Criterion No.4 Barrels

LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1

LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1

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Somehow, I have missed the fact that criterion has been making replacement No.4 barrels for the past ten years.

Anyone have any experience with these?

I was thinking these could solve a few issues with .303 ammo. One of the issues is the enfield rifling is picky. Not liking certain bullets, and generally preferring harder to find flatbase bullets. These new barrels seem to have more common 5R rifling so bullets like the 174g sierra MK and the Privi 174b FMJ might shoot better. Second issue is the sloppy chambers of the Enfield that was needed for reliability. These new barrels have an SAMMI spec chamber so brass life could be increased.

These are not cheap, but I would really consider this as one of the biggest headaches ive had was sourcing sutible bullets to reload and brass that lasts.

A cheap(ish) sporter No,4, a new criterion barrel, some cerakote, and a new Prestige wood stock and I could have a great shooting, new(ish) No.4.

The purists might flinch at the thought, but it would be a much better option to pack around and shoot.
 
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Everything I have heard has been good. You still have a Lee Enfield so case life isn’t going to be any different. I looked at them and figured out the price to have them imported and went no due to the high price. I can find original barrels for $100 that are in excellent shape. Criterion barrels shoot well. The one I shot was on a 30-06 Garand and the fellow was very happy with it. If you feel you must have one I say go for and give us a review.
 
The only experience that I've had with Critereon barrels is with the M1 Carbine. They shoot well but, I wouldn't call them an accurate target barrel. Vulcan Gun imported a bunch of Lothar barrels for the No.4. I think he wants $850 for one. He has an add up on Firearmscanada.com
 
The Prestigious No. 4 stock set is $465. A Criterion barrel is US$380. Plus fitting and final chamber reaming. A sported No.4 with a fine action might be had for $200. Then you need all the hardware - bands, etc.
Pretty expensive project.
 
tiriaq said:
The Prestigious No. 4 stock set is $465. A Criterion barrel is US$380. Plus fitting and final chamber reaming. A sported No.4 with a fine action might be had for $200. Then you need all the hardware - bands, etc.
Pretty expensive project.
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Considering the cost these days of a mint, new No.4 (if you can find one) then its not horrible.

Only problem would be sourcing the barrel? Who is the Criterion importer?
 
Go through an importer. Phrophet River, I Run Guns and Nine35. I haven’t found anyone in Canada with barrels in stock. I have search constantly for Lee Enfield parts and it would come up if available in Canada. Give Ron a call at nine35 and he can import for you. Only place in Canada that has small parts is Marstar and they are getting down.
Sounds like you want to build your own rifle. It can be enjoyable. I have rebuilt over 10 Lee Enfields back to original. Find all your smaller parts, don’t wait until your barrel arrives as some parts are hard to find especially if you want certain arsenals.
 
LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1 said:
Considering the cost these days of a mint, new No.4 (if you can find one) then its not horrible.

Only problem would be sourcing the barrel? Who is the Criterion importer?
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A mint, new No. 4 is one thing; one assembled from miscellaneous parts is quite another. Apples and oranges as far as what you get for what it costs is concerned.
A rifle set up with a new commercial barrel and new commercial wood has the potential to be a fine shooter and a good looking rifle, but it is simply not in the category of a crisp original.
As far as wood goes, you might consider the stock sets from England. From everything I have heard they are very well done and are machined using CNC.
Stock set from England is 175 pounds, some $315, plus delivery costs. The forend is CNC carved replacement, the other three pieces are original.
 
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I would stay away from prestigious wood unless you’re keen on a crazy amount of fitting. Ask me how I know. Also Nick at Vulcan is great with metal work, but couldn’t fit an enfield stock if his life depended on it.
 
If a rifle like this is being made up, it might be fun to set it up as a DCRA target rifle with PH5C sight and center swivel.
 
purple said:
I've installed several of the Criterion Garand barrels and one of their M1903 barrels. They are well made and shoot like a new miltary barrel, which is the object of the exercise.
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I agree, but they don't shoot any better IMHO.

The thing about 303 Brit barrels, on all models, is the specs for acceptable bore diameters were made up for cheapness of manufacture.

I'm not saying the quality of the steel or the fit/finish are not acceptable, but the internal dimensions can be on extreme minimum or maximum and still be accepted to be used for a field issue rifle.

Depending on where and when a Lee Enfield barrel was manufactured, the bore diameters are usually a toss up, on how close to mean spec diameter they will be.

This was OK for a battle rifle, combined with mass produced ammunition, which only had to be able to shoot a four inch group at 100yds, but for sporting or target rifles those lax tolerances are not beneficial to accuracy required, and the only fix is producing bullets/brass specific to each rifle, which wouldn't be possible.

CIL used to produce bullets from .300 in diameter up to .340 diameter, in .001 increments. If you wanted something other than .308 or .312 diameter, you could special order a crate of bullets, containing 1000 projectiles of each specified diameter, which came in red/green boxes, with each projectile in its own spot, in a red tray, containing 50 projectiles.

Those days are long gone.

OP, if you're planning on building a sporter, just use a standard 308 bore barrel and load your cartridges with 308 diameter bullets. Save yourself a lot of trouble.

If you're building a clone, that's a different story.

I've installed half a dozen Criterion barrels on No4 rifles, and they shot acceptably well, usually under 3 inches with issue ammo, as long as the rifle was "fitted" properly. They certainly aren't match quality and IMHO, over priced.

I don't do that work for others any longer, but I likely wouldn't be pushing anyone to have a Criterion barrel installed, "if" the shooter was looking for an accurate hunting rifle. They're definitely the "luck of the draw" as far as accuracy goes but they are always within specs.

I picked up a sportered 98 Mauser, which someone had gone to a lot of trouble to do a 303 British build on. They shot a lot of corrosive ammo through it and it shows, but it still shoots under 3 inches with the Lee diopter style sights. The bore on this rifle may or may not have started out with a .312 diameter, but that's what it shoots well now. In the back of my mind, I've been toying with rebarreling it but using a .308 barrel.

Likely won't happen, unless I get extremely bored. It shoots about as good as my aging eyes can see as is.
 
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