Is the No.4 rifle a very powerful weapon?

Question

Does anyone know how effective the No.4 would be if say, my boat was to be attacked by pirates? please, this a serious question!
Would it disable an engine easialy, or be able to sink the enemy vessel? (like a small speedboat?)
I am looking for a weapon to defend my vessel from pirates while in the carribean, and an assault rifle is a legal accident waiting to happen! I think the No.4 would be a good choice, what do you think?

Yes, but I believe a rifle like the No.4 is considerably more powerful than a modern assault rifle!
(assault rifles have very high velocities but they lose it pretty fast and they're pretty small, the heavier No.4 round would probably be muhc more devestating!

Answer 1

I pretty well agree with Deuce.

The Enfield No. 4 is a fine old rifle, but the Springfield M-1A is chambered for a more common round of similar power, and it is a semi-automatic, with a 20 round magazine.

If you want some serious firepower without going the Class III or Destructive Devices route, consider a 1 1/2" bore swivel gun, aka a Murdering Piece. This is a muzzle-loading small cannon that were mounted on the rails of ships up into the mid or late 1900's to repell boarders. These are legal to own items here in the states, and just because they are not breech-loading or fully automatic does not mean they still can't throw a pound of buckshot where it will do the most good. And I suspect a 1.5" or 1.75" lead or iron ball would make a pretty interesting hole in a fiberglass boat hull.

In addition to defensive use, these swivel guns make dandy saluting cannon, or signal guns. Firing three shots to windward has been a sign of distress ever since the earliest cannon were mounted on ships.

Here are some links to Swivel Gun Sales:
http://www.cannonltd.com/naval_carriages.htm#swivel
http://www.hernironworks.com/cannonprice.html Be sure to click the Cannon Statistics button

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_106_665&products_id=1686
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_106_665&products_id=13043
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_106_665&products_id=1695
http://www.cannon-mania.com/Pirate-cannon.htm
http://www.wildimports.com/1720_swivel_cannon.htm
http://brasswithclass.com/tube_brass_swivel_30_4.php
http://www.gggodwin.com/page18.htm

BTW, even if I mounted a swivel gun, or two, I'd still want a rifle and a pump shotgun on board.

Doc

Answer 2

People who believe that piracy is no longer a fact because there aren't any more of pirates swinging from gallows at the end of wharves are dreadfully wrong. The ship I was deployed on in 2005 was a hair from responding to a piracy call off the coast of Somalia, and we put up a show of force when we sailed the Straits of Malacca just for that reason. We don't make a point to light up our weapon systems at night for fun...

And yes, the Lee Enfield is a powerful weapon, but it won't sink a speedboat. Sinking one of these isn't a job for anything "lighter" than a machinegun. However, a well-placed shot could disable the engine without much trouble.

I would recommend one of Springfield Armory's M-14s, personally, for longer-range work, and a Dlask SMD-12 shotgun should they actually get on your deck. The M-14 fires a round that's ballistically similar to the Enfield but much more common (7.62X51 NATO, aka .308 Winchester), and it's pretty accurate to begin with. A scope, unless you go, say, for a ELCAN combat sight of some sort, would be useless to you because of the rapidly closing engagement range in a piracy situation.

Won't sink a small boat either, but it will put a healthy fear of God in anyone you hit, and it will take out an ouboard engine. In the case of an inboard, I'd say keep your aim on the helmsman, or at least on the bridge. Should get their attention.

But no weapon is ever effective unless you TRAIN with it. Shooting from the rolling and pitching deck of a moving boat at a similarly rolling and pitching moving target is NOT easy by any standard.

However, the best defense would be knowing the frequencies monitored by friendly navies in the area. Last I heard, the USN and the Royal Navy often have ships in the Carribeans who might be in range to assist if things go south.

EDIT: To you people who claim to know so much about firearms, the No. 4 is not a caliber. It's a type of Lee Enfield rifle, chambered in .303 British.

Answer 3

if you are talking about the British SMLE(short magazine lee enfeild) why not they spent over a century defending people and stuff for the queen
i am sure that a FMJ 303 British round (7.7x56mm rimmed) the the engine would disable it as far as sinking it any supersonic centerfire rifle cartridge will not penetrate water so i doubt you could sink a boat with a rifle.
if you do not an assault style rifle then i would go with a M14/M1A it fires the 308 Winchester /7.62x51mm
or a M1 garand it fires the 30/06 Springfield / 7.62x63mm
both would take out a boat motor at range
also get a 12 gauge shot gun for close quarters protection

Answer 4

You sure you want one of those? An old 4-Bore double rifle 'doubles' (both barrels fire at the same time due to the recoil from the first shot). Rifle is .960 cal (could be .94, or above the .96) with a 4 1/4' case and 2000gr lead bullet.

If you can handle one, it will do the job, however, firepower rather than raw power would be best. If you are up against one or two people, the 4 bore might just scare them off. But, a boatload of pirates won't run after just 2 shots.

Answer 5

Get yourself a Mossberg 590 line-throwing gun, (Saltwater resistant finish and bright orange stocks)

1)It LOOKS like it belongs on a boat, looking for all the world like a giant flare-gun.

2)It can be USED to launch flares or throw rescue lines with it's blank-launched line throwing bouy's...

3)...And it can be loaded with buckshot to repel boarders and saboted .50 cal solid-copper slugs that will damn-well disable a motor.

My friends in Ft. Lauderdale carry an AR-15, a perfectly legal rifle, on their cabin cruiser. They've never had any problems because of their "assault weapon" in the nearly 20 years they've carried it onboard.

They HAVE used it to run-off "pirates" - most likely dope-dealers about to pick up a shipment from drug-runners, who attempted to hijack their boat. To those of you who haven't lived in Florida, this actually happens sometimes. Our waters are used by smugglers to bring cocaine and marijuana into the US. If these criminal are not modern pirates, I don't know who is!

Answer 6

Pirates of the Caribbean? Wasn't that a Johnny Depp movie? Per chance are you referring to some cyber game??? And when you say 'No. 4 rifle,' are you asking about a four bore rifle???

First, a four bore rifle is an antiquated dangerous game rifle I very seriously doubt you can find for sale or can afford even if you did find one. Then where do you propose to find ammo for a four bore?

On the slim chance that your question is on the 'up-and-up,' haven't you already asked this question a couple of weeks ago? Didn't you like the answers? They haven't changed. Get a good 12 gauge pump or an FAL 7.62x51 NATO.

H

Answer 7

I need to know what you mean by No. 4...there's a British .303 rifle [ Enfield SMLE ] by that description: I don't think a bolt-action World War II rifle can compete .
"and an assault rifle is a legal accident waiting to happen! "
You need to explain this : a`weapon is a weapon.
If you are fighting pirates :-) you need all you can get.

Answer 8

Probably the perceptive mind of the woman is the most powerful at the time of danger.

Answer 9

no. 4 rifle what the heck theres a no. 4 shot and no.4 buck shot for shotguns yes .no4 buck is ok but 00 buck is better its what the police use each pellet is about .30cal size* but as in rifles i have no idea what your talking about


*aprox.

Answer 10

see if the us navy will sell you an old 5 inch or 16 inch gun turrent, shouldnt have any more problems with pirates