Complete Newbie Enfield Questions

cyclone

cyclone

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
379   0   0
Location
Toronto, Ontario
Totally embarassing..and totally necessary...sigh...here goes...and thanks in advance...(the rifle is a SMLE):

1) The bolt doesn't slide in all the way to the chamber...is that normal?

2) The part on the back of the bolt, that extends "two clicks"...what does each click mean? I assume that this cocks the rifle...what happens at either "click"?

3) The No.4 mag fits in the rifle...should I avoid using it, though?

Much chagrin and even more thanks...

:)
 
Last edited:
1) The bolt face shouldn't be touching the back of the chamber on the barrel, as .303 is rimmed. It needs that little bit of clearance. No more than 0.075, no less than 0.064... IIRC.

2) That's just the sear passing over the two catches on the bottom of your cocking piece on the back of your bolt. If you aren't hearing those 'clicks', you have a problem on your hands.

3) No idea. I don't own a No.I, but someone will stop by shortly.
 
Tyler said:
1) The bolt face shouldn't be touching the back of the chamber on the barrel, as .303 is rimmed. It needs that little bit of clearance. No more than 0.075, no less than 0.064... IIRC.

Makes perfect sense, when you explain it that way! :redface:

2) That's just the sear passing over the two catches on the bottom of your cocking piece on the back of your bolt. If you aren't hearing those 'clicks', you have a problem on your hands.

So, what is the difference between "one click" and "two"?

3) No idea. I don't own a No.I, but someone will stop by shortly.

I hope so - but thank you, all the same!
Click to expand...

Still some questions up for grabs, folks!
 
1) Either you've got the wrong bolt head, or it's unscrewed a turn too much. I assume you mean that with the bolt head on the rail, you can't close the bolt by downward pressure on the bolt handle. Try screwing the bolt head all the way on, then allowing it to back off just enough to be parallel to the lug. I made the same mistake when I got my first smle.

2)Tyler's right on the ball. Some people have speculated that the first click is in fact a safety feature, where in some rifles if the safety is engaged, the trigger pulled, and the safety disengaged the rifle would fire without that first little piece to catch the sear.

3)A lot of people aren't even aware of the difference of the mags, so your knowing that there's a difference is a big step. Offhand I don't think there are any issues, other than it (may) not feed properly. I believe some steps were cut out of making the no4 magazine,so it's just simpler. From memory the No1 had what looked like two catches on the back while the no4 had one. I don't really think they made a difference to be honest, other than how easily they fit and load. It doesn't play an integral part in the guns safety, so unless the bolt is engaging the mag housing, or it isn't loading correctly, I think it's ok.

P.S. - If you have your doubts take it into a gunsmith. I was charged $20 for a complete disassembly and had the headspace checked. If you're worried, it's worth it, because a blown up gun is such a waste of range time.
 
Bolt not going all the way to the chamber is correct. As mentioned there should be a `rim's worth plus` of clearance.

First click is half ####, a safety feature. When placed on half ####, the firing pin is retracted and the bolt is locked and won't open until the cocking piece is grabbed and pulled all the way back to full #### on the second click. Some say it is there as a double safety in case the sear slips when taking the safety lever off on a fully cocked and ready to fire rifle. If the mechanism does slip, the half #### will catch the sear preventing a discharge. Hmmm.

I have an 1893 Lee Metford which never had a safety lever setup, the half #### is the primary safety. So it might simply be a feature that was perpetuated to ensure all spare parts were interchangeable on early and later models of rifle.

My thoughts are that it could be used in a combat situation where the rifle was carried with a round up the spout. Perfectly safe as everything is locked, one quick tug and the rifle is ready to shoot. That is how I carry my rifle when stalking game. Safety lever should not engage when at half ####, bolt should not open.

Second click is full #### and is as such when the rifle is ready to fire. Safety lever should engage to lock the cocking piece and bolt.

The mags are not supposed to be interchangeable, they are a different shape and size. Saying that, if tweaked and bent a bit, they can be made to fit. Your No.4 mag will probably no longer fit a No.4.
So if it does fit your rifle, clicks into place and feeds rounds, great, not a problem, use it. It is a common swap. If it doesn`t feed, the feed lips may need bending a bit.
 
Englishman ca, thanks for that, you've explained it well. I'm adding this to the notes I'm building up on my rifles. One day my kids will inherit, and as they're not terribly interested so far, the notes will come in handy when I'm gone.
I know, because thats what happened with me. I kick myself frequently for not taking a more active interest when my Dad was still alive.
 
englishman_ca said:
The mags are not supposed to be interchangeable, they are a different shape and size. Saying that, if tweaked and bent a bit, they can be made to fit. Your No.4 mag will probably no longer fit a No.4.
So if it does fit your rifle, clicks into place and feeds rounds, great, not a problem, use it. It is a common swap. If it doesn`t feed, the feed lips may need bending a bit.
Click to expand...

