I have a couple #4 sporters that I am working on. Both are missing the spacer that goes between the front trigger guard and the receiver. I went to a local machine shop to see if they had a piece of steel tubing that I could use. The closest they had to 3/8" was 7/16" I am putting a "new fore stock" on this rifle and I am reluctant to drill this stock. Any suggestions ?
Lee Enfield Front Trigger Guard Spacer
- Thread starter got to go
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- pallisers triangle
know anyone in the oilfield industry? i got some stainless tubeing from a freind, that was scrap, and its perfect. they use it in the instrumentation end of things hear in the gas shacks . ive since went on the hunt for more, and have a couple feet of it. if you cant find any, lemmy know and ill mail you a chunk
A little food for thought, below is a No.4 Mk.2 that was “regulated” or accurized by Fultons of Bisley, the trigger guard bushing was totally removed and not used.
(It was not needed)
On a Mk.1 wood crush and the bushing height controlled the trigger pull by keeping the angle of the trigger guard constant.
If the fore stock had more than .020 wood crush top and bottom the armourer was to replace the fore stock, again this deals with trigger guard angle.
The trigger guard bushing is to be .010 shorter than the actual wood measurement to allow for slight wood crush. (and keep the wood from being crushed the remaining .010 before replacing the fore stock.)
The Canadian No.4 manual states the following, PLEASE take note of the key word “MAY”.
The trigger guard was bent to adjust the trigger pull and the word “may” means replacement stocks are no longer made
(The .020 wood crush rule no longer applies to keep old Enfield’s in service with the Canadian Rangers)
The bushing is a form of “pillar bedding” to prevent bedding shifts in wet weather but is not necessary as long as you keep the stock reasonably “DRY”.
Think about it…………………
A “cheat” in bedding surplus rifles that are going to be kept original as possible and still shoot them is to use tung oil “inside” the stock to “water proof” the bedding areas.
(It was not needed)
On a Mk.1 wood crush and the bushing height controlled the trigger pull by keeping the angle of the trigger guard constant.
If the fore stock had more than .020 wood crush top and bottom the armourer was to replace the fore stock, again this deals with trigger guard angle.
The trigger guard bushing is to be .010 shorter than the actual wood measurement to allow for slight wood crush. (and keep the wood from being crushed the remaining .010 before replacing the fore stock.)
The Canadian No.4 manual states the following, PLEASE take note of the key word “MAY”.
The trigger guard was bent to adjust the trigger pull and the word “may” means replacement stocks are no longer made
(The .020 wood crush rule no longer applies to keep old Enfield’s in service with the Canadian Rangers)
The bushing is a form of “pillar bedding” to prevent bedding shifts in wet weather but is not necessary as long as you keep the stock reasonably “DRY”.
Think about it…………………
A “cheat” in bedding surplus rifles that are going to be kept original as possible and still shoot them is to use tung oil “inside” the stock to “water proof” the bedding areas.
A little food for thought, below is a No.4 Mk.2 that was “regulated” or accurized by Fultons of Bisley, the trigger guard bushing was totally removed and not used.
(It was not needed)
On a Mk.1 wood crush and the bushing height controlled the trigger pull by keeping the angle of the trigger guard constant.
If the fore stock had more than .020 wood crush top and bottom the armourer was to replace the fore stock, again this deals with trigger guard angle.
The trigger guard bushing is to be .010 shorter than the actual wood measurement to allow for slight wood crush. (and keep the wood from being crushed the remaining .010 before replacing the fore stock.)
The Canadian No.4 manual states the following, PLEASE take note of the key word “MAY”.
The trigger guard was bent to adjust the trigger pull and the word “may” means replacement stocks are no longer made
(The .020 wood crush rule no longer applies to keep old Enfield’s in service with the Canadian Rangers)
The bushing is a form of “pillar bedding” to prevent bedding shifts in wet weather but is not necessary as long as you keep the stock reasonably “DRY”.
Think about it…………………
A “cheat” in bedding surplus rifles that are going to be kept original as possible and still shoot them is to use tung oil “inside” the stock to “water proof” the bedding areas.
Great photo's....must be the movie "Kokoda"....the shi**ty conditions that the SMLE rifle and Brens had to perform under was probably the harshest that any infantry weapons were used...also the Owen SMG could also take it,..and come up shooting ...one can understand just from these photo, why the Lee Enfield had such sloppy chamber, and still be reliable
And since the SAAMI didn’t come into being until 1926 you also might understand why the American commercial .303 British chamber is smaller along with the reloading dies.
