Great illustrations bigedP51. It's very difficult to explain to people what it takes to keep a Lee Enfield accurate.
I agree with everything the illustrations show. There is one thing though that I think is every bit a as important as fore end pressure. You point it out very well in the pics. The socket gap and ways need to be tight. If they are loose, it doesn't matter how much fore end pressure you have, the rifle won't be accurate. Let us not forget the king screw spacer either. Many rifles, have this important piece missing.
Lee Enfields, got a bad rap for accuracy, back in the fifties. They were given names, like bumper jack handles and several other nasty things.
The first thing the home spoteriser and many commercial businesses did, was to cut off the stock and remove fore end pressure. Then they forgot to reinstall the king screw spacer. Things just got progressively worse from there.
If you have a sporter, that has a decent barrel and still won't shoot, check out the king screw spacer, socket gap and pressure on the ways. The space at the socket can easily be fixed with acra glass or by glueing in wood and carving them so there is pressuer, forcing the stock base, back against the socket. If it isn't a sporter, the glue and carve, is the way to go. If it is, the acra glass will work just fine. Several of the early No I rifles, have copper spacers, screwed to the ways, as bearing points and shims. I've only seen a few No4 rifles done this way and only on sporters.
IMHO, fore end pressure, is desirable but not absolutely necessary. If the rest of the stock, isn't bedded properly, it just won't cure an accuracy problem.
I've never noticed side pegs on a No 4 T stock, at the receiver. I have noticed side pegs on many DCRA rifles and regulated rifles, built for target shooting.
The Lee Enfield, takes a bit more work to accurise, than a Mauser style action. The priciples are the same though. I have a P14 and a P17, that have to sit tight in their actions, have the front an rear spacers in place and have fore end pressure to stay consistent.
By the way, I've soaked Lee Enfield stocks in both raw and boiled linseed oil, I never noticed any swelling occuring. It did make it quite difficult, to clean up, so I could glue in the new way pads.
I agree with everything the illustrations show. There is one thing though that I think is every bit a as important as fore end pressure. You point it out very well in the pics. The socket gap and ways need to be tight. If they are loose, it doesn't matter how much fore end pressure you have, the rifle won't be accurate. Let us not forget the king screw spacer either. Many rifles, have this important piece missing.
Lee Enfields, got a bad rap for accuracy, back in the fifties. They were given names, like bumper jack handles and several other nasty things.
The first thing the home spoteriser and many commercial businesses did, was to cut off the stock and remove fore end pressure. Then they forgot to reinstall the king screw spacer. Things just got progressively worse from there.
If you have a sporter, that has a decent barrel and still won't shoot, check out the king screw spacer, socket gap and pressure on the ways. The space at the socket can easily be fixed with acra glass or by glueing in wood and carving them so there is pressuer, forcing the stock base, back against the socket. If it isn't a sporter, the glue and carve, is the way to go. If it is, the acra glass will work just fine. Several of the early No I rifles, have copper spacers, screwed to the ways, as bearing points and shims. I've only seen a few No4 rifles done this way and only on sporters.
IMHO, fore end pressure, is desirable but not absolutely necessary. If the rest of the stock, isn't bedded properly, it just won't cure an accuracy problem.
I've never noticed side pegs on a No 4 T stock, at the receiver. I have noticed side pegs on many DCRA rifles and regulated rifles, built for target shooting.
The Lee Enfield, takes a bit more work to accurise, than a Mauser style action. The priciples are the same though. I have a P14 and a P17, that have to sit tight in their actions, have the front an rear spacers in place and have fore end pressure to stay consistent.
By the way, I've soaked Lee Enfield stocks in both raw and boiled linseed oil, I never noticed any swelling occuring. It did make it quite difficult, to clean up, so I could glue in the new way pads.
