH and I headed back over to the range. She had her pistols and her M-1 carbine, and I brought my Smith and Wesson Model 58 .41 Magnum and my newest rifle, which also happens to be an Enfield, only this one is an Ishapore 2A1 in .308.
Here's my new Ishapore 2A1 made in 1966(bottom) below a .303 Ishapore made in 1963(top). (click on the pic to enlarge)



Note the squared box magazine on the .308 2A1 as opposed to the rounded box found on all standard .303 Enfields. The Ishapore factory made these 2A1 rifles well into the 1980's.

I will say the PH has gotten very good very fast with her pistols. She's practicing a lot and she retains and applies what she's learning. It's great to watch as she gives those steel targets the good news.

The Enfield still had quite a bit of cosmoline preservative grease deep down inside, and as I shot it and heated it up, it came leaking out from everywhere. Fun! Just like the old days when surplus rifles abounded in the marketplace and they all came packed with thew stuff. It shoots a bit high at 100 yards and I think I'm going to have to drift it's front post a bit, but otherwise it performs as advertised with the exception of a loose safety which engages itself with almost every shot. But that's an easy fix. The only downside to the whole day came in the form of "someone" (I won't say who, so as not to embarrass PH) who knocked my coffee over on the range, leaving me in the early stages of caffeine withdrawal. (Aaaarrggh!)

And because you came here to see guns and not listen to me ramble, here's another picture, this time with my 1916 Enfield below the other two.



Virtually identical and the .303 models are completely interchangeable despite being made half a world and 50 years apart. And all three of them shoot great today.