Shooting pitted bore Lee Enfield?

[MD]

A neighbour got a sportered 1917 LE off another guy down the street the other day for free. He ended up giving the guy $50.00 for it.

Bolt number matches the receiver.

I saw it yesterday and the wood is nice, there's only a bit of surface rust on the barrel (it was stored in a garage), bolt action is fairly slick, but the trigger pull is clunky and the bore has strong rifling but with some pitting in it.

The wood seems quite light coloured and big grained. What kind of wood did they use then? Maybe it was re-arsenaled at one time.

After cleaning it we're going to try it at the range.

What's your experience with a LE of similar vintage with a neglected bore?

Will it shoot?

 

[Skippy]

Oh, it'll shoot.

 

[H Wally]

They'll shoot, and often surprisingly well. More of an issue would be if the rifle was shot out and had a smooth barrel. Im my experience as long as the rifling is strong, pitting won't affect it too badly. It won't be a sub moa shooter in likely hood, but it'll git'r done.

 

[Northman999]

It will shoot. I bought a J/C from a guy on the EE and the bore was filthy. Once I got it cleaned I was very unhappy to see that the entire bore looked like a close up of an eggshell; but it also had some strong rifling. I took it to the range and it consistently shot under 3/4" at 50 yards, which is all that I can do with those sights anyways. I'd say don't sweat it if the bore still has some rifling.

 

[kevwat]

It will definately shoot just as the others on here have stated. You may be surprised after you shoot it to find the bore in better condition than you thought, shoot some full metal jackets through it and that should remove any of the stubborn dirt.

 

[stevebc]

Interesting thread, since I was looking at the bore in my P14 just yesterday, and found pitting at the muzzle which continues in until your eyes lose focus. With a bright LED light from the receiver end, the lands appear bright and the grooves dark and rough. It's not at all like the bright bore in my No.4 Mk.2.

Is this common for P14's?

 

[cosmic]

Yes - The older the rifle, the more likely it will have endured the effects of corrosive ammo. As mentioned, the bore can be relatively intact, and the rifle can shoot well.