Yup. Adding to that: finding a spare mag isn't too hard, and not too expensive. I'd get an authentic made-for-your-rifle mag, why not :)

Lou
 
Of course there is the question of why you are cocking the rifle by pullong on the cocking piece instead of using that lever thingy with a knob on the end of it to cycle the bolt.;)
 
John Sukey said:
Of course there is the question of why you are cocking the rifle by pullong on the cocking piece instead of using that lever thingy with a knob on the end of it to cycle the bolt.;)
Click to expand...

I think he was just referring to what is that noise that is made when the bolt is cycled. Other people referred to pulling back on the firing pin knob, and in reference to a loaded rifle that is uncocked, as a way to #### it before firing - probably because they don't trust the safety. I have often wondered though, with the firing pin unengaged, that would leave it resting against the primer. Logic says that if you were to trip, and say, cause an accidental strike to the back of the bolt, wouldn't it fire anyways?
 
That enfield safety is very strong and quiet, about the only need to pull back on the cocking piece is if you're fighting in the mud and it didn't go bang first time and you're low on ammo.
 
Here's some humour - consider it a thank you?

110 Ways To Tell If You're Addicted to Enfields.

The Abridged and Edited (for obscure Aussie references) Version.

1. You kiss Enfield goodbye instead wife as you are leaving for work
2. You call home more then twice a day to check on them
3. You get up at night to use bathroom and stop to check this forum on your way back to bed
4. A bloke's reactions to his Maltby doesn't seem odd or bizarre at all, in fact you can recount several occasions you've felt the exact same way.
5. When faced with an old, beat, butcherized Ishapore MkIII* in a pawn shop the question you must wrestle with before you buy it is not 'why?', but 'why not?'.
6. After three hours of pestering the pawn shop owner, you can't think of a single reason 'why not' and proceed to buy the weapon for $20 more than its worth normally in good condition, yet are completely happy with your purchase.
7. You assume everyone you talk to will be interested in the cool inspection stamp you just discovered underneath the Knox form.
8. You are embarrassed to discuss certain credit card purchases made over the internet but signing up for a #### site isn't one of them.
9. You wonder what your friend's new Remington 700 was converted from.
10. You begin looking for original wood, iron sights, and barrel bands for that Remington 700.
11. You wonder why they ever deleted volley sights from rifles, heck with military tactics, they look SO COOL.
12. Upon hearing something about vultures in the news, you get the urge to take your Lithgow out to the range.
13. While discussing past relationships with your current significant other/wife/etc... you lapse into talking about your Enfields because you've given them all women's names.
14. Even after lapsing into Enfields, your significant other has no idea you're no longer talking about other women you've dated.
15. You're current significant other leaves you after you began pining away for some rifle you sold/traded long ago, consistently referring to it by its female name.
16. After she leaves you the only thoughts that cross your mind are: Great! More range time! More .303 money! Now I can finally buy that matching forearm from Lewis!
17. You never dated in school because you didn't want to limit your 'quality time' with your rifles.
18. Getting lucky means a couple of consistent MOA prints on the range...### lives are for people who don't have Enfields.
19. You openly admit to stroking and oiling your wood. You even share tips on it with friends.
20. (For the single but dating guys) You don't care one way or another if your girlfriend doesn't ever want to spend the night, but if you wake up without your Enfields near you, it puts you into a gut wrenching panic.
21. You must say goodbye to the guys on the forum before leaving town or going on vacation
22. You search frantically through the Ebay and other internet sites for a copy of The Lee-Enfield Story.
23. You know that cruciform and bayonet go together
24. You know that charger and Visa are two different things.
25. You know a nose-cap is not a knitted proboscis cover.
26. You know 10 rounds rapid has nothing to do with boxing.
27. You know a butt socket is not found in dirty books.
28. You know that a cup discharger is not a new way of removing a brassiere.
29. You know "head space" has nothing to do with hat size.
30. You spend so much time with Enfielders, you add an extra U to common words like valour, favour, armourer, etc.
31. You know how to wrap a pull-through
32. Every time someone mentions "The Finest Battle Implement Ever Devised" by name, you have an urge to scold them for using a 'dirty word'.
33. Enfield Logic: Who cares if the Mauser can handle a stronger cartridge? While you're still working you're Mauser action to make up for you're miss, my 2nd round is already there.
34. You gleefully like to remind germanophiles that where the SMLE took 22 years to refine, it went on to serve 60 years in frontline service. The Mauser took 37 years to 'refine' and was being traded off to 2nd line units and cut up for scrap after barely 47 years active service.
35. You know that the SMLE is the only bolt-action arm that has ever been mistaken on the receiving end for a machine gun.
36. The SMLE is only a Smelly until you've shot it, then its a SM(i)LE.
37. You know you're lucky because the local anti-gun politicos have no idea what a real rifle is. Assault rifle ban...hah...5.56? 7.62x39? The .303 is just getting STARTED when those two are digging in the dirt.
38. After a rough week you take a special sort of pleasure in showing up to the range with your Enfield, nestling in between two 'assault rifle' shooters who think that they're just the ####, and proceeding to make their targets look like victims of a scatter gun in comparison to your neatly punched, tight groups.
39. You lovingly rub oil into the stock, by hand, for up to 6 hours a day
40. You love the smell of old linseed more than a woman's perfume.
41. You comment that " She shoots very well" (underline she)
42. You eagerly await the parcel delivery company, and know down to the minute their usual delivery times and routes in your area.
43. You start fights with G@rand boys over the most accurate, and realize they are WRONG!
44. You call your friends by bird names, or John or Warren to the respected elder statesmen.
45. It takes 45 minutes to get all your girlfriends out for a photo, and urge and nag John and Warren to take 2 weeks out of their time to do the same.
46. You scan more photos of "the ladies" than you do of the ladies.
