floppy trigger on lee enfield

infideleggwelder

infideleggwelder

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just picked up today, 20/30 yrs since last cleaning. trigger was stiff, bolt stiff, bore, hateful. it is cleaned now, bore ok, bolt slides like its supposed to, but trigger flops around like a hooked fish until rifle is cocked, then it sets pretty solid. is this normal on this mark? there does not seem to be undue wear in the trigger group.
1942 shtle III
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all ser # match except mag. thoughts?
 
Is there a double trigger pull? If not, then somebody has taken down the first bump on the trigger to get a single stage pull.
There is a bit of play normally but just a bit.
 
ALL Lee-Enfields made after 1895 are set up for a "drag" trigger: double pull.

First pull lets you "take up the slack", takes up ALL the creep and gets you into exactly the right position to shoot. This should take about a 2-pound squeeze, then it STOPS abruptly. Then you pull a bit harder and there should be NO CREEP, just a very crisp let-off when you hit about 5 or 6 pounds.

Very positive, part of the reason that these rifles could be made so accurate.
 
Don't know for sure what you mean by "flops", but there shouldn't be side to side play of any great amount and the trigger shold sit in the forward positon with the resistance as Smellie described above.
 
"...never heard of double trigger pull..." It's called a two stage trigger. Bunch of slack before actually meeting resistance.
"...flops back and forth a lot..." Like it's not connected? I'm thinking whoever bubba'd it fiddled with the trigger possibly trying to lighten the pull. No need to remove the trigger group just to look at it. Stock off and compare it to a picture or drawing.
There's a decent picture of the trigger group way down at the bottom here. http://bsamuseum.wordpress.com/1916-lee-enfield-smle-no-1-mk-iii/
 
You COULD have a missing, broken or compressed Trigger Spring.

There are TWO springs inside the action of the rifle. They are identical, U-shaped with little flanges to help hold them in place.

They are a common enough item; even I have 30 or 40 of them, the parts dealers have more.

They interchange with the corresponding springs in the SMLE, which is why I have so many; I am hoarding parts for these dozen wrecks on the scrap rack.

Remove the Forestock and check what is in there. One powers the Magazine Release, the other the Sear, which is a bell-crank lever. VERY simple.

Very good diagrams are in the Armourers' Instructions which you can download from the MKL - Military Knowledge Library - (link near top of this forum, up in th Stickies) or directly from source, which is milsurps dot com, which is also a site which you SHOULD be a member of. Trigger mechs are identical in functioning and design between Number 1, Number 2, Number 4, Number 5, Number 6, Number 7 rifles.

Good luck!
 
home now, took bolt out and trigger is fairly tight. put bolt in and have about 3/4 inch back and forth sloppy movement. #### it and it tightens up to about 3/8 inch sloppy movement. the two stage pull is evident now that i`m feeling for it for it. it is just vastly different feel than the No5. i think i will leave trigger group as is for now.
rifle came with 19 federal rds and two mags. will be testing it at xmas on the Rock where no ranges are required
thanks for all the advice and info, and if i get enough parts i will remilitarize and check out that trigger spring. any one got wood, bands, front sight ears, and nose cap for a No1Mk III?
 
Cocked
halfbent2.jpg



Un-cocked, notice the sear is being forced down as the top is resting on the underside of the cocking piece leaving a gap between the trigger & the sear with plenty of room for "trigger flop"
halfbent1.jpg
 
Wow! Spectacular sectioned rifle. I note that the forend has steel pins through the recoil draws for reinforcement making this a very rare variant.
 
that is one of the coolest things i`ve seen relating to training aids. coolest was a giant .30 cal machinegun cutaway that used to hanging in crown surplus in calgary, but i digress. this all makes more sense seeing the actual parts. i can only hope to have half of the knowledge about these rifles that many of you have. especially all the little differences between No# and Marks
 
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Here's an original research paper about Enfield trigger adjustments with appropriate pics, which may be helpful .. ;)

With thanks to Advisory Panel member Peter Laidler, there's an article on triggers presented in two parts which can be found in the Technical Articles for Milsurp Collectors and Re-loaders (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/content.php...esearch-for-milsurp-collectors-and-re-loaders.

"The Trigger Pull-Off" - Part 1 (By Peter Laidler) (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=4319

"The Trigger Pull-Off" - Part 2 (By Peter Laidler) (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=4320

It's accompanied by a detailed photo montage of a previously damaged skeletonised No.4(T) rifle, used as a training piece for budding Armourers to learn with and develop their skills. As Peter says "It appeared that this ‘rifle’ had never been finished as a ‘T’ as the front pad hole had not been drilled. During bead blasting after a hard life as a skeletonised rifle, it was established that the screw had sheared off and simply been made off level. Drilled out and extracted, it’s back to its former self. Waste not, want not as they say…". Other photos in the article show the clear interaction of the sear, cocking piece and trigger during various phases of its operation.

Article Extract .....

Pictorially, this shows the trigger at the end of the first pull, both ribs touching the trigger bent or flat of the sear with the sear nose at the extreme edge of the cocking piece………, just ready for the off.


(Click PIC to Enlarge)
Click to expand...

Regards,
Doug
 
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