Lee Enfield feed issue

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MattE93

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I’m having issues with ammo feeding on my No.4 Mk.1, with less than 10 rounds everything feeds fine, however, if I put in 10 rounds the first one sticks (rim jams) with the round below it.

I am feeding with chargers and know about filling the chargers down, up, down, up, down so I suspect it is a magazine issue but not sure what exactly the problem is.
 
Old production/surplus ammo has a chamfered rim so that they can jump. Even without it however they should feed fine but they can have more issues.

Try loading the chargers so they all overlap in one direction even though its technically improper.
 
From the Small Arms Training pamphlet on the rifle:

Lesson 3 -Loading And Unloading

9. Jams and remedies.-

In peace, if immediate action does not remedy a jam, the rifle will be taken to the armourer.
Jams seldom happen, but may be caused by:-
  • Faulty handling of the bolt - the fault of the solider.
    [*]Dirt or oil in the magazine - neglect by the solider.
    [*]Dirty, damaged or defective ammunition.
    [*]Badly filled chargers.
    [*]Worn or damaged parts.

i. No round enters the chamber.
Draw back bolt.
Press rounds into magazine sharply and release them suddenly.
Tap bottom of magazine sharply.

ii. Damaged lips of magazine.
On service, lever up lips with a round of ammunition.

iii. Missfire.
Reload.

iv. Badly filled charger.
Load with fresh charger.

Modern ammunition is a bit of a pain in the ass, because it does not have the correctly chamfered rim. Having said that, if you end up with a rim jam push the rounds down into the mag (as directed in the pamphlet) or work the bold harder which will force the round home.

Or, you can load a single charger and after a few shots off you can load another - no jams.
 
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I watched bloke on the range and tinkered. My problem seems to be that something in my magazine is quite stiff. When the mag is fully loaded there is almost no vertical play in the spring to remedy the rim jam. It is also very hard to strip the last round or two off of the chargers
 
I seem to recall an old timer telling me that a lot of soldiers would strip five rounds into the magazine, and then if they wanted a full magazine they would manually load the second charger. Another option is to strip five rounds, fire off a round (or more) and then strip a second charger.

As discussed in the BOTR video about the stuff Commonwealth types misunderstood about Lee-Enfield rifles and their various "issues", the action can more than handle a good military beat down. Run the bolt smartly, it should clear any jams.
 
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