Lee Enfield Rifling Groves

There were also some 3 groove barrels made in England. A while ago, I gave Smellie a rifling broach clearly marked for Bren barrel production. It had EIGHT grooves.

Again, the number of grooves does not seem to make a significant difference in accuracy. Bedding and a good fit is much more important.
 
I have No 4 two groove that's been sporterized , barrel shortened so no reversal , that I tried some 308 cal 180 gr Nosler Partitions in . I was inspired by an article by John Barnsness in Handloader or Rifle some time back . After changing out the size die expander button to 30 cal I loaded about 20 rounds up . To be honest , I was pleasantly surprised at how well they shot . The rifle is an honest 1.5 to 2 moa shooter with standard 303 bullets , it shot about the same with the 308 diameter bullets . In the article Barnsness stated that the two groove stabilized the under sized bullets better than the 5 groove . Apparently , in his opinion , the larger land area of the rifling combined with the rear section of the partition obturating compensated for the 3 thou difference . I've yet to try them in anything but a two groove to fully test out the theory , but they worked well in my two groove . I'll be trying them out on Moose this fall , we'll see how they work in the field .
 
Having said that, I'm not sure that the Savage 4 & 6 groove barrels were left hand rifled...I guess I should look at my 4 groove Savage barrel, anyone got a 6 groove Savage to examine? I know that the BSA 4 groove barrels are left hand.

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I have a '42 six groove Savage and I believe it is left hand twist. Well worn and rough bore but still passable accuracy. Regarding the harder recoil from a 2 groove barrel, it would seem to me that the bearing surface of the bullet is increased dramatically which could increase pressure and, hence, recoil.

milsurpo
 
Was it common for post war CA long Branch rifles from 1949 to 1950 to have 2 groves barrels?

No 2 groove barrels were manufactured in Canada or the UK after WW2.

It is very unlikely that LongBranch fitted 2 groove barrels after 1945.

Check the barrel date on the Knox form of the barrel for an earlier date indicating that the barrel was fitted as a replacement.
 
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