Do I need a new crown? (Pic)

Clobbersauras

Clobbersauras

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Ok, maybe I'm paranoid, but I took my Enfield No 4. Mk1 bubba sniper project out to the range to try her out. Wasn't too impressed. Got about 4.5 Inches at 125 yards with a 10X scope. Now I know these rifles aren't supposed to be tac drivers, but I was hoping for better than that. I took the rifle home and had a good look at the bore and noticed that one of the grooves looks like it kinda ends a few mm before the end of the bore (it's only a two groove). See pic below as you can see it fairly clearly, The bore looks bright and shiney otherwise. No rust or pitting though the picture makes it look that way. Would It be advised to cut the barrel back to fresh lands and grooves?

Also, don't kill me over the gunk of the front sight, I only cleaned the barrel and as I just bought the rifle, haven't had time to give her a good soak and cleaning yet.

Also, for those Enfield Guru's: Is the front sight original or aftermarket? I'm not sure as it doesn't have the protective ears around it and I'm newish to enfields.....
James18Months021.jpg
 
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The front sight is original. The protective ears were probably removed when it was bubba'd to lighten the front.
Don't give up - it should and can shoot better than that. A good cleaning of the barrel with J-B Bore Bright may help.
 
The barrel has been cut and recrowned already. No harm in a new crown if you choose.
You can install the front sight guard if you wish.
There are many factors affecting how a Lee Enfield shoots. Bedding is a big one.
 
Re crowning certainly would not harm it... I am sure if a piloted 60 degree chamfer reamer was run in far enough to clean up that flaw it would shoot better... that being said without seeing the rest of the bore.
 
Did you play around with bullet weights? Most milsurp sporters are pooly bedded, as the posters above have pointed out. Can we anticipate your next question?
 
There looks to be a light layer of rust in your bore. I would clean the bore with brake Kleen, then Ammonia to get all of the copper fouling out. Also the last little bit of rifling looks wonky in your photo. Cutting back the crown by 0.125 inches may help.
Remove the foreend and shoot it as well. You may want to glass bed the forend so that it mates evenly to the barrel.
And check the headspace. Sometimes tighting the headspace can reduce group sizes as well.
 
cosmic said:
"remove the forend and shoot it as well" - you may find this a bit challenging....
Click to expand...

Can be done. I have done this with a couple of No.4s to find out how well they shoot if they were "free floated". I used a short plastic tube as a spacer to hold the front guard at the proper distance. I also have a bubba fore end that was free floated that I later attached to stiffen the action to see if that made a difference.
Do not put your thumb or finger on the sear and release it without a trigger.
It is not pleasant.

Reasons that I have found why some No. 4 Lee Enfields will not hold a group.
-incredibly dirty bore with years of copper fouling and crud. (cleaned with brake kleen and household ammonia)
- last half inch of barrel at the muzzle has the rifling damaged or worn from a cleaning rod.
- warped or damaged fore end
- loose buttstockk
- leather, plastic, business cards - whatever shoved between the forened and barrel.

-excess headspace -replacing with a longer bolthead tightened groups.

and lastely, some bores measure out at .314 or larger.

-a ding in the crown.
- Crown not square to the bore

Things that don't seem to make too much difference
- throat erosion (or corrostion)
- frosted or rusty patches in the bore
-pits in the bore.

And sometimes you just have to change to another brand or bullet weight.

I have bullets from lee enfields tumble, yaw, and generally shoot all over the place. The most common problem was the rifling at the muzzle or a really dirty bore.
 
Shoot another 20 rounds and then look at the crown (without cleaning or touching the crown). then you will know if you need to recrown. The powder residue should have a uniform design. you will know when you see it. If your not sure post another pic.
 
crout said:
Shoot another 20 rounds and then look at the crown (without cleaning or touching the crown). then you will know if you need to recrown. The powder residue should have a uniform design. you will know when you see it. If your not sure post another pic.
Click to expand...

Thank you!!!
I learn something new every day.
 
Clobbersauras said:
Ok, maybe I'm paranoid, but I took my Enfield No 4. Mk1 bubba sniper project out to the range to try her out. Wasn't too impressed. Got about 4.5 Inches at 125 yards with a 10X scope. Now I know these rifles aren't supposed to be tac drivers, but I was hoping for better than that. I took the rifle home and had a good look at the bore and noticed that one of the grooves looks like it kinda ends a few mm before the end of the bore (it's only a two groove). See pic below as you can see it fairly clearly, The bore looks bright and shiney otherwise. No rust or pitting though the picture makes it look that way. Would It be advised to cut the barrel back to fresh lands and grooves?

Also, don't kill me over the gunk of the front sight, I only cleaned the barrel and as I just bought the rifle, haven't had time to give her a good soak and cleaning yet.

Also, for those Enfield Guru's: Is the front sight original or aftermarket? I'm not sure as it doesn't have the protective ears around it and I'm newish to enfields.....
James18Months021.jpg
Click to expand...


Since it already has a scope on it,I would lop the barrel off right behind the front sight and get it recrowned. From the look of the pic the it appears to have been altered previously anyways.
 
Clobbersauras said:
snip
I took the rifle home and had a good look at the bore and noticed that one of the grooves looks like it kinda ends a few mm before the end of the bore (it's only a two groove). See pic below as you can see it fairly clearly,
Snip
Would It be advised to cut the barrel back to fresh lands and grooves?

snip
Click to expand...

Whoa! One of the grooves looks like it ends short of the end of the bore??
That just may be a major contributing factor. The rifling should be sharp and clean right out to the muzzle.
I missed that sentence the first time...
If the barrel has already been cut there is no harm in a bit more cutting.

do a slug of the muzzle, and down an inch from the muzzle just to see how the rifling looks at an inch compared to the muzzle. Remember to have lightweight oil in the barrel for lube when you slug it.
 
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