42' Longbranch 2 Grooves

berger

berger

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I recently bought a '42 LongBranch N04Mk1* and I was wondering how 'deep' the gooves should be? The bore was described as good when I bought it and it is clean and shiny. It seems to shoot well (have to test her some more), but when I compare it to a '44 Sporterized No4Mk1 I have, which easily has 4 grooves, they do not seem as 'deep'. Is this mainly because it is a 2 groove barrel? Hopefully this makes sense....:)
 
berger said:
I recently bought a '42 LongBranch N04Mk1* and I was wondering how 'deep' the gooves should be? The bore was described as good when I bought it and it is clean and shiny. It seems to shoot well (have to test her some more), but when I compare it to a '44 Sporterized No4Mk1 I have, which easily has 4 grooves, they do not seem as 'deep'. Is this mainly because it is a 2 groove barrel? Hopefully this makes sense....:)
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The grooves on a 2 groove should be around .311" and the lands .303". This of coarse is varies wildly due to wartime production, wear, etc. But they should have the same specs as a 4 or 5 groove. I believe if you look closely at your bore on your 2 groove, you will find that the lands make up the majority of the bore, with the grooves accounting for a much smaller portion. So technically they could almost be considered a .303" bore, that shoots .311" bullets:eek: Freaky isn't it!? It's been quite a while sinced I've owned a 2 groove, but I believe I remember that right. I have never been a big fan of two groove barrels just for that reason. Plus the accuracy, while shooting a very good bore can be quite accurate, they drop off very quickly and even keyhole when they are worn. Wereas a 4 or 5 groove can be like a stovepipe and still shoot a half decient group. Edit: This of coarse is just my opinion, lest I get beaten to death by a 2 groove Savage owner on my way to work tonight:D
 
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berger said:
I recently bought a '42 LongBranch N04Mk1* and I was wondering how 'deep' the gooves should be? The bore was described as good when I bought it and it is clean and shiny. It seems to shoot well (have to test her some more), but when I compare it to a '44 Sporterized No4Mk1 I have, which easily has 4 grooves, they do not seem as 'deep'. Is this mainly because it is a 2 groove barrel? Hopefully this makes sense....:)
Click to expand...

On the 42 LB I just bought, I didn't think the rifling looked that deep, in spite of the rifle being virtually brand new, so I showed it to a couple of people and they thought it looked fine. I've had a few 2 grooves and the look varies, they're not all identical.
 
Hi-Standard said:
The grooves on a 2 groove should be around .311" and the lands .303". This of coarse is varies wildly due to wartime production, wear, etc. But they should have the same specs as a 4 or 5 groove. I believe if you look closely at your bore on your 2 groove, you will find that the lands make up the majority of the bore, with the grooves accounting for a much smaller portion. So technically they could almost be considered a .303" bore, that shoots .311" bullets:eek: Freaky isn't it!? It's been quite a while sinced I've owned a 2 groove, but I believe I remember that right. I have never been a big fan of two groove barrels just for that reason. Plus the accuracy, while shooting a very good bore can be quite accurate, they drop off very quickly and even keyhole when they are worn. Wereas a 4 or 5 groove can be like a stovepipe and still shoot a half decient group. Edit: This of coarse is just my opinion, lest I get beaten to death by a 2 groove Savage owner on my way to work tonight:D
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Sounds about right to me! Thanks! :)
 
cantom said:
On the 42 LB I just bought, I didn't think the rifling looked that deep, in spite of the rifle being virtually brand new, so I showed it to a couple of people and they thought it looked fine. I've had a few 2 grooves and the look varies, they're not all identical.
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Ya, they definitley don't look deep, but she shoots pretty well, granted I haven't tested it too much. I really wanted the LB, so no regrets.
 
Lee-Enfield barrels can measure between .311" and .315" and still be considered ok. Larger than .315" and it's shot out. The rifling isn't square cut like other rifles though. It looks like this ( ) all the way around. As opposed to [ ].
Like tiriaq says, slug your barrel to find out what its diameter actually is. Then use bullets that are close as possible to the actual diameter.
 
berger said:
I recently bought a '42 LongBranch N04Mk1* and I was wondering how 'deep' the gooves should be? The bore was described as good when I bought it and it is clean and shiny. It seems to shoot well (have to test her some more), but when I compare it to a '44 Sporterized No4Mk1 I have, which easily has 4 grooves, they do not seem as 'deep'. Is this mainly because it is a 2 groove barrel? Hopefully this makes sense....:)
Click to expand...

I have had lots of Enfield rifles with 2 grooves,they shoot just as well as 4 or 5 groove barrels.
 
DCRA guys used to say that a 2-groove was competitive out to and including 600. From 600 through about 800 or 900, the thing to have was a Number 4, with a 6-groove Canadian right-hand barrel if you could find one. From 900 out, they swore by the old light-barreled Smellie, the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mark III or Mark III*...... otherwise Rifle Number 1, Mark III*.

Funny, but a decent P-'14 can be just scary accurate, yet you rarely even saw one. And a good Ross can take on anything.

But there's nothing "wrong" with a 2-groove in a Number 4. Just make sure it's bedded right, your ammo is good and that you are doing YOUR job and, if you can see it, you can hit it, and that's about the best any rifle will do.
 
smellie said:
Just make sure it's bedded right, your ammo is good and that you are doing YOUR job and, if you can see it, you can hit it, and that's about the best any rifle will do.
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Thanks. I think that is what many people forget about....the person looking down the sights! :D
 
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