Enfield Feed Problem

[Ragnarok]

I recently got my first Lee Enfield - a No4 Mk1. I took it out shooting a couple of times to try it out, and it seems to have problems stripping cartidges out of the magazine when I work the action. Cartridges from the right side of the magazine feed properly, but the ones on the left don't. Instead of sliding smoothly forward and upward into the chamber, their tips come in too low, and catch. If I drive the bolt forward with a lot of force I can usually make them chamber, but I deform the point of the bullets (soft tip).

I realized that a gentler way to make jamming cartridges chamber is to move my left hand down to the magazine and push the front of it upward. You see, there is a bit of play in the magazine. I can pull it slightly in or out, or rock it slightly forward or back. Neither the magazine nor the receiver look worn out or damaged in any way. It looks to me like they should fit as well now as when they were manufactured. Is it possible that the magazine in this rifle was replaced at some point with one that doesn't belong in it?

I thought that if I could maintain pressure on the magazine it would work right. I tried looping a zip-tie around the magazine and through the metal ring immediately in front of it. This forced the magazine to stay rocked forward. (An awful solution, I know.) It didn't work as I had hoped, however. The cartridges on the right still fed properly, but the ones on the left didn't feed at all. The bolt just passed over them without touching them! So much for that.

So, what can I do to make my rifle feed reliably?

 

[enfielder]

I would carefully adjust the feed lips, starting with the left side one. Sound like, at least the left side, lip is adjusted to far downward. A slight adjustment up may solve the problem.

 

[SKScanuck]

Check the Mag first. I've seen No1MkIII mags in No4Mk1's that don't feed well.

A No1MkIII mag has two or three (to lazy to get up and look) catches and a No4Mk1 mag will have one.

My buddy had a No1MkIII with a No4Mk1 mag in it and it always mis-fed. I swaped him the correct mag and problem was solved.

 

[John Sukey]

Its two steps on the back for a No1 and one step for a No4. I agree that slightly tweaking the left forward feed lip should solve the problem.

I always laugh when folks want to have spare mags for their Lee enfields instead of using chargers. It IS NOT A SLR or M16.

 

[Ragnarok]

I would carefully adjust the feed lips, starting with the left side one.

That helped, thank you. Now it feeds more reliably. Even when the magazine is rocked into the worst position, it doesn't take too much force to drive the bolt forward.

It still has problems feeding Remington cartridges with rounded bullets, but I think that may be a different issue. I'll just avoid those from now on, and use regular pointed bullets.

Its two steps on the back for a No1 and one step for a No4.

I'm not sure I know what you guys are describing. Are you talking about the bit on the magazine where the release lever in the receiver clips onto the magazine to hold it in place? My magazine only has one; it looks like it was designed to fit properly in this gun. It just fits more loosely than I think it should.

 

[David K]

SMLE Fail to Feed Problem

.... The magazines do tend to be a bit looser than in a commercially made rifle, after all, the SMLE was designed as a Military rifle that would function in all sorts of conditions. That being said, first and easiest to check is how the rounds are loaded .... lots of discussion already on this site about that ! ... You've already adjusted the magazine lips, next check is make sure the "feed ramp" is smooth and clean , maybe a little fine, very fine , steel wool and cleaning solvent. It would be a little unusual for the feed ramp to actually need a polishing, but sometimes there's a little build up of gummy s..... that catches soft points. I assume that that you've tried working the bolt vigorously ? "Pussy footing' "with a Lee Enfield just doesn't really work ! ... David K.

 

[SKScanuck]

I'm not sure I know what you guys are describing. Are you talking about the bit on the magazine where the release lever in the receiver clips onto the magazine to hold it in place? My magazine only has one; it looks like it was designed to fit properly in this gun. It just fits more loosely than I think it should.

You have a No4 mag.

 

[David K]

SMLE Fail to Feed Problem

... One other area that I forget to mention, check the catch for the magazine release and the actual "notch?" on the magazine. Sometimes there's a little build up of dried "crud" there which prevents proper seating of the magazine. ..... David K.

 

[Ragnarok]

first and easiest to check is how the rounds are loaded .... lots of discussion already on this site about that !

What do you mean by this? I've seen discussion about the correct loading of chargers, but I don't have any of those yet. I load the cartridges one at a time through the ejection port into the magazine. I'm carful to position the rim of each shell ahead of the one below it so that it won't catch when it slides forward. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

next check is make sure the "feed ramp" is smooth and clean , maybe a little fine, very fine , steel wool and cleaning solvent.

Everything is cleaned and oiled. The ramp is in good shape. The problem I was having was the bullet point actually catching BELOW the ramp, or right on it's edge.

I assume that that you've tried working the bolt vigorously ? "Pussy footing' "with a Lee Enfield just doesn't really work ! ... David K.

I'm working the bolt hard enough to deform the tip of the bullet, so I don't think that's the problem.

check the catch for the magazine release and the actual "notch?" on the magazine.

Everything looks to be in order.

Thanks for your help, everybody. I think it's working well enough now (except with the round nose bullets, which I'll simply avoid). I'll have to take it out again to see how it works in the cold during actual firing, but I expect that it will work the same as at home. Thanks again!

 

[David K]

SMLE Fail to Feed Problem

.... It's not so much as how much force to put on the bolt, but it needs to be worked "quickly" . As you pointed out, you're loading the rounds by hand, individually, sounds as if you've done that correctly, so now you're back to the magazine being the culprit ! Any chance you can borrow another one to try ? It's a bit of a long shot, but have you disassembled the magazine ? Sometimes the forward edge to the base gets a little deformed and catches. But it really sounds more like the magazine lips are really at fault ! ... David K.