Did a little post searching here, but came up with nothing solid, What is the best way to check the head space in an Enfield? I have bought a couple sporters that I will need to check, and my buddy has one that has excessive head space, we just don't know how much.
Checking head space in a Lee Enfield.
- Thread starter lebl468
- Start date
greyman441
CGN Regular
- Location
- Wasaga Beach, ON
You need a set of headspace gauges. Really just need a field gauge. That is the most important one.
If you had a full set of gauges, would you then be able to tell what bolt head you need?
greyman441
CGN Regular
- Location
- Wasaga Beach, ON
Yes, field is just the most important. If it fails field the is out of saftey spec.
It's useful to have the 0.064 and the 0.074 gauges. Heaspace shouldn't be too large, above .074, but it shouldn't be too small either, hence the usefulness of the 0.064. I also have a 0.069 which allows me to see if, between the top and bottom margins, headspace is "loose" or "tight".
Maximum RIM thickness on the ammo was .063". minimum headspace on the RIFLE was .064", so you always had at least ONE thou.
I have observed that ALL of the Defence Industries (headstamp DI followed by Z with the DATE between 1942 and 1945) which I have measured have turned out to be .063" or so close that my M&W micrometer has trouble telling any difference. Not having gauges, I used to use a DI sized empty and a series of narrow SHIMS between the empty and the bolt-face. Not scientific but it worked. Key here is a GOOD micrometer.
You can also get "excess headspace" with a Lee-Enfield from THIN RIMS and have NOTHING wrong with the rifle.
Ed's Famous O-Rings (or pony-tail ties from the Dollar Store, one dollar per hundred) will prevent ANY cartridge from going too far forward..... and give you good, solid support no matter what your bolthead might be.
It WORKS.
Give it a try.
This eternal and perennial "headspace" bug is a product of somebody trying to sell gun magazines, gauges or unnecessary gunsmith services. It has really gone too far. The cure is KNOWLEDGE.
The Lee-Enfield is the SIMPLEST bolt combat rifle ever produced (although actually MAKING the thing was a b*tch). Solutions to nearly all of its problems, likewise, are SIMPLE. That's what MAKES IT the Finest Bolt Combat Rifle Of All Time.
Sorry for the rant.
Hope this helps.
I have observed that ALL of the Defence Industries (headstamp DI followed by Z with the DATE between 1942 and 1945) which I have measured have turned out to be .063" or so close that my M&W micrometer has trouble telling any difference. Not having gauges, I used to use a DI sized empty and a series of narrow SHIMS between the empty and the bolt-face. Not scientific but it worked. Key here is a GOOD micrometer.
You can also get "excess headspace" with a Lee-Enfield from THIN RIMS and have NOTHING wrong with the rifle.
Ed's Famous O-Rings (or pony-tail ties from the Dollar Store, one dollar per hundred) will prevent ANY cartridge from going too far forward..... and give you good, solid support no matter what your bolthead might be.
It WORKS.
Give it a try.
This eternal and perennial "headspace" bug is a product of somebody trying to sell gun magazines, gauges or unnecessary gunsmith services. It has really gone too far. The cure is KNOWLEDGE.
The Lee-Enfield is the SIMPLEST bolt combat rifle ever produced (although actually MAKING the thing was a b*tch). Solutions to nearly all of its problems, likewise, are SIMPLE. That's what MAKES IT the Finest Bolt Combat Rifle Of All Time.
Sorry for the rant.
Hope this helps.
Here's a very good article with animations from Parashooter........
Headspace 101 for .303's (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=10
Hope this helps ...
Regards,
Doug
Headspace 101 for .303's (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=10
Hope this helps ...
Regards,
Doug
There's a quick and dirty method too: the position of the bolt handle and/or the position of the main recoil lug on the bolt vis a vis the locking shoulder on the right side of the receiver. I set them to just close over the GO gauge (.064). You can also use a feeler gauge between the main lug and the recoil shoulder to get a sense of how far over the .064 you are if you really want a number in thous.
Even more important from an accuracy standpoint is the squareness of the face of the bolthead to the chamber. This should be checked by putting engineer's blue on the gauge and closing the bolt against it. Contact should be even over the face of both. You can do this using the .074 gauge if HS is too large to use the .064 gauge.
A lot of bolt heads have been messed up by bubbas grinding and sanding them over the years. There is a way to true up a bolt head using a drill press, a piece of heavy plate glass or a ground flat and emery paper, but you have to use a piece of drill rod and a machinist's square to ensure the drill press table is square to the chuck and spindle first.
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