New Enfield Help

buffdog said:
If you are REALLY concerned about the headspace in your Lee Enfield, then take it to someone who really knows about the Lee Enfield.

Headspace is an over rated factor on this website. It seems that anyone who wants to add another post to their total has to do so by posting "CHECK THE HEADSPACE." While it is a good idea, it is not a horror story if a rifle does have headspace near the maximum limits.

What amazes me, is that a Company would not recognize the fact that this is a collector's firearm, and would want to keep the bolt that matches the serial number of the rifle. Also, the apparent mix up with someone else's rifle does not give an indication of reliability of their service, or their care taken.

As I have used the Lee Enfield since the mid 1950's, and fired many, many thousands of rounds out of various Lee Enfield, Ross, P-14 rifles and Bren, Lewis and Vickers Machine Guns, I can tell you that the ammunition (as mentioned by a previous post,) can vary considerably in quality and dimensions. Also as mentioned, you can have a rifle with tolerances within specifications, but having a thinner rim on the ammunition, it will give you an excess headspace.

Since you are new to the Lee Enfield, I would give you the advice to not sweat the small things. These rifles were made for Wartime use, and not as a minimum tolerance target rifle. They were made to cram into that chamber any ammunition that was available, so the tolerances tend to be "generous." As mentioned, most Military collector users are reloaders. Once a case is fired in the Lee Enfield, it is best to keep it seperated from all other cases fired in other .303 rifles. Then, when you have 100 or so cases fired in YOUR Lee Enfield, you NECK SIZE the case only, just enough to hold the bullet. This make the case fit YOUR chamber perfectly, and as SMELLIE pointed out, it is now using the shoulder for headspacing.

You might give a little more attention to what SMELLIE has told you. He learned from the best.....a five time member of Canada's Bisley Rifle Team.

If you are really concerned with the headspace, you have to use MILITARY headspace guages, not the Commercial ones that have a much tighter tolerance. If your rifle has been refurbished, chances are that the headspace was checked with Military guages and found acceptable. If you feel that you need less headspace, the buy a bolt head with a #2 or #3 stamped on it.

As far as Trade-Ex goes, I can only say that I wish every company could be like them. I have bought well over 20 firearms from them, and have always been satisfied. Anthony bends over backwards to satisfy his customers, and almost everyone who has dealt with Trade-Ex has had a good transaction. (Of course, there are always a few who can never be satisfied.) I will recommend Trade-Ex to anyone, without any reservations.
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:agree:

Well stated, seems to sum up the Enfield issue for new collectors/shooters of these milsurps.:wave:
 
On the note of checking headspace, I recommend any enfield owner to have a look at okiegauges.com. A 3 piece set of hand-ground coin-type gauges for under $60 shipped is worth the peace of mind. Expect great customer service as well!
 
Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated!

Definitely going to get a second gumsmith to check it out, hopefully the original bolt can be put back in.

Although handloading seems like the thing to do, it's a little above my currently abilities, maybe down the road.

I picked up a couple boxes of Winchester Super X, has anyone used these in an Enfield?
 
Feeler guages

plinker 777 said:
noob question guys. Would automotive feeler gauges worl for measuring headspace?
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In one word, NO.

Headspace in rimless cartridges is measured from a point on the shoulder. In a rimmed cartridge, from the rim.

There is no way to get a feeler guage between the bolt head and the point where you have to measure it from, as the bolt head is inside the receiver ring.
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Reloading the .303

Just a few thoughts and observations on reloading the .303 for the Lee Enfield and other rifles.

First of all, the .303 British cartridge was designed with a one time use in mind. On a battlefield, you are not concerned with where the empty case goes, or picking it up later. It is a Military cartridge, and the brass case is considered expendable.

Some rifles like the P-14 Enfield and the Ross lock up at the front of the bolt. Others, like the Lee Enfield, have rear locking lugs, and are a bit more "springy" in the action. This rear locking lug design tends to elongate the brass cartridge case when the rifle is fired.

If you full length every time, you will quickly find out that your brass does not last long, and the stretching and compression of the case each time you full length size it will create a crack on the inside of the case, close to the base. Eventually, this will cause the base to seperate from the body, and you will have part of a case left in the chamber after you fire it.

If you intend to fire the .303 a lot, get a stuck case extractor. It is well worth the cost, and you WILL need it, sooner or later.

Another handy tool is a piece of stiff, small diameter wire, about 4 inches long, that you sharpen to a point on one end. Bend the pointed end about 1/8 inch down so that it is 90 degrees and looks like an L. Take a small piece of wood dowel for a handle, drill a small hole about 1 inch deep, and glue the straight end of the wire tool into the handle so that you have about 3 inches prortuding.

With this tool, you can insert the bent end into the case before you load it, and lightly draw it forward and backward. If there is a case crack, you will feel it, and by all means, discard that case. Murphy's Law says that if you try to get one more reloading out of that case, you have a 120% chance of a case seperation, on the range, half a mile from your car, and a jammed rifle. (At that time, you will remember the advice on buying the stuck case extractor.)

If anyone thinks the Lee Enfield has oversized chambers, then they should fire a 1910 Ross Military Mark III rifle that has an "E" for ENLARGED or a "LC" for LONG CONE marked on the barrel. These chambers have been reamed out, and the brass when it is fired bears only a resemblence to the stuff that went in.

However, with NECK SIZING ONLY, and segregating the cases so that the same cases are used in the rifle they were fired in, these rifles work very well, and the cases are not overworked, thus lasting much longer.

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