No4 Mk 1 - issues

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Ohno

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I have a Long Branch that I'm having 2 issues with.

The first is the rifle shoots 8" high at 100yrds with 150gr SP ammo and there is no elevation adjustment. The only thing I can think of is to get a new taller front sight. The current front sight is marked: ROFB / + .03 and does not have the dog ear protectors on it.
I will try 180gr bullets before getting a new sight.

The second issue and more troubling is the splitting of the case heads. The rifle was working fine (no brass issues) prior to the cleaning. I took the rifle apart and cleaned if very thoroughly. I removed the bolt and the bold head and cleaned inside around the firing pin. I did not disassemble the bolt more than removing the bolt head. Once it was all reassembled I tried two shots with different ammo (Old Dominion sabre tips and new Federal blue box). The Dominion ammo had a clear ring around the head of the case about 1/2" from the rim. The Federal ammo had a dark ring around the same location on the case. Here is the odd part. I had some of the Federal cases that were fired in this rifle before the cleaning and they do not show any of these signs.

The bolt head is marked with a number "2", P22, and a crossed flag symbol with a "30"

So did I do something wrong with my bolt reassembly? How could a cleaning cause head space issues?
What can I do to fix this problem?

I'm hoping the more knowledgeable members of this board may know what is causing this.
Thx
 
Have the headspace checked and corrected if needed. The 303 headspaces on the rim of the cartridge, different brands of ammo will have different dimensions of rim thickness. This will make the headspace different with each brand of ammo you shoot. Brass also varies from lot to lot as well, the first thing I would do is tighten up the headspace.
 
Sounds like head spacing issue. BTW don't use old ammo, it works fine but it can be a bit brittle and you will or might get case had separations..
 
The Lee Enfield #4 Mk1 point of impact is raised or lowered by exchanging the front sight.Available front sights for the #4 are as follows;
-0.045
-0.030
-0.015
0
+0.015
+0.030
+0.045
+0.060
+0.075
+0.090
+105
+0.120


While reloading for military re-enactment match, I thought I would be cute and use 1943 & 1944 military brass. It had only been reloaded a couple of times before, lucky for me I had a broken case extractor readily available. Don't use old brass.
 
those dominion cases are ####e..they split in the neck area all the time. pull the bullets and reload them in something else. the old imperials are crap too. the dark ring??? well you got some good advice so far but i feel people get way to twitchy with the old lee and the head space controversy...try some remington or winchester brass first..and buy yourself some lee collet dies..
 
Ganderite said:
Any chance you accidently switched bolts with another rifle?
Click to expand...
There is no chance of swapping bolts.

What is the easiest way to check headspace? A set of go/no-go gauges? A smith?

Also where can I pick up some different height front sights?
 
What height front sight is in your rifle? I have an assortment of front sights. Might be able to help.
Gauges are best and fastest. Try this - take a cartridge, pull the bullet, dump the powder, and fire the primer. It will back out of the case. Determine the measurement from the front of the rim to the face of the protruding primer. This will give you a pretty good idea of the space between the barrel's face and the boltface.
 
Right now it has the + .03 front sight.

I'll try the primer test. It should be the fastest and easiest.

What is the fix for the headspace issue if it turns out to be that problem?

Thanks Tiriaq
 
Ohno said:
Right now it has the + .03 front sight.

I'll try the primer test. It should be the fastest and easiest.

What is the fix for the headspace issue if it turns out to be that problem?

Thanks Tiriaq
Click to expand...

You said it had a No 2 bolthead? That's already a longer one than usual. They go as high as 3. (or 4 if you believe they actually existed)

Is your rifle a matching numbers rifle? If it is then I highly doubt you have bad headspace.

I bought a Forster SAAMI Field Gauge @ .070" on ebay, and I bought a replica Canadian military Field Gauge at .074" from member Gairlochian on CGNTZ. They both come in handy, and aren't an arm and a leg to buy.

There is a technique to using them which you need to know before trying.
 
Well, you have a #2 bolthead, next size up is a #3, these are harder to get than the others.
When you try the primer test, the primer will stand proud a bit.
An expansion ring ahead of the rim is normal. Section a few caseheads, see if there are signs of incipient separations.
 
Battle sights and bayonets

Another thing to consider was the information I was given shows that the 300/600 battle sight set at 300 and shooting at close ranges will normally shoot high as it was calibrated for the weight of the bayonet fixed to the rifle muzzle.

The various sight blades can compensate for this, but if your rifle starts out shooting high it might have been intentional from manufacture due to the bayonet weight.

Cheers Paul
 
With or without bayonet, if the rifle is zeroed at 300y, it is going to be shooting about 6" high at 100y.
 
This rifle has been "sporterized" so it has no bayo lug. This was an old timers moose gun and had never been cleaned in years.

How much difference in bullet drop is there between a 150gr bullet and a 180gr?
 
Any trace of oil in the chamber? I have several old Lee Enfields and some leave the primer sticking out, especially with light reloads.
 
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