Loading the Lee Enfield Magazine

X

x westie

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
East Central Alberta
How common was it to have the Lee Enfield magazine loaded with 8 or 9 rounds as opposed to 10 rds...that is to take pressure off the mag spring...i know the Bren Gun was usually loaded with 28 rds ..as it was a 30 rd. mag...also the Sten was never loaded to 32 rds..usually 28 rds also.

I know there is some very knowledgable CGN Lee Enfield people on this forum..also some of our Korean Vets too..should be a interesting discussion.

Thanks Guys
 
I think the Lee-Enfield follower is stout enough to not offer any problems when fully loaded. I can't account for the Bren but the Sten's magazine was built to that length simply by fluke, it was cut to shape in the design process and then determined afterward how many rounds it could hold. The number ended up being 32 but, as you say, was often loaded lighter to reduce stress. If you compare the mag spring in a sten mag to the follower spring in a Lee-Enfield you'll notice that the sten's is a flimsy piece of wire in comparison, perhaps this is the reason they loaded it down.

IN short, I don't think you'll have any problems with a topped up Lee-Enfield magazine.
 
Lee-Enfield magazines were left attached to the rifles on a permanent basis and were loaded, generally, from 5-round chargers. You would put in 2 chargers of ammunition, then slap the bolt shut, chambering a round. Your magazine never had 10 rounds in it for more than a minute at a time, anyway.
Troopies did not carry spare magazines, as it was actually FASTER to reload from chargers than it was to change magazines. Besides, the standard magazine was designed to be left ON the rifle and worked well that way. They did not work all that well if you carried them in your pockets, as it was easy to bend the small cartridge retainer lips.

And yes, lots of guys would put 10 in the mag and then "top up" with a single round up the pipe.
 
Further to Smellie's post, I believe the older MKIII with the cut off was intended to be used with a full 10 rounds under the cut off, and fired single shot until the need was great.
 
You have to put one in the pipe first, close the bolt, At this point I recommend holding the trigger down as you push the bolt forward so the rifle doesn't ####, or if cocked carefully lowering the hammer down to the half ####, or closed position.

Then attach the full box mag in order to have 11. :)
 
the_big_mike said:
but the brens mag is on top of the action.. I dont see how this would cause any stress?
Click to expand...

The Bren mag issue was never one of stress. It was one of mathmatics. The gun was designed for the 8mm mauser, then re-designed for the English LMG trials in .303 British. There was a simple mistake made in the math. The magazine was intended to hold 30 rounds, but the needed clearance room wasn't properly accounted for, so they simply dropped one round.
 
Don't ever let the striker foreward with a round in the chamber. The firing pin tip will be resting on the primer, and if the cocking piece is bumped the rifle will fire. Leave the rifle cocked and use the safety.
 
Calum said:
You have to put one in the pipe first, close the bolt, At this point I recommend holding the trigger down as you push the bolt forward so the rifle doesn't ####, or if cocked carefully lowering the hammer down to the half ####, or closed position.
Click to expand...

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Not recomended



tiriaq said:
Don't ever let the striker foreward with a round in the chamber. The firing pin tip will be resting on the primer, and if the cocking piece is bumped the rifle will fire. Leave the rifle cocked and use the safety.
Click to expand...

I'll second this :eek:


If your going to try to use the bolt/cocking piece as a safety the proper way is to lower the hammer to the half #### position (which some cocking pieces did not have)

But using the safety is better.
 
I've always found it interesting that if you only load one charger into the mag, the rims lock. But if you load both, it feeds normally.

I just tried this again, as I'm loading up for a shoot.;)

Never tried to see what happens if you load one into a partial mag.
 
Stevo said:
I've always found it interesting that if you only load one charger into the mag, the rims lock. But if you load both, it feeds normally.

I just tried this again, as I'm loading up for a shoot.;)

Never tried to see what happens if you load one into a partial mag.
Click to expand...

I think I recall reading somewhere that for the mad min :D you start out with a full mag then shoot 6 or 7 and then jam in another stripper so your not loading into an empty mag. The you shoot 5 or 6 and reload again repeat so ther may be something to your observations.
 
woodchopper said:
I think I recall reading somewhere that for the mad min :D you start out with a full mag then shoot 6 or 7 and then jam in another stripper so your not loading into an empty mag. The you shoot 5 or 6 and reload again repeat so ther may be something to your observations.
Click to expand...

I'll have to give the partial mag load a try this weekend. Not like I'll need to reload that often, with my awesome mad shootin' skillz.;)
 
woodchopper said:
If your going to try to use the bolt/cocking piece as a safety the proper way is to lower the hammer to the half #### position (which some cocking pieces did not have)

But using the safety is better.
Click to expand...

This is why I mentioned the half cocked position...BTW I'm talking about the Number 4, not the P14/17.
 
Remove magazine
Load the magazine
Close Bolt on empty chamber
insert your 10 round magazine
Start Marching

This does not hurt the magazine spring.
Magazines were a dime a dozen back then

Soldiers generally never had a round chambered unless there was an imediate concern.

If one of my Rangers conducted himself on field exercises with a round down the spout regardless if he had the safety applied I would flay him or her alive. Big NO NO.
 
Calum said:
This is why I mentioned the half cocked position...BTW I'm talking about the Number 4, not the P14/17.
Click to expand...


I'm talking about the No4 as well.

as a wartime expedient, the half #### position was not milled into some of the cacking pieces. As far as I know they were all the slab sided cocking pieces without grasping grooves and most were also on rifles that has the 3 groove pressed barrels. The barrels were found to be unsafe and replaced, as well the cocking pieces were replaced by unit armouriers or when the rifles were FTR'ed


I have 2
 
You mean when the bolt is open, the cocking piece can be rotated anti-clockwise? It isn't a function, the cocking piece is just being placed in the fired position. The bottom of the bolt has a cam cut to retract the firing pin as the bolt is opened, as well as a track to allow the cocking piece stud to travel longtudinally. It is part of the inherent safety system designed into the rifle. Unless the bolt is rotated to the locked position, the firing pin cannot protrude from the bolt face. There is a little stud in the track on the bottom of the bolt. When the cocking piece is in the half cocked position, this blocks the stud on the cocking piece, and prevents the bolt opening. One problem with using half #### as a safety position is that if the bolt handle is struck, the stud in the bolt track can be sheared off, and then movement of the cocking piece is less controlled, and the bolt body is dammaged. When the safety is applied, the safety locking bolt prevents the bolt from opening, and it is designed to do this. As well, when the safety is applied, the cocking piece is disengaged from the sear, and locked in place. This is a superior safety function than using the half #### as a safety. The half #### is intended to catch the cocking piece if it slips off full ####. As Woodchopper has pointed out, the grooveless, no halfcock cocking pieces are not common, because they were withdrawn from service, being considered unsafe.
 
bren mags

i can assure u that a bren could only be loaded with 28 or less rounds in a full mag.i had one and sold it (a mkII inglis).i had 13 mags with this heavy but beautiful toy.also u had to make sure u loaded the mags properly--with a rimmed cartridge u had to load 1 round in front of the other or else a double feed.anyway,loading more than 28 rounds would result in the bolt (open bolt system) not closing.that gun was practically indestructable as i had 2 KB's with no damage to myself or the weapon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom