De Lisle VSR10: Build with AR Custom Stocks

De Lisle VSR10 Introduction:

The De Lisle VSR10 is a project I’ve wanted to do for a long long time, but I myself………suck at any kind of wood work.

Luckily I had the absolute pleasure of talking to and getting to know the guys over at AR Custom Stocks. After a few conversations and exchanging of ideas, we basically decided to go ahead with the De Lisle VSR10 Project.

I would be responsible for the internal components, upgrades and tuning, with the guys from AR Custom Stocks doing all the external wood and metal work. The project took many hours, mainly all the work the guys at AR Custom stocks had to do for the externals.

De Lisle History:

The De Lisle was designed as a private venture by William Godfray de Lisle (known as Godfray), an engineer who worked for the Air Ministry. He made the first prototype in .22 calibre; this he tested by shooting rabbits and other small game for the table, near his home on the Berkshire Downs. In 1943, he approached Major Sir Malcolm Campbell of Combined Operations with his prototype; this was informally tested by firing the weapon into the River Thames from the roof of the New Adelphi building in London.

This was chosen to discover if people in the street below heard it firing – they did not. Combined Operations officials were impressed with the weapon and requested De Lisle produce a 9mm version. However, this was a failure. A third prototype, using the .45 ACP cartridge that was favoured by de Lisle, was much more successful. Tests of this showed the weapon had acceptable accuracy, produced no visible muzzle flash and was inaudible at a distance of 50 yards (46 m).

Subsequent official firing tests recorded the De Lisle produced 85.5 dB of noise when fired. As a comparison, modern testing on a selection of handguns has shown that they produce 156 to 168 dB when firing without a suppressor, and 117 to 140 dB when firing with one fitted.

The de Lisle’s quietness was found to be comparable to the British Welrod pistol. However, the Welrod was useful only at very short range and used fabric and rubber components in the suppressor that required replacement after a few shots. The de Lisle was able to fire hundreds of rounds before the suppressor required disassembly for cleaning.

Combined Operations requested a small production run of De Lisle carbines and an initial batch of 17 were hand–made by Ford Dagenham, with Godfray De Lisle himself released from his Air Ministry duties so he could work full-time on the project; this initial batch was immediately put into combat use by the British Commandos. In 1944, the Sterling Armaments Company was given an order for 500 De Lisle carbines, but eventually only produced around 130.

The Sterling version differed in a number of details from the earlier, Ford Dagenham model. Two prototypes of a further version, for Airborne forces, were made. These had folding stocks, similar to those fitted to the Sterling submachine gun.

During the remainder of World War II, the De Lisle carbine was mainly used by the Commandos, although they also saw some use by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). E. Michael Burke, the American former commander of a Jedburgh Team, stated that a De Lisle was used by them to assassinate two senior German officers in 1944.

A number of De Lisles were shipped to the Far East and used during the Burma Campaign. The De Lisle would also be used during the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency. It has been claimed the weapon was also used by the Special Air Service during the Northern Irish Troubles.

Source (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Lisle_carbine)

Internal Parts Used:

So the base VSR 10 used, was an Action Army T10 Short. I’m a fan of these rifles for the price as you get a lot for your money, including a 90 degree trigger, decent externals and a suitable cylinder.

The upgrades I went ahead with were:
VSR Gen2 WASP, short brake and full weight
Rapax 2J Spring
Action Army Teflon Cylinder
My custom VSR10 Cylinder Head
Stock T10 hop unit
60 Degree Flamingo Bucking, new gen.
Maple Leaf 133mm Crazy Jet
Springer Custom Works Trigger

It’s worth noting, that I could have kept the stock cylinder and trigger, I only changed them due to personal preference.

With all the upgrades installed, the rile was roughly 1.1J on a 0.4g BB, which is what the rifle is designed to use.

I wanted a rifle that was quiet, consistent, accurate and that required no MED, the very short barrel, alongside the airbraked piston gave me that.
Once I had the rifle all assembled and shooting well, it was off to AR Custom Stocks to turn the Action Army T10, into the VSR10 DeLisle!

De Lisle VSR10 External Work:

Conclusion on the De Lisle VSR10:

Once I received the De Lisle VSR10 back from AR Custom Stocks, I was nothing short of absolutely amazed by the quality of their work! I’ve had many wood stocks from a number of companies and hands down, these guys are leaps and bounds above anyone else. Their work is truly something to behold!

The De Lisle VSR10 was finally in my hands and my god was it fun. With the external work featuring a wood stock and the internal suppression, the rifle was quiet, very quiet.
Due to being built on an upgraded rifle, the performance was great, the wood stock also gave it a nice weight and a huge reduction of sound, especially around the areas where you would normally hear the mechanical action of the trigger unit.

The VSR10 De lisle was easily able to send 0.4g BB’s out to some impressive ranges, the only downside being the heavier BB takes a little while longer to get there than something like a 0.3g BB, but I was happy with that sacrifice based on the accuracy and range I was getting.

Overall I’m very happy with the VSR10 De Lisle project and the quality of work coming from the guys over at AR Custom Stocks is exceptional and I very much look forward to doing more projects in the future with them.

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