New Lee Enfield No 4 Range Follow Up & Feeding Issue

Mumbles Marble Mouth

Mumbles Marble Mouth

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Today I took my Lee Enfield No 4 MK I out to the range. The range was under construction so I didn't have a lot of time before they would boot me out so they could do some work down the firing line. The rifle shoots great, that's the good part. The bad part is, it has a feeding issue. Hopefully someone can give me tips on how to fix the rifles feeding issue. Another good thing about today's range trip, I found a bucket full of .303 brass. I noticed the Canadian Rangers in the sign in book were there only yesterday and there was a bucket with 97 .303 brass casings and 43 .270win Hornady brand brass cases. I'm just starting to get into reloading so this is kind of a treasure to find stuff like this. Before I go on about the rifles feeding issue. Allow me to show you pictures of the rifle and its targets.




50 meters





100 meters



Second 3 shot group. One shot didn't make it onto paper but I'm pointing to where I believe it hit on the board but evidently that's not where it hit when comparing the two photos.



Ok so the issue I'm having with the rifle is it doesn't want to chamber a round from the right sight of the magazine. Works fine if the round is on the left side of the magazine but if its the right side, the bolt just pushes the cartridge down, then rides over top of the case. Its an intermittent problem as on occasion I could get it to chamber. I'll post a picture of what is happening.



The rifle is a 1943 and was made during the war so its quite crude in comparison to my No1 MK III. The bluing is faded, the bolt isn't as smooth, and the machining was obviously rushed, and the trigger is much heavier than the No1. The serial numbers where crudely done with some of the numbers directly on top of the other. None of that really maters when I'm shooting 2" and less at 100 meters with it but this may also be part of the issue where the right side of the feed ramp wasn't machined properly. I don't have a second No 4 magazine to try it out and see if the magazine is at fault.

Other than that, the gun is great. Love it, will most likely never sell it. ;) Oh and I got a picture of that bucket of .303 brass. Took them all home with me.



 
you will find that ivi brass to be pretty low on the scale, but the price is hard to beat

as to your feed issue, first make sure your mag is fully seated, if that isnt it, try a different mag if yours doesnt currently match the rifle, or you will have some fiddling to do. its hard to judge the problem without the rifle in hand, but try bending the right rear lip up ever so slightly, and squeezing the rear of the mag body inwards gently. you are trying to raise the top rounds rim more into the line of the bolts travel so it slides forward rather than down. be very gentle, you can quickly ruin a mag with over bending
 
Everything Scott said. It's the mag or catch.
I got a bucket load of the Rangers brass from the island last spring. The price was right.
 
I think I have figured out what is wrong. After I cleaned the gun tonight, I took two of my snap caps and repeatedly kept feeding them though. Not one failure. I tired 20 times like going though a box of ammo. When I compared the snap cap to the actual ammo, I noticed the Winchester Power Point is quite long. Much longer than the snap cap. I took a nail clipper to one of my factory loads and clipped the lead point off. Then, in a safe spot, I ran that round though the gun. No failures. I have no idea what affect clipping the led power point off will do against game animals so that's why I only clipped the one. I then took a load that I didn't clip and ran it though the gun. Failed right away.
 
THIS is the reason you're not supposed to remove your mag :) Not saying it's your fault, just that somewhere along the line, some doofus dropped that mag on the lips :) That, or it's a replacement that was not fitted to begin with.

Now I see you've discovered the real problem. Time to start those hand loads!
 
LE's and P-14's are sensitive to the configuration of the round. A properly set up mag should accept both spire point and round nose, in various bullet weights. Playing around with the feed lips will solve most issues - if you know what you are doing. It might be worthwhile borrowing a mag from a buddy to compare - to me, it sounds like your front lip is stalling the round.
 
OP; out of curiosity, are you hand loading the magazine? If so, is it in the rifle or out (like an AR)?

Enfields are meant to be loaded with the "chargers". The rounds are loaded into the charger in a specific way so that the rims of the cartridges don't interfere with one another while cycling. If you don't have chargers (get some, but...) try loading the magazine while it is inserted into the rifle carefully placing each rim ahead of the last.

Almost every time I see this issue at the range it isn't the magazine that's the problem, rather the way in which it was loaded. Please ensure the mag is properly loaded prior to bending anything.

If Smellie or Buffdog to name a few cruise through, they will no doubt expand on my explanation as they are the Enfield experts here.
 
They're supposed to be inserted into the chargers in this way: DUDUD. Which is Down, Up, Down, Up, Down.



The charger on the left is loaded correctly, that on the right is not. One more thing I learned from smellie...
 
First things first, does the mag lock in place securely with no play? next, is the auxiliary spring in place at the front of the mag (clips over the front & goes down inside the mag)?
Are there any dents that may interfere with the follower going up & down? is the mag clean inside?
Overall length of the ammo you're using?

With those boxes ticked & still no luck you need to look at the right front feed lip, there is a fine balance to how it should be bent, too low & the ammo will not sit high enough & too high & the rear of the round will not present its self properly, either way the bolt will slide over the top.
 
I rescued an 4mk1 from a life in an attic and yes I needed to do some work on one of the mags doing the same thing took a little working but got er' done.
 
I had two feeding problems. One is my mag seems to be able to be seated in two different ways but remain solid. If seated wrong the round will just run into the reciever and not get onto the feed ramps. The seconds problem was my mag lips were bent so slightly but enough to cause problems. Lots of tinkering and frustration will solve a lot
 
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