47. You hunt gun sights for pictures of Enfields and accessories more than you do for nudie pictures. (hey, I have 2,532 gun photos on disc!)
48. A frog is not a reptile, no matter what your science teacher told you.
49. A bucket is not a water receptacle
50. A pull through is a pull through, NEVER a thong
51. Arsenals refer to your favourite football (soccer) team, living room is where you (prefer) to keep your guns.
52. Piling swivel please, not stacking swivel!
53. It is a fuller, not a blood groove. P-Lease!
54. You become furious if James Paris Lee isn't mentioned in the same breath as Browning, Colt, Maxim, Mauser, G@rand, Sieve and Kalashnakov.
55. You scour the auction sites for months looking for a SMLE I* forend. Then you find it and get out bid. Then you cannot sleep for 2 days in abject dejection and inconsolability. Then you nag a Canadian for same.... (Reading this Warren?)
56. You finally realize that not all Ishapores are crud, just 98.25 % of them
57. A cut-off has no correlation to John Bobbit.
58. A sliding charger bolt head is the holy grail.
59. Lithgow volley and dial sights come close to #58
60. Gibbs? Who the hell are Gibbs?
61. 2600 yards is easy range.
62. Enfields!
63. You ask the forum the same question 10 times, cause you don't want to stuff the job up on such a lovely breed.
64. You laugh so hard reading #s 1-69 you have to bite down on an HXP round to keep from waking the family at 2am. You were just going to the bathroom after all and what can make you laugh there.
65. You'd rather risk peeing your pants to finish reading the addictive messages rather than get up and go to the bathroom and come back and finish reading them
66. You've been up 24 hours straight trying to get the baby room finished at night so, you can spend all the daylight hours at the range shooting your Enfield.
67. In spite being up all night and being dead dog tired before you go to bed you have check the 303 forum so you don't miss anything,
68. You end up spending 2-3 hours on it
69. You carefully distinguish between your "milspec" L-E's and your "hunting" L-E's even though no-one else sees a difference (It doesn't help when you change your mind once a week).
70. You actually pay more for an old, used, cloth sling, than a brand-new leather one with your name carved in it.
71. All of your rifles are quite clearly of war-time vintage, and you spend a lot of money searching out parts to make it look more like a military-issue firearm, importing them from all over the commonwealth, to boot.
72. You're not sure that this new L-E is going to be more accurate, or look and act as well as the ones you have, but you need it anyway.
73. You have more butts, swivels, screws, safety bolts, or what have you, than you have complete L-E's and yet you wouldn't even begin considering trading them off. "But that's a perfect example of a Longbranch Bantam butt stock" and you're over 6 foot tall...
74. You think you know the difference between beech and birch.
75. You post this list on the wall of your gun room or vault next to you're babies just so you can tell them the many ways you love them.
76. You know Sweets 7.62 is not a candy.
77. You have broken at least one firing pin removal tool in the maintenance of you're collection.
78. You know what is meant by the term "Hand guard Legs."
79. You know magazine lips are meant for bending, not kissing.
80. You read all the new posts on the group, even when you've got absolutely no idea what the people are talking about, or have never owned an Enfield like the one being discussed.
81. Although only owning one or two other Enfields, you consider it you're personal quest to find a SMLE with the cut-off intact. You regard the rare SMLEs with both cut-offs and volley sights intact, as holier than the Lost Ark of the Covenant.
82. You find and purchase that SMLE and, although always loading a full magazine, you prefer to shoot it single shot because, hey, that's what the cut-off is there for!
83. You're wife/significant other, is used to seeing you quite affectionately hold and pet you're 'ladies' and doesn't mind in the least.
84. You're wife/significant other, has openly forbade you to rent any movie in which an SMLE might appear because she knows you'll comment/drool over the rifle...(but a skin flick is perfectly all right).
85. (For you 'Highlander' fans) You've ever picked up a L-E in front of you're wife/significant other, and after deeply inhaling the sweet aroma of its oils you shut your eyes and launch into a commentary about the rifle and the year it was made like you were there...(1921....1921 was a very good year...)
86. You are annoyed when you go to a gun show and do not see a Enfield;
87. You own more bayonets that fit your Enfields than you own Enfields;
88. You fall asleep at night to the vision of firing one of your Enfields;
89. Determining whether a gun show was a good one is based on the number of Enfields present;
90. You hide one of Enfield purchases from your significant other/spouse (No.2 MKI* revolver here);
91. Knowing the actual names of Enfield Vultures, Buzzards, Owls, and other gamy fowl;
92. Having had the pleasure of meeting "Jona";
93. Owning more pull-throughs than Enfields so that you are not without on your next Enfield purchase;
94. Wishing you lived next door to Vulture, Warren, et al; and
95. Typing out No.'s 80-89 when the wife is in the shower.
96. You know what an Ashoka is.
97. You know the Ishapore screw is not shown in the Kama Sutra
98. You know the correct way to install an Enfield sling.
99. "Aiming off" is not a mystery.
100. You know what the command "Ease Springs" means.
101. You don't think the absence of a hole for the piling swivel on a Lithgow is a factory mistake
102. You correctly identified the weapon used to capture R2D2 in the first Star Wars film.
103. Sticking your wood in kitty litter then washing it in the shower with hot water and soap is normal.
104. You think nothing of buying headspace gauges AFTER firing dozens of rounds through your rifles.
105. After 'athletic activities' in the sack with the significant other, you discover some part or another of an Enfield in full, clear detail, pressed into some part of your (or her) anatomy because you forgot to take the rife out of the bed before beginning.
106. #106 happens so often you're significant other not only fails to mind anymore, but doesn't even notice...
107. In the throes of passion you forget to call out her name and instead either A) yell out the name of you're favourite arsenal, or B) call out the name of you're favourite rifle.
108. After not writing on the board for several days, your friends begin to worry about your health and wonder who will get your collection.
109. You find yourself looking up at your Enfield collection for inspiration from your keyboard.
110. You order a fifty YARD roll of flannelette from the other side of the ocean just to have the "proper" materials on hand to clean your rifles.
 
