Lee-Enfield education

[mikeg81]

I had a look at Milsurp.com, but I can't see the articles with out registering, so I am going to ask here.

I have seen No.4's with different-groove barrels, ie. 2 groove or 4(I think) groove.

Is one better than the other, or more accurate? When did the change happen?

I'm asking as I would like to get a Canadian No 4, that won't just hang on the wall(ie. Milsurp hunting thread)

Thanks.

 

[louthepou]

More than the no. of grooves, the overall status of the firearm, including the rifling, is what matters. Most No4's will be 5 or 2 grooves; IIRC, some were 6 or 4 grooves as well (was this for the No4 Enfield, or the No1 Mk3?). I have some with 2 and 5 grooves and all perform in a satisfactory manner.

Also IIRC, one thing I read about accuracy and # of grooves was that when new, the 2 groove could be marginally more accurate, while the accuracy declined faster than the 5 groove with wear (they were talking tens of thousands of rounds though).

Others may have more accurate info, all this is from my fuzzy memory,

Lou

 

[tiriaq]

For all practical purposes there is no difference in shooting performance. You will get more variation from rifle to rifle. Barrel life depended on use of cordite, or nitrocellulose propellants. Using a mixture of both types also resulted in different barrel life.
2 groove barrels are very common on North American made No. 4s. Also made in the UK. Six groove barrels may be seen on early US and late Long Branch rifles. The 6 groove LB barrels were rifled on machinery originally used for Bren barrel production.
Unles you obtain of of the unissued rifles, any No. 4 you buy will be used, and you will have no way of determining where, when or how much it was used, or how well cared for it was. If you are considering buying a rifle, it is nice to be able to inspect a well cleaned bore. A neglected barrel could be corroded, one poorly cleaned with a pullthrough - which was the standard cleaning tool - may have a damaged muzzle.

 

[Claven2]

The 4 grooves were used on some BSA Dispersal rifles in ww2, No,1MkIII* pattern.

 

[stevebc]

Why not register at milsurps.com? It only takes a minute.
Or join gunboards- you don't need to register to see the posts, but you can't see the pics until you log in.

http://forums.gunboards.com/index.php

Both of these sites are worth checking out and adding to your favourites file.

 

[Steppenwolf]

X2, both great sites!

Why not register at milsurps.com? It only takes a minute.
Or join gunboards- you don't need to register to see the posts, but you can't see the pics until you log in.

http://forums.gunboards.com/index.php

Both of these sites are worth checking out and adding to your favourites file.

 

[Ganderite]

I have heard, but cannot confirm, that the 2 groove barrel is better with lead bullets.

I have shot a lot of cast lead bullets in my 5 groove rifles, and they worked well.