Loose rear hand guard on No4 MK1

[IronCanadian]

I've recently picked up a No4 MK1* Longbranch dated 1943 that was FTR in 52.

This is my first full wood No4 MK1 so I have no experience with the front and rear hand guards, I do own two No4 MK1 with cut down fore stock though.

The rear hand guard is loose and I'm wondering if it can be tightened down.

The middle stock band seems slightly loose and the rear hand guard has a few millimeters gap between it and the rear stock band.

I hope the explanation is adequate and I appreciate any help. I'll post some pictures asap.

 

[supernova]

Have you tried tightening the middle band? Mine wiggles a little until I snug it down

 

[Tyler]

The stock band should be reasonably tight. Not tight enough to crush the wood all to hell, but tight enough to keep everything from moving.

If the wood has been crushed under the band from years of over tightning, and the screw will no longer tighten because it is 100% turned in... you can try some shims of brass or a similar material, cut to size, to go under the band and help get everything nice and snug. I glued some to the inside of my mid-band. Or... you can take the sling swivel out... but I wanted to keep my sling on.

As for the rear-handguard, I took an un-used bore patch, greased it up to prevent it from accumulating moisture, and put it under the barrel/rear handguard ring to tighten things up.

Nice and snug now.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Riflechair]

I find that this most often occurs at the rear hand guard clasp (at the receiver). This sometimes happens when a newbie tightens the action down without the action screw bushing in place. Have a look at the forestock where the rear ring makes contact. If you see two divits cut into the wood below the ring then this may be the case. Not a lot you can do about that except epoxy some cork gasket material onto the wood sleeve that fits under the rear handguard retaining band. You will need to shave or sand it to fit snug.

 

[IronCanadian]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't overly worried about the middle band being loose, just thought it might be affecting the way the rear hand guard was sitting.

Snugged up the middle band a bit, not much room there so I didn't want to crank it down.

Riflechair I took a look by the retaining band and... check! Two notches in the wood below the band.

When I take it apart to clean it I'll see what I can do to build up the hand guard that slips under the band.

Thanks again for the tips.