No4 Mk1 Enfield

[lyman54]

Before being released to the civilian population these rifles were proof tested to 18.5 tons as is marked on the barrels. This equates to 37,000 PSI. Factory loads and full load reloads are more than that as I'm sure original military loads. Anyone know why they were not tested at a higher rate?

 

[buffdog]

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The British used the Long Ton, which is 2200 PSI. That is 40,700 PSI for a WORKING load. Proof loads were higher.
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[lyman54]

Thank you buffdog, that makes me feel better.

 

[PatchRat]

soooo.... what I'm reading is, load them up to whatever the hell you can afford to shoot a lot of?

 

[lyman54]

soooo.... what I'm reading is, load them up to whatever the hell you can afford to shoot a lot of?

I don't think so. Although factory loads produce higher pressures than this I've never heard of a problem using it. In any case I'm going to use cast bullets with a much reduced load. On the other hand I used to load to maximum for a 1917 SMLE and never had any bad things happen. Why they were only tested at these pressure's is a bit of a mystery to me.