Do the lee enfield questions ever stop????

FraserJ20

FraserJ20

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Here I am, on my fifth lee enfield, when will it stop? It is a no4 Mk1* LB in I would say good condition. Here is my question. It has been FTR'd and the bolt does not match the reciever. I know the russian ftr's usually have electro penciled serials but this does not. Do FTR'd enfields usually have mismatched bolts with no new serial#? Should I be concerned about shooting it? The bolt seems mated to the action well and seems to lock up tight but I don't know.


thanks

jay



PS, this is my first LB but 4th no4, and the LB reciever bridge is definitely the nicest. You can't even see the welds.
 
I am no authority on the subject but would like to learn from your question...what is a russian ftr?...
I think the bolt head should be properly fitted to the chamber so the head can be change without replacing the whole bolt...so receiver and bolt numbers could match for the life of the rifle although the head of the bolt is repalced...go / no-go gage i believe is used to ensure proper head spacing....
curious to hear the expert...
 
JacquesT said:
I am no authority on the subject but would like to learn from your question...what is a russian ftr?...
Click to expand...


I think he is talking about the post war Russian rearsenaling process. They didn't call it an 'FTR' like Commonwealth countries did when they rearsenalled their firearms but it was a similar process of refurbishment.
 
FTR meaning Factory Through Repair meant that any part that needed replacing got replaced. If a bolt body needed replacing, it was. Military weapons techs did not and still do not care who made the part or if the bolt S/N matches the receiver. A bolt comes out of the bin and the headspace gets set/adjusted by changing bolt heads until the guage, usually just a No-Go, says the headspace is within spec. Normally, the receiver's S/N would be electro-penciled onto the bolt. However, since it has been a very long time since Lee-Enfields were FTR'd, that bolt and/or bolt head may have been changed yet again. Professional bubbafying shops, like Century, did/do it regularly and didn't/don't bother with the headspace check to ensure the rifle is safe to shoot. This is why checking the headspace on ANY Lee-Enfield is necessary.
Like Steve1973 says, the Russians just didn't call an arsenal re-fit/build 'FTR'.
 
Bolts are renumbered to match even at the local armorer levels, but surplus sellers in the past did not bother with this. Yes even Russian rebuilt guns were matched when rebuilt at the arsenal. Along the way the bolts due to many factors get switched around.
 
You sometimes see welds on the sides of the charger guide/receiver on some UK rifles or FTRs. I've never seen a LB that had any evidence of welds in original manufacture.
 
sunray said:
FTR meaning Factory Through Repair meant that any part that needed replacing got replaced. If a bolt body needed replacing, it was. Military weapons techs did not and still do not care who made the part or if the bolt S/N matches the receiver. A bolt comes out of the bin and the headspace gets set/adjusted by changing bolt heads until the guage, usually just a No-Go, says the headspace is within spec. Normally, the receiver's S/N would be electro-penciled onto the bolt. However, since it has been a very long time since Lee-Enfields were FTR'd, that bolt and/or bolt head may have been changed yet again. Professional bubbafying shops, like Century, did/do it regularly and didn't/don't bother with the headspace check to ensure the rifle is safe to shoot. This is why checking the headspace on ANY Lee-Enfield is necessary.
Like Steve1973 says, the Russians just didn't call an arsenal re-fit/build 'FTR'.
Click to expand...

"Bubbafying"??:confused: Never heard of THAT one before.
Holy crap, Sunray, i think you've coined a new phrase!

Heared of "bubba'd", heard of "bubbafied" , but never "bubbafying"!:D
Cat
 
Is this rifle a Fazakerly FTR? If so it'll have electropencil on the left receiver, like FTR 9/53 ROF(F) or something like that. Is it a No 4 Mk 1/3? If so it will have a receiver mounted trigger conversion. Easy to tell, just remove the trigger guard and see if the trigger comes with it or not.
If it's Canadian FTR it'll have nothing on it but the receiver will be a nice shade of bilious green...I've gotten to like that colour!
It probably has a 5 groove barrel with a nice bore, right?
Usually headspace is going to be good in my experience but checking with a field gauge just takes seconds. I now have two of them, a SAAMI Field .070 gauge I bought on ebay and a repro military .074 gauge I bought from a member on here from Nova Scotia who makes them.
Make sure someone tells you how to check headspace before you do it!


FraserJ20 said:
Here I am, on my fifth lee enfield, when will it stop? It is a no4 Mk1* LB in I would say good condition. Here is my question. It has been FTR'd and the bolt does not match the reciever. I know the russian ftr's usually have electro penciled serials but this does not. Do FTR'd enfields usually have mismatched bolts with no new serial#? Should I be concerned about shooting it? The bolt seems mated to the action well and seems to lock up tight but I don't know.


thanks

jay



PS, this is my first LB but 4th no4, and the LB reciever bridge is definitely the nicest. You can't even see the welds.
Click to expand...
 
It is not a canadian refurb and it does not have the trigger mounted on the reciever.

I guess there are worse hobbies, like collecting garands (that would really make me broke).

I will have to look into a headspace guage.


jay
 
The real problem (and you will soon discover) is that this hobby is never just about one type of rifle. :D

So if you see a deal on Mauser or Mosin ammo, you might as well buy it now, and stash it away. :D
 
FraserJ20 said:
It is not a canadian refurb and it does not have the trigger mounted on the reciever.

I guess there are worse hobbies, like collecting garands (that would really make me broke).

I will have to look into a headspace guage.


jay
Click to expand...


Send me a PM if your interested in having someone look at the rifle :D

I have a headspace gauge that I made - .074" mil no go
 
Just when you thought you knew everything. Ever hear of a L59A2?
The L59A1 is the DP version of the No4, BUT the L59A2 is a DP'd SMLE!
six converted but apparently no more than two, possibly three left.
 
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