Info Needed

[2rangers]

Hey all,
Was at the house of a horse breeder and trainer, and the conversation migrated to hunting. Well, long story short, this generous man GAVE me one of his rifles. It's a lee-enfield. It is stamped "Santa Fe Jungle Carbine, Santa Fe Div., Golden State Arms Corp., Pasadena, California". I know this rifle is a converted No.4 Mk.1 or 2. At first glance it resembles a "Jungle Carbine" perfectly. However, one can tell the forend has been shortened and the barrel is thicker than my legit No.5. It does have the correct No. 5 flash hider and rubber butt pad. The Ser. #, Manufacturer, and build date on the left side of the receiver has been ground away, and merely stamped "No.5". The serial # is still intact on the butt socket. It has been nicely parkerized all over (original lee-enfields are baked-on enamel).
The rifle appears to be in overall excellent shape, although I have not disassembled it to do an in-depth inspection.
My question is, does anyone know of these conversions, or the companies that did them? Info on the web has been spotty. I will post pics as soon as I can. :sniper:

[surbat6]

I've seen a couple of Golden State Arms/Santa Fe rifles. One was like yours - a No.4 SMLE sort-of converted to a No.5 Jungle Carbine, looked like a good shooter (as in saving your original No.5 for posterity and use the GSA carbine). Another looked like it was cobbled together from various manufacturers' spare parts...sort of Mauserish in appearance. IIRC, a third was an M1 Garand converted to a sort-of M14/BM59 rifle, using M14 magazines, 7.62 NATO caliber.
Information on the company and its guns is sparse indeed. According to one reference (the only one I have that even MENTIONED the company), Golden State Arms didn't build any rifles. They contracted with foreign manufacturers to import several models, often variations or copies of more desirable military weapons. The reference goes on to say GSA rifles have near zero collectors' value. This doesn't demean the gift you received. It was a darn nice gesture and (after checking headspace and integrity of the action) I'd shoot it and enjoy.

[2rangers]

Surbat-
Thanks for the info. I disassembled it and was cleaning and checking till the wee hours of the morning(really ****ed off wife-just like a kid w/ a new toy I was!!). First, I looked down the bore-and it looked terrible!! I wet a patch w/ kroil and wet the bore. The patch came out the other end ripped to shreds!! Rust!! Oh well, I thought, at least the wood is nice. Then I decided to use the steel-wool-on-a-bore-brush-trick. I scrubbed for a few minutes, then ran some dry patches thru to see the progress. Getting better. Then I got a coffee can, put about 8 oz. of good old hoppe's #9 in it. I attached a .338 bore brush to my rod, put the muzzle in the can of hoppe's, and began scrubbing in earnest. After a few minutes, the solvent was beginning to look pretty cruddy. Small bits of copper, rust, etc. was in the bottom of the can. I continued, and the brush now started to run thru the bore w/ relative ease. At this point I stopped, and ran some dry patches down the bore. The difference was amazing to say the least. The bore was clean, shiny, and smooth. The rifling was clean, crisp, and deep. There was very little evidence of pitting from the rust. I reassembled the bolt, and checked headspace. Right on the money, .065". I did a function check, and everything was perfect. I removed the bolt, bolt head, and striker/spring assy. The tip of the striker looks almost new. I ran the ser. # and discovered that it is a post war gun, made in '48. I am beginning to think this rifle has been fired very little. The most impressive thing is the parkerizing, as I have never ran into a enfield that was. It was done well, and it looks great. As soon as I get some fresh factory ammo, We're going to see how it shoots. Looks like maybe I received a silk purse instead of a sow's ear!! :sniper: