Enfield Bolt Replacement, Do I Need A Gun Smith?

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catchdfish

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Hey guys
I have had a Enfield No 4passed down to me wich I am very greatfull for
It was missing both the bolt and mag when i got it but have since found a mag for $20 localy
Now for the Bolt
I know they have different head spacing bolts
not sure what they look like ... but do understand their importance
so do I need a gun smith to fit the bolt for me or can i figure this out on my own???
and buy my own bolt the same as the mag
thanks in advance for any and all help
 
bolt is installed, set headspace by changing the bolt heads (there are no 0-3, no 0 being most headspace. there may be no4 bolt heads, but i assume they are kept in the same place as the lost ark) once that is good, fire one normal round wiped down with oil. do this remotely (with a string) in case it decides to let go. then recheck headspace and your set. youll want a set of headspace guages and a set of bolt heads
 
There's a fine thread about go no go gates on headspace just above or below this thread, read it and you'll find out how to check headspace without gauges. But still to do so you'll still have to fire a round remotely to be safe. I'd try and find a bolt with a bolt head somewhere in the middle range ( bolthead # 2 or 3) which should be close to correct. Also, try the o-ring trick by inserting an o-ring or rubber band around the back of the case which will take up some of the slop and should make it a little safer to fire it on the first go. by doing that it insures that if there is any headspace issues the slack will be taken up by the rubber band.
 
if you have them, try several bolts and look for one that needs the lowest # head to work properly, and get one that doesnt allow the bolt head to turn very far out of alignment with the rib down the side of the bolt
 
I think if it was me, I'd just buy headspace gauges in this case. The price if them will save lots of time and lots of experimenting, unless you get lucky on the first try!
 
This isn't just a matter of spinning on a selection of boltheads until you find one that meets the go and no-go parameters of the headspace gauges. Boltheads must also index properly on the bolt body. A bolt head that under-indexes will be obvious, but you must also ensure that one that over-indexes will only over-index to a specified maximum. Of equal importance is the need to verify that there is solid contact between the rear faces of both bolt locking lugs and the corresponding locking recesses in the receiver. A receiver can be classed as unservicable due to excessive wear on it's locking recesses.

There are variations in the length of bolt bodies due to both wear and manufacturing tolerances as well as manufactured variations in the length of the boltheads. A selection of both boltheads and bolt bodies are desirable when fitting a bolt to a No4.

There are some fairly lengthy descriptions on fitting a No4 bolt which can be found under the Lee- Enfield forum on milsurps.com.
 
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Shoot it and see what happens. Really. don't get into headspace paranoia. What Purple said is all quite true but the fact is that your rifle will not blow up if the headspace is a bit loose. Simple. If a new factory cartraige does not chambre, then your bolt head is to big. If when you shoot it and your case deforms at the baes, then the bolt head is too small. This is not a quess. That's the simple trueth.
 
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