Recently I purchased an Ishapore No1 MKIII* and I just recently decided to do a function test with some dummy cartridges I made up and when I did I found that the bolt was binding up and for the longest time I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I noticed the bolt has some play in the receiver and at first I thought nothing of it but now I realize its the heart of my problem. The issue is when I go to chamber a cartridge it lifts the bolt head up slightly causing the top of the bolt head to hit the portion of the receiver where the barrel is screwed into. So the question remains, is there any way to fix this and if so how?
Lee enfield No1 MKIII* bolt issue
- Thread starter Lucite
- Start date
Worn threads on the bolt head? Worn guide rail? Is the bolt head even on the guide rail?
Either way bud, I would not shoot that rifle until its figured out, way too much energy to deal with if/when something goes wrong with the bolt. My.02
on closer inspection....I think this rifle has been acting this way for quite sometime....take note in pic 1 where the bolt head RS rests against the receiver.
Then pic 2: as the bolt moves up.
Then go back to pic 1: there is a "step" worn into the receiver.
Sorry, maybe try a new bolt head. ( take-up half the wear??)
Either way bud, I would not shoot that rifle until its figured out, way too much energy to deal with if/when something goes wrong with the bolt. My.02
on closer inspection....I think this rifle has been acting this way for quite sometime....take note in pic 1 where the bolt head RS rests against the receiver.
Then pic 2: as the bolt moves up.
Then go back to pic 1: there is a "step" worn into the receiver.
Sorry, maybe try a new bolt head. ( take-up half the wear??)
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I think its safe to say the thing is buggered but here are some pictures of the receiver and bolt. Also I found out that at about the 3/4 mark the bolt has enough play so that you can actually unclip it from its rail on the receiver.
1.bolt with no finger pressure
2.bolt with finger pressure applied
3. Bolt in receiver showing gap.
4.receiver no bolt or mag
5.left side of reciever
6.bolt locking surfaces
7.bolt head unclipped from rail (bolt is about 3/4 of the way in)
1.bolt with no finger pressure
2.bolt with finger pressure applied
3. Bolt in receiver showing gap.
4.receiver no bolt or mag
5.left side of reciever
6.bolt locking surfaces
7.bolt head unclipped from rail (bolt is about 3/4 of the way in)
Hold a straight edge to the rail, is it straight?
The bolt head hitting the receiver is probably due to a worn or undersized bolt body or too much wear in the boltway, or both.
The bolt head retaining lip may be worn or someone may have filed it down to make the bolt easier to get over the retaining spring. Compare it to others.
It's probably still safe to shoot, but is it worth it?
From the matching rust pitting the bolt and receiver have been together for a while. Was it ever in a fire or shot with "hot" handloads?
From the peaning where the bolt handle hits the butt socket you can see she's had LOTS of use.
The bolt head hitting the receiver is probably due to a worn or undersized bolt body or too much wear in the boltway, or both.
The bolt head retaining lip may be worn or someone may have filed it down to make the bolt easier to get over the retaining spring. Compare it to others.
It's probably still safe to shoot, but is it worth it?
From the matching rust pitting the bolt and receiver have been together for a while. Was it ever in a fire or shot with "hot" handloads?
From the peaning where the bolt handle hits the butt socket you can see she's had LOTS of use.
Lee Enfield
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Alberta
This is a common problem with smle actions. There are a number of reasons this happens:
SMLE actions are constructed of common low grade steel, while the bolt was constructed of High grade nickle steel. Therefore the bolt wears into the receiver channel, and becomes too sloppy at a certain point.
In @1915 they had sand functioning problems in Palestine. The solution was to adopt looser tolerences in the smle action.
If you were to find a new bolt and fit it, it might solve the problem if you were very lucky. The likely-hood is that your action is beyond use (but it is certainly worth a try).
This is where the worn out actions which were converted into delisle carbines and line throwing guns came from.
I understand that Elwood Epps(the person, not the store) had some success in hard chroming bolts on some of the sporters he built. This would increase the diameter of the bolt body, and potentially take up the extra space in the bolt channel.
I have no idea about the rifle's history or how it was used I just saw an old No1 MK3 at the store, looked at it and at the time all seemed well but as with anything used it doesn't break until you get it home which I think is the case. that being said I think there are a whole bunch of overlapping issues, for one the magazine was modified to sit lower in the mag well so the bolt would close, the possibility of an undersized bolt which is the most likely situation and the possibility that sometime in its past some guy came along with a grinder or file and tried to do something with the receiver judging by how wavy that rail is.
