jungle carbine bolt head
- Thread starter mrclean89
- Start date
Greenhorse six
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
A No4 bolt head is the same , and IIRC they come in 3 sizes and you'll need a set of GO -NO GO gauges to find the one that fits .
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Go to the milsurp site and read Peter Ladler articles about fitting a bolt / bolt head in a No. 4 Lee Enfield rifle. Headspace mentioned above is part if it, but so is overturn. I have 5 #2 bolt heads that range from perfect fit ("0" degrees overturn) to almost 1/8 revolution overturn on the same No. 4 bolt. According to Ladler, the "T" rifles and the L42A1's had, at most, a few degrees overturn; the issue No. 4's went out from overhaul with no more than 16 degrees overturn. Recoil to be transmitted through the bolt body via the shoulders of the bolt and bolt head - excessive overturn results in recoil being transmitted through the bolt head and bolt threads, instead.
mrclean89
Potashminer just gave you some very good advice, military Enfield headspace is .064 minimum and .074 maximum. And I would rather have a bolt head with "minimum" bolt head overturn closer to maximum headspace than tighter headspace and bolthead overturn near maximum over rotation.
Fitting a bolt head is much more than just screwing a new bolt head on the end of the bolt. A bolt head was fitted with a special bolt head spanner (wrench) this was because you selected a bolt head that was too tight that would not align with the right hand bolt lug using your fingers. The bolt head was then worked back and forth with the bolt head spanner until it fit properly. Meaning breaking in the two mating surfaces of the bolt and bolt head until you had a good snug tight fit. Even after this after shooting 100 rounds the bolt head will rotate further and it must stay within rotational limits.
When the Armourers replaced a bolt head they had hundreds if not thousands of bolt heads to pick from when fitting. I have had brand new bolt heads that would fail the over rotation test because of bolt mating surface wear. Meaning out of ten new bolt heads only 3 or 4 might fit properly, and on top of this the number on a "USED" bolt head means nothing due to wear. So you need a few bolt heads to get a proper fit and a good Enfield gunsmith will know what he is doing when fitting the bolt head.
Step one for you would be to download the Canadian No.4 manual from the sticky at the top of the page at Milsurps.com.
Below you have a ton of information on the Enfield rifle and all you have to do is read.
Lee Enfield On-line Knowledge Libraries (Index of Articles)
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/260959-Lee-Enfield-On-line-Knowledge-Libraries-%28Index-of-Articles%29
Below the Canadian No.4 manual has looser standards than the older British "Instruction for Armourers". This was done to keep the Enfield rifle in service longer when parts became hard to get, if you would read both manuals you would see what I mean. And if you read Peter Laidler's how to fit a bolt head remember this is the older British "by the numbers" method" when there were plenty of Enfield parts.
1991 No.4 (All Marks) .303 Rifle Manuals (Complete Set)
http://www.milsurps.com/content.php?r=335-1991-No.4-%28All-Marks%29-.303-Rifle-Manuals-%28Complete-Set%29
So mrclean89 download and look at the No.4 (All Marks) .303 Rifle Maintenance Instructions and you will see the instructions for fitting bolt heads and bolt head over rotation. And step No.1 in you learning about the care ans feeding of your Enfield rifle.
Last edited:
