Acquired No1 MkIII sporter.....what do i need to know?

[blasted_saber]

EDIT - Supposd to be in the milsurp section, sorry. MOD move if need be....

Just acquired a No1 MkIII sporter, what do i need to know in terms of safety?

I ahve no reason to believe theres anything wrong with the gun, but it is old. the previous owner hasnt fired it in likely 20 years but from his recollection theres nothing wrong with it.

I read a lot about checking headspace and such, is this something I should do? What can happen if headspace is incorrect?

 

[H4831]

EDIT - Supposd to be in the milsurp section, sorry. MOD move if need be....

Just acquired a No1 MkIII sporter, what do i need to know in terms of safety?

I ahve no reason to believe theres anything wrong with the gun, but it is old. the previous owner hasnt fired it in likely 20 years but from his recollection theres nothing wrong with it.

I read a lot about checking headspace and such, is this something I should do? What can happen if headspace is incorrect?

You have the rifle in your hands and we have never even seen a picture of it, so how can anyone on here advise you on whether or not it is safe to shoot?
There are some (many) things in life where one just has to take the bull by the horns and makes a descission.
Bruce, BCS.
(In case you can't figure out the "BCS," it means, "Bachelor of common sense."

 

[TheTooner]

Clean it. If there is a gunsmith handy, get him to check the headspace. If not take it out to the range and load it. If the bolt doesn't close properly, don't try to fire it. If it does, you can decide to fire it if you dare. It's yours. Wear safety glasses. If it makes you feel safer, fire it from the hip. Or sandbag it and pull the trigger with a string from a few feet away.

 

[blasted_saber]

You have the rifle in your hands and we have never even seen a picture of it, so how can anyone on here advise you on whether or not it is safe to shoot?
There are some (many) things in life where one just has to take the bull by the horns and makes a descission.
Bruce, BCS.
(In case you can't figure out the "BCS," it means, "Bachelor of common sense."

Should have been more specific. Gun appears to be (except for the bubba'ardation) in fantastic shape. Theres no outward appearance of anything wrong. Its cleaner then most guys hunting rifles. Bolt is very smooth and functions as well as it should in my opinion.

I suppose im most concerned with headspace issues, which I know nothing about. I just see it mentioned alot when discussing LEs.

 

[cosmic]

The majority of sporters were given the once over when sported. If it appears in good shape, chances are it is. Clean the bore and shoot it. Frankly, I've never run into a Lee Enfield that was unsafe to shoot.
I did run into a P-14 that had a firing pin that was too "sharp" - causing pieced primers - not a life and death situation.

 

[H4831]

I too, have never seen a 303 Lee Enfield that was not safe to shoot.
I have taken possession of them that were so dirty that one could hardly see what type they were. A complete scrub up/clean up, WD40, then to the range. Someone else would likely end up with it, so I would keep the empty brass to show a new owner what the rifle was like.
I also never, ever, heard of a person being hurt from firing a regular rifle that had too much head space.
Too much head space will stretch the case at a point just above the web of the case, about 3/8 inch from the base, making a distinct ring around, or part way around, the case.
Definetely too much head space will make a crack at this line.
Really severe head space will completely seperate the case at this line.
I have fired on the firing line in a competition right next to a shooter whose rifle almost cut the case in two at this point. That was a long time ago and at that time I thought the break in the case was from too much pressure, but this is not the case. He was using standard loads.
Eventually when he opened the bolt, only the short, broken off head of the case came out and the shooters competition was over. But no damage of any shape or form occurred. Being right next to him, I could detect nothing amiss in his shooting when the case seperated.
A broken shell remover would have quickly removed the front portion of the broken case, but he didn't have a broken shell remover.