The military chamber is 1/8 longer than the commercial chamber, if you full length resize your cases you are grossly over resizing your cases.
Below, a Wilson commercial cartridge case gauge and with a case fired in a Military Enfield rifle. In a commercial rifle the fired case should be level with the top of the gauge.
The military chamber was enlarged to make room for the mud of Flanders.
Check the copper plumbing pipe at Ctire or another hardware store. I've used this to make bushings/spacers for the rear guard screw when bedding 1903s and M98s. If you get a piece with the right internal/external dimensions you can cut off pieces with a hand held pipe cutter and use a file to trim it to just the right height.
A little food for thought, below is a No.4 Mk.2 that was “regulated” or accurized by Fultons of Bisley, the trigger guard bushing was totally removed and not used.
(It was not needed)
Why would they hog out the area where the bolt goes through ? Although it May not be needed. I think I will replace the sleeve. I looked all over town today, but no luck. I have a piece of 7/16" pipe and don't have a lathe. I am going to try and improvise and stick it in my drill press and either file it or sand it with Emery cloth. Not that much to remove. How long are they supposed to be ? I seem to remember 1/2" Great pictures Ed
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Some of the pics are gone but here's a link to fitting the bushing. Too long, the action rattles up and down in the forend. Too short, the forend is crushed.
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?6737-Bedding-in-a-Mk4-No1*-savage&p=42642#post42642
A little food for thought, below is a No.4 Mk.2 that was “regulated” or accurized by Fultons of Bisley, the trigger guard bushing was totally removed and not used.
(It was not needed)
Why would they hog out the area where the bolt goes through ? Although it May not be needed. I think I will replace the sleeve. I looked all over town today, but no luck. I have a piece of 7/16" pipe and don't have a lathe. I am going to try and improvise and stick it in my drill press and either file it or sand it with Emery cloth. Not that much to remove. How long are they supposed to be ? I seem to remember 1/2" Great pictures Ed
Got to go
The trigger guard hinges at the rear trigger guard screw and when the front trigger guard screw is tightened the trigger guard acts like a clamp to tightly hold the fore stock in place.
An armourer inspected the bushing length during the yearly teardown inspection, REPETE an armourer checked for proper bushing length once per year.
Take the Enfield from damp England to the desert of North Africa and the bushing will end up too long. Get the stock soaked in the rain and the bushing will be too short.
A friend at work shot in .22 silhouette competition and loosened his bedding screw after each match and re-torqued this screw before each match on his Anschutz target rifle.
Bedding pressure is far more important than bushing length on a wooden stock because just a simple humidity change can change bedding pressures by causing the wood to swell.
The Enfield in my photo was used to shoot out to 1000 yards where humidity could effect the Point of Impact of the bullet.
Photo below shows wood crush, please note the wood crush at the bottom of the receiver is NOT equal, while the bottom area of the trigger guard has MORE wood crush and is equal on both sides.
Now go back up and look at the bedding foot print on the accurized Enfield in my photo and see how even the receiver is bedded.
A stock collar (bushing) gauge and filing jig is used to determine the proper bushing height, it is then shortened an additional .010 to allow for slight wood crush.
Below a new bushing in the filling jig end of the gauge.
(please note a new bushing is much longer than ½ of an inch which is just a “WAG” or wild ass guess)
Taking off the last .010 of an inch with a fine file.
That’s real funny Cantom because my tool was made in Canada and was military issue.
NOTE: When the collar (bushing) is adjusted to the correct height and the front trigger guard screw is tightened up
IT DOES NOT crush the fore end excessively
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That’s real funny Cantom because my tool was made in Canada and was military issue.
A good set of pics of that tool would no doubt be appreciated by those of us that will never find one!
C Broad Arrows on it? Maker's marks?
Anyone else ever handled one?
Cantom
My stock collar gauge has no markings and I got it at http://www.ds-solutions.co.uk/ with other Canadian made gauges and tools, all were labeled at this site “made in Canada”.
Also the Canadian No.4 manual tells you how to make this tool starting on page 3-2-31, my honest opinion is neither tool is actually needed because they only give you the course length and the bushing needs to be shortened .010 after it come out of the filling jig.
The method I use is to tighten the trigger guard screw and mark the screw head location.
I then remove the bushing and see if the trigger guard screw over turns or tightens past the reference mark.
