Parker-Hale .303-.22 Conversion Kits for the Enfield, Lewis, and Vickers

http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons

https://www.floatplane.com/channel/ForgottenWeapons/home

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! http://shop.forgottenweapons.com

In July of 1918, the British military formally adopted a Parker-Hale system of adapting .303-caliber arms to .22 rimfire for short range training. The system involved lining standard barrels with .22 caliber blanks that were machined with full size .303 chambers. Special cartridge inserts were used which had the external dimensions of .303 cartridges, but held .22LR cartridges inside. This allowed the weapon to use the same feeding system as it normally would, and to duplicate the handling and trigger mechanism of a standard .303 caliber gun wile only firing a small rimfire cartridge.

Parker-Hale built kits of this type for the Lee Enfield rifle, the Lewis LMG, and the Vickers HMG, and all were used by the British military. In the Lewis and Vickers, there was no accommodation made to actually cycle the guns; this sort of .22 practice drill was done by manually cycling the actions after each shot. Still, it was a good way to practice basic drill (loading, unloading, etc) as well as basic marksmanship without the noise of full power cartridges and without the need for a full-power-rated backstop.

The system for the Lee Enfield was replaced in 1920 (after only about 2 years of use) with the No2 MkIV* rifle, a dedicated .22 conversion of an SMLE. Parker-Hale kept the system in their commercial catalog into the 1930s, however.

Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
6281 N. Oracle 36270
Tucson, AZ 85740

Forgotten Weapons

At Forgotten Weapons I think the most interesting guns out there are the most obscure ones. I try to search out experimental and prototype weapons and show you how they work, in addition to more conventional guns that you may not have heard of before. You’re much more likely to find a video on the Cei Rigotti or Webley-Fosbery here than an AR or Glock. So, do you want to learn about something new today? Then stick around!

Items you may have missed...

Chassepot: Best of the Needle Rifles The Mk I Lee Metford and the Mk III* SMLE: From Boer War to Great War – Firepower Compared The P53 Enfield and Mk III Snider-Enfield: Firepower Compared MP-28: Hugo Schmeisser Improves the MP18 H&K’s Experimental SMG and SMG II for the US Navy Why Drum Magazines are a Bad Idea