E.Fletcher gloucester rifle

[TwoRivers]

It's definitely a Snider action. Does not seem to be the regular miltary Snider, but hard to tell from the pictures. Could be a miniature Snider in something like the old .320 Eley revolver cartridge, but impossible to tell without a chamber cast. As to "reboring", he probabbly meant rechambering, which may be a possiblility, if the fellow knew what's what. The old Snider cartridge has about the same diameter as the 20 gauge shotshell, actually closer to a 24 gauge, so that conversion, with the barrel rebored and rechambered, is not that uncommon. Cheers.

[Grumpy]

Yup, it`s a Snider.......but highly unlikely to be .32 calibre ( and definitely NOT `32-bore` )
If based on the military rifle 28-Bore shotgun cartridges can be adapted to fit without rechambering.
The Snider Enfield conversion was introduced in 1866. The British army had phased out the Snider/Snider Enfields by 1894 - they were last recorded in 1893 - but in real terms they had been made obsolete many years before and their last major action was c.1870/71.
Don`t try using any nitro loads in the rifle as it will NOT handle them - `trap door` breeches of any design are too likely to blow up in your face !
The calibre should be stamped on the rifle by the proof marks. As this example was supplied as a sporting gun by a British retailer it must have been subjected to mandatory proof.

[grewal]

And finally on the personal advice of penpusher Singh Sidhu I have refused to buy this rifle from the gun house seller , instead I am opting for a brand new indian ordinance .22 rifle . Once again I thank IFG community for helping me on avoiding a mistake that i would have committed by buying a gun with an unknown past and a troubled future. Thankyou all my friends

Prabhdeep Singh Grewal

[The Doc]

I am opting for a brand new indian ordinance .22 rifle

A very wise decision Prabhdeep. If there is an issue regarding the checkering on the furniture you can take a look at my IOF .22 pics posted in my personal album. By the way we are in the same city.
Good luck with your IOF .22 purchase.

best,
RP

[penpusher]

Prabhdeep,

Before you buy one,check it to see if it will chamber the IOF .22LR ammo.Mack The Knife's IOF will not.He is able to get imported ammo. through the KSRA at a fairly reasonable price.You won't be so lucky.In some rifles the head spacing is such that they will not chamber the IOF .22 LR ammo which has a thicker rim than imported ammo.Also check the functioning of the magazine.

Do not dry fire it.Applies to all rimfire's.You might ding the mouth of the chamber or break the firing pin.Remove the magazine and ensure that the chamber is empty before you cycle the action.When closing the bolt,press the trigger and then close the bolt.Always clean a rifle before firing and ensure that there is no oil in either the barrel or the chamber

RP a.k.a. The Doc has got some his .22 done up and since you are both in the same city you can contact him to find out who worked on his rifle.Also check out Mack The Knife's post on the IOF .22.He is very happy with his.I am sure you would not regret buying one.

[Mack The Knife]

Before you buy one,check it to see if it will chamber the IOF .22LR ammo.Mack The Knife's IOF will not.

penpusher, my rifle will chamber a KF .22lr if done manually. It's the bolt that is unable to chamber * a KF round from the magazine due to their thicker rims.

The recent modification has really turned it into a Brno/Anschutz basher.

* - Edited 'pick up' to 'chamber'.

[The Doc]

Prabhdeep,

Before you buy one,check it to see if it will chamber the IOF .22LR ammo.Mack The Knife's IOF will not.He is able to get imported ammo. through the KSRA at a fairly reasonable price.You won't be so lucky.In some rifles the head spacing is such that they will not chamber the IOF .22 LR ammo which has a thicker rim than imported ammo.Also check the functioning of the magazine.

Do not dry fire it.Applies to all rimfire's.You might ding the mouth of the chamber or break the firing pin.Remove the magazine and ensure that the chamber is empty before you cycle the action.When closing the bolt,press the trigger and then close the bolt.Always clean a rifle before firing and ensure that there is no oil in either the barrel or the chamber

RP a.k.a. The Doc has got some his .22 done up and since you are both in the same city you can contact him to find out who worked on his rifle.Also check out Mack The Knife's post on the IOF .22.He is very happy with his.I am sure you would not regret buying one.

penpusher,
My rifle chambers and fires KF ammo, though when I bought it I had no idea that I should check the chamber for this particular brand of ammo. However KF ammo is not as reliable as Eley which I use for my IOF .22. When I say not reliable, I mean, that with KF ammo I have had missed fires/hinge fires and so on , a problem which i have never encountered with Eley.
A few weeks back I put KF and Eley through a friend's Walther .22. The Walther had the same problem with KF ammo too however to a lesser degree. Interestingly enough the mark of impact left on the rim of the ammo was much deeper in case of the Walther as compared with the IOF .22. I would not recommend KF ammo for IOF .22 because the ammo is NOT reliable.

best,

RP.

[ebenezer]

And finally on the personal advice of penpusher Singh Sidhu I have refused to buy this rifle from the gun house seller , instead I am opting for a brand new indian ordinance .22 rifle . Once again I thank IFG community for helping me on avoiding a mistake that i would have committed by buying a gun with an unknown past and a troubled future. Thankyou all my friends

Prabhdeep Singh Grewal

Hi grewal,

The IOF .22 is a very good choice. I recently bought one and it's pretty accurate. Got the stock replaced with a new one made as per my specifications. The only disadvantage with the rifle is it accepts only hand-chambered KF rounds, while magazine-fed foriegn ammos are no problem.
Good luck,
Ebenezer

[penpusher]

Mack The Knife,

I have used one that functioned well with the IOF ammo.The recent lot seems to be better.The problem appears to be more to do with the mag rather than the bolt.The one I had,had a magazine spring that was half the length of the normal spring.

Doc,

Have had no issues with IOF .22 ammo unless very old.

[Mack The Knife]

The only disadvantage with the rifle is it accepts only hand-chambered KF rounds, while magazine-fed foriegn ammos are no problem.

Same here.

penpusher, the magazine is fine when using an assortment of imported ammo. It's those thick rims on the KFs that are causing the problem.

Would you know if Bobby makes magazines that sit flush with the stock? I dislike the ten shot ones we get with the rifle.

[penpusher]

Would you know if Bobby makes magazines that sit flush with the stock? I dislike the ten shot ones we get with the rifle.

I don't think that he does.Will find out tomorrow.Why not just cut one short and fashion a base plate that would be pinned into the magazine.I am sure you would be able to manage this.Buy a spare IOF mag from the market or better still order one from the factory to try this out.

[penpusher]

Mack The Knife,

Did come across a IOF .22 whose bolt would not close over a loaded chamber.

[Mack The Knife]

Did come across a IOF .22 whose bolt would not close over a loaded chamber.

That does ring a vague bell. Unable to recall if that happened with my rifle or someone elses.

As for the magazine, I suppose I could ask an engineer friend if he could shorten one for me. Don't want to muck around with the original.