No 5 Mk I Wandering Zero, is it true?

Ken Waters deemed an 8" spread @ 200 yds to be expected on a 20" bbl 30-30 lever.
But because it's a LE this can't be? Not from an LE!
I like LE's and No. 5's are cool, but tack drivers?
I brought this up one time; my father had one and he thought it shot poorly. Again, no prejudice again LE's from him either.
People who responded got downright nasty.
"He flinched "
"Obviously can't shoot"
"Here's pictures of my target to prove otherwise"

Guys, it's an LE. I'd still rather field one than an M/N or K98; heck it's better all around than P-14's or 17's. Even Springfields IMO are not what I'd want in a WW1 battle situation.
But plugging your ears and stating otherwise won't change the fact, that a significant number of people have said it wanders.
You disagree? OK, but at least be civil about it.
Stay safe.
 
It does wander from a cold barrel but most of us will never see it cause we never fire 50 rnd one after the other without letting the barrel cool. Our civilian shoulders turn to hamburger before the heat becomes a factor. At least that what I read on the internet.
 
i have a no 5 and i have no problems with it at all. ive shot it out to 200m at steel plates that were 24 x 24 inches and not a problem. as far as recoil goes im 5'8 180lbs and i shoot fn 174 ball rounds out of mine and i dont find it as bad as my m44 or my pump 12 with light shot in it. great little guns, enjoy them!
 
Skennerton says that improvements were found by reducing or removing the flash hider. Any volunteers? I'll loan you a hacksaw... :D
 
Your not going to find a No.5 with a wondering zero problem, as per Peter Laidler these rifle were either fixed, repaired or condemned. If the wondering zero problem could not be fixed the rifles were removed from service and torn down and used as repair or spare parts.

Remember if the military rifle doesn't meet minimum accuracy standards it is not issued to someone else until it is fixed or taken off the books and stripped of all usable parts. Mr. Laidler also stated that some "repaired" No.5 rifles were assembled using No.4 receivers to make serviceable rifle in Malaysia repair depots.

Would you believe a U.S. importer SOG actually sold this Malaysia No.5 to someone, now you know why they painted them with primer below the wood line. (and what happens when the paint wears off) :eek:

No5rust-1.jpg


No5rust-2.jpg
 
My fathers had paper underneath the Hand guard. Not a sheet but almost like heavy grade tissue. I know my father didn't put it there.
It was surplus when he bought it...so did someone in the armory put it there or a well intended surplus dealer put it there.
Under hard use that had to have ended poorly. Moisture trap...holy smokes. And repeating firing is going to compress that and change POI too.
 
Based on my sample size of 2 - wandering zero is a myth. Way oversize chamber, now that is common.
I mounted a scope on the better of the two I had - 2.5x Bushnell. The gun would shoot 3 shot groups under an inch with my handloads and just over an inch with some mid 50s FN .303 ammo that I had.
Just so the purists don't get their knickers in a knot - I mounted the scope on the rifle nearly 40 years ago when a Jungle carbine was just another surplus rifle for cheap hunting.
 
Any rifle I shoot has a "wandering zero"!!:p

Me too! :cheers:

I think the No5 wandering theory, as mentioned above, was just so the troopies could get some shiny new semi-autos... AND the fact that for those who have grown up in the poodle-shooting era, .303 recoil out of the No5 does make your eyes wander a bit inside your skull...

I blame the shooters, not the rifles.
 
The No5 was designed specifically for short range use, typically in actions taking place at less than 50m against man-sized targets.

In the Malayan Emergency, according to most that I've read on the subject, contact ranges tended to be around 10-15m. At those distance, the allegations of 'wandering zero' count for nothing.

I've only fired half a dozen in my life, and all showed accuracy in the 4-5" @100m range. Plenty good enough for the jungle. I'm not a good enough shot with one to tell if the zero wanders, or stays firmly at home.

IMO, anybody who expects to have had heard of tack-driving accuracy out of a military service arm with a short barrel, mass-production, military issue ammunition from all over the Empire/Comonwealth and usually petrified 18-year-old soldier boy operating it is pissing up a rope.

Compare it with the equally-short M-N carbine - its nearest real equivalent. Why do you never hear about THEIR wandering zero's?

tac
 
My fathers had paper underneath the Hand guard. Not a sheet but almost like heavy grade tissue. I know my father didn't put it there.
It was surplus when he bought it...so did someone in the armory put it there or a well intended surplus dealer put it there.
Under hard use that had to have ended poorly. Moisture trap...holy smokes. And repeating firing is going to compress that and change POI too.

Sounds like it was put there as an easy measure to fix a loose handguard. I had one that had multiple layers of electrical tape piled up under the handguard!
 
i have a no 5 and i have no problems with it at all. ive shot it out to 200m at steel plates that were 24 x 24 inches and not a problem. as far as recoil goes im 5'8 180lbs and i shoot fn 174 ball rounds out of mine and i dont find it as bad as my m44 or my pump 12 with light shot in it. great little guns, enjoy them!

:eek: My 870 wing with shot "feels" like a .22 compared to my Enfield where recoil is concerned. I concur with the statement that after a box through the Lee i too become generous and "share". I've also learned never to follow the Enfield hamburger shoulder with a 12 ga slug session. Punishment, pure unadulterated masochistic punishment. :evil:
 
:eek: My 870 wing with shot "feels" like a .22 compared to my Enfield where recoil is concerned. I concur with the statement that after a box through the Lee i too become generous and "share". I've also learned never to follow the Enfield hamburger shoulder with a 12 ga slug session. Punishment, pure unadulterated masochistic punishment. :evil:

X2. I love it though, so I ocasionally shoot with a slip on pad. Very pleasant then, lots of kick, no pain. Some of you must be too tough for detached retinas and such, but I plan on shooting for a while, and there is no scoring system for weathering abuse (aniversaries excluded ;)) so I'll continue with the pad, safety glasses, and ear protection.
 
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