(bushing too long – wood crush – wood scrinkage)
If a new bushing is needed I “guesstimate” the length starting long and slowly shorten the bushing till the correct length is reached.
My stock collar gauge has no markings and I got it at http://www.ds-solutions.co.uk/ with other Canadian made gauges and tools, all were labeled at this site “made in Canada”.
Also the Canadian No.4 manual tells you how to make this tool starting on page 3-2-31, my honest opinion is neither tool is actually needed because they only give you the course length and the bushing needs to be shortened .010 after it come out of the filling jig.
The method I use is to tighten the trigger guard screw and mark the screw head location.
I then remove the bushing and see if the trigger guard screw over turns or tightens past the reference mark.
(bushing too long – wood crush – wood scrinkage)
If a new bushing is needed I “guesstimate” the length starting long and slowly shorten the bushing till the correct length is reached.
Many Thanks to all. Especially Ed Horton aka bigedp51 Links like this should be in every Enfield Nutz " Favorites " 
Jack http://www.euroarms.net/EFD/manuali/No4Mk1Arm.pdf Everything Enfield I need to know
Jack http://www.euroarms.net/EFD/manuali/No4Mk1Arm.pdf Everything Enfield I need to know Got to go 
You should be shot with a dull .303 bullet, drawn and quartered, and have your library card revoked. Where do you think the Italians got the manuals from and guess where you can find all the information you need on the Enfield rifle?
Six years ago you couldn’t find a Enfield manual anywhere on the internet because a Canadian who has his own website and sells his manuals was telling all the websites they were breaking Canadian copyright laws and had to remove these Canadian No.4 manuals.
Guess who lost two manual stickies in Enfield forums because of this and guess who flooded the internet with Enfield books and manuals returning the favor. Over 90% of the Enfield books and manuals you see on the internet today were donated by me for people like you to read for FREE!
Badger at Milsurps.com "The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum" has the best collection of Enfield information on the internet and all this is available at the top of your webpage here.
http://www.milsurps.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72
http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=3611
Got to go, you should be shot with a very dull .303 bullet and have salt poured on the wound.
These books and manuals are at the top of your forum here
You should be shot with a dull .303 bullet, drawn and quartered, and have your library card revoked. Where do you think the Italians got the manuals from and guess where you can find all the information you need on the Enfield rifle?
Six years ago you couldn’t find a Enfield manual anywhere on the internet because a Canadian who has his own website and sells his manuals was telling all the websites they were breaking Canadian copyright laws and had to remove these Canadian No.4 manuals.
Guess who lost two manual stickies in Enfield forums because of this and guess who flooded the internet with Enfield books and manuals returning the favor. Over 90% of the Enfield books and manuals you see on the internet today were donated by me for people like you to read for FREE!
Badger at Milsurps.com "The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum" has the best collection of Enfield information on the internet and all this is available at the top of your webpage here.
http://www.milsurps.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72
http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=3611
Got to go, you should be shot with a very dull .303 bullet and have salt poured on the wound.
These books and manuals are at the top of your forum here
Got to go
You should be shot with a dull .303 bullet, drawn and quartered, and have your library card revoked.
and have salt poured on the wound.
With a Dumb/Dumb bullet no less
Got to go
At Badgers website Milsurps.com http://www.milsurps.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72 you will find the largest collection of Enfield books and manuals that anyone has on the internet in Badgers “Lee Enfield On-line Knowledge Libraries (Index of Articles)”
http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=3611
Many people have contributed books and manuals related to the Enfield beside myself and there is a wealth of information at Badgers website.
Got to go, I’m not seeking credit, I just want you to know where to go to get the information and where to send other people to find it also.
The person who deserves the credit is Badger and his website for hosting such a wealth of information for everyone to read, learn and enjoy for free.
Now where did I put all those dull Enfield bullets………………
At Badgers website Milsurps.com http://www.milsurps.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72 you will find the largest collection of Enfield books and manuals that anyone has on the internet in Badgers “Lee Enfield On-line Knowledge Libraries (Index of Articles)”
http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=3611
Many people have contributed books and manuals related to the Enfield beside myself and there is a wealth of information at Badgers website.
Got to go, I’m not seeking credit, I just want you to know where to go to get the information and where to send other people to find it also.
The person who deserves the credit is Badger and his website for hosting such a wealth of information for everyone to read, learn and enjoy for free.
Now where did I put all those dull Enfield bullets………………