Last edited:
cyclone said:
Holy resurrection, Batman...

Actually, quick question - anyone got a good set of instructions/explanations about SMLE sights?
Click to expand...

What do you mean? The slide gives basic settings for the marked ranges in yards.
The roller is used for fine tuning. The notches are for a finger nail to engage the roller. Rotating the roller one notch gives about 25yd of elevation change, iirc.
 
H Wally said:
I think he was just referring to what is that noise that is made when the bolt is cycled. Other people referred to pulling back on the firing pin knob, and in reference to a loaded rifle that is uncocked, as a way to #### it before firing - probably because they don't trust the safety. I have often wondered though, with the firing pin unengaged, that would leave it resting against the primer. Logic says that if you were to trip, and say, cause an accidental strike to the back of the bolt, wouldn't it fire anyways?
Click to expand...

John is referring to the bolt handle as being the preferred method of operating the bolt.
The half #### is a safety device, in that it can catch the cocking piece should it slip from fulll ####.
Read the manual. There is no reference to the cocking piece and its half #### notch as being used as some sort of manual safety. You are correct - if the cocking piece were lowered with a round in the chamber, a very dangerous situation would be created. Lowering the cocking piece to half #### on a loaded chamber is also risky, because if the fingers slip while the trigger is pressed, the rifle will fire. The safety catch was the primary and only approved manual safety.
 
Smle and No. 4 magazines have dimensional differences, and are not intended to be interchanged. Sometimes with a bit of coaxing they can be forced into place. Better to use the correct magazine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom