hello...need advice to remedy a loose No.1 Mk3* hand guard

vermintrex

vermintrex

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Hi guys,

She's pretty much complete now..except for sling. 1917 Enfield No.1 Mk3 *

The front upper hand guard isn't tight..when I grip the rifle I can compress the wood by hand. Just eyeballing it...seems to deflect about 2 mm at the front of the rear sight base.

Can I put anything under the rear hand guard band to compensate, get it a bit tighter ? Anything no-go...paper / cardboard / metal ?

Yes...someone else took a belt sander to the fore stock..not me...not my fault, don't ##### me out....ugh, looks awful

here's a pic of the problem area:

IMG_3943_zps8a65ac65.jpg


IMG_3941_zps07217693.jpg





another question...how does that bore look to you ? The picture has a bit of noise in there cause of low-light...it's not frosty, but I'm not sure if those lands are good or not...haven't tried this one out yet. Can I put 20-60 rds of copper jacket through it a year without destroying the barrel ? I don't hand load...so a commercially available solution is desired. I've run PPU .303 through my Lithgow with no ill effect so far, but maybe the wear is just not noticeable to my eyes.

IMG_3937_zpsb87e9840.jpg
 
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From the picture, your bore looks fine - and it can handle any commercial .303 Brit.

For the loose handguard: quick fix, remove the middle band (which is holding the handguard in place), and "beef up" the channel; Cardboard can do; I use small bits of leather sometimes; without affecting permanently the handguard, it should be enough to get the handguard tight. (unless the handguard is really, really loose...)

You should think about fixing the crack on the front handguard "ear" before it gets longer...

Lou
 
Very nice no1 you have there!!

You can shim the handgaurd but remember that it shouldn't touch the barrel in any way. This can throw off your bedding and cause accuracy issues.

As for the bore, it looks good to me, the crown looks nice with rifling right to the end. Enfield riflng is some of the toughest and longest lasting in the business. IIRC I think an enfield barrel should be good for 15-20,000 rounds so I wouldn't be too worried about shooting the old girl.
 
I can't comment on the handguard, but there will be many who can.

The bore, however, I would class as good to very good for something from 1917. I'm sure it will handle standard ball ammo as well as any other. The PPU ammo is as close to milspec as you can get. I'm sure you'll be happy with the performance. A mint bore doesn't necessarily mean superb accuracy and many dark bores have been known to shoot extremely well. The best thing to do is shoot it and see.

It's also possible that the barrel was replaced before or during WWII. Are there any FTR markings anywhere, perhaps on the barrel?
 
A friend told me the fix was to use pieces of a coke can. Apparently it is about 4 thous. and being thin aluminum just cut strips with a pair of scissors. May take more than one layer and I have to do it with a No1 that I have.
 
louthepou said:
From the picture, your bore looks fine - and it can handle any commercial .303 Brit.

For the loose handguard: quick fix, remove the middle band (which is holding the handguard in place), and "beef up" the channel; Cardboard can do; I use small bits of leather sometimes; without affecting permanently the handguard, it should be enough to get the handguard tight. (unless the handguard is really, really loose...)

You should think about fixing the crack on the front handguard "ear" before it gets longer...

Lou
Click to expand...


hey Lou...nice to hear from you ! hope your winter days are treating you nicely.

Thanks for the tips !

the "crack" on the front, right ear is actually just a gouge / nasty scratch..maybe a 1mm deep...wood is fine and no noticeable change since I've had it. keeping an eye on it but I don't think it'll change as long as I keep her oiled.

I'll ask my wife if she has any loose bits of leather...if not I'll try some cardboard...I don't think it'll take much...it's just an annoying "click" feel when grabbing it the way you should.

bore looks ok right ?...just wasn't sure if copper stuff will cause unnecessary damage.

take care..and happy holidays !
 
Kirk1701 said:
I can't comment on the handguard, but there will be many who can.

The bore, however, I would class as good to very good for something from 1917. I'm sure it will handle standard ball ammo as well as any other. The PPU ammo is as close to milspec as you can get. I'm sure you'll be happy with the performance. A mint bore doesn't necessarily mean superb accuracy and many dark bores have been known to shoot extremely well. The best thing to do is shoot it and see.

It's also possible that the barrel was replaced before or during WWII. Are there any FTR markings anywhere, perhaps on the barrel?
Click to expand...

You are are exactly right...the barrel was FTR'd in 1935
 
Winter's good up to now here thanks - these days, I feel for our friends in the prairies. Ouch, temperatures of minus... well minus a lot.

Glad to know the crack is just a gouge :)

Let us know how the minor intervention on the handguard turns out.

And I wouldn't worry about the bore of that barrel until you've shot about 10,000 rounds... Well that is, considering the fact that you'll clean it properly! :D

Lou
 
Cordite Mark I was a terribly erosive powder; it ate the barrels on the Lee-Metfords with astonishing speed.

Enfield rifling was the approved fix for this.

In 1908 the British wantd to find out just how long a barrel would last, from new, with Service ammo. A poor guy was detailed to head out to the range with about a truckload of ammo, this the Mark VI Ball stuff loaded with Cordite Mark I.

At 12,000 rounds, they figured the barrel was "toast".

In 1910 they switched to Cordite MDT 5-2, which was far LESS erosive. Modern IMR-type powders are less erosive yet.

So how long will a barrel last? I can't afford to find out!

The entire experiment is detailed in the TEXT BOOK OF SMALL ARMS - 1909.

Man, that poor guy's shoulder musta hurt!
 
Good questions always pique my interest. Only problem is that sometimes I give duff answers, although I do try not to. On this one, I am solid: I have the book right here.

Point 1: you have a couple of very nice rifls there.

Point 2: nuthin' wrong with that barrel. It should last halfway to forever.

IF, however, you want to shoot a LOT - and still have almost zero bore wear - do try the Harris Load. It is 13 grains of Red Dot (shotgun) powder with a 180-grain CAST bullet. You can gas-check or not, whichever YOUR rifle prefers. You get 538 rounds to the pound of powder, little recoil (it is a great load for small people and recoil-shy people, great for teaching)...... and accuracy sufficient for a guy like friend BUFFDOG to use this as his gopher-sniping load out to 300 yards. You end up with about 9 rounds to the Loonie, loading WITH gas-checks, about 12 rounds to the Loonie loading without.

Likely BUFFDOG would tell you this himself, but, right now, he is off somewhere in the Uncharted Wilds Of Northern Ontario, merrily motoring his way toward Brantford and trying to stay ahead of the minus-29-degrees-with-a-nasty-wind weather we are having here. Smart fellow, BUFFDOG!
 
Is your front handguard perhaps warped a bit? From the nosecap to the outer band it seems fairly tight in relation to the forestock but looks like it opens up a bit after the outer band.
 
sounds encouraging guys..can't wait to get out and run this one to see how she fares against my '40 Lithgow, although I doubt I'll get a chance till the new year with all the holiday duties.

Next project is repairing the stock on my 1918 BSA..she's got an even nicer barrel...even I can tell that, lol

I'll keep you guys updated...cause let's face it, I like yapping about milsurps.
 
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