SMLE Bore Diameter

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Bart212

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Good day,

I have a No1 MkIII and took it shooting on the weekend. I tried to sight it in to know where my MPI was ... got up to the 10 yr line and I wasn't even close to hitting any paper on the 2 x 4 ft sheet. Took it back to the 75yrd and shot it and the MPI was about 5 ft right and 6 ft high.

I was told that Enfield (depending on Manufacturer may have made their bores larger upto .317. Would this be the issue with the rifle?

Thanks,
 
The Enfields tend to get their best accuracy with the 180gr bullets. The bullet is longer and contacts the grooves better for more stable spin. I found that kind of odd when I was reading about it but, apparently that is how these rifles shoot.

Did you start the adjustable sights at their zero markings? Shouldn't be too hard to dial it in for you. I know my SMLE (Model4 Mk1) the sights are not really designed for great accuracy since there is so much variance in them visually. I have to take mine out to sight it in before the Mil shoot coming up in June. Should be fun for sure shooting a classic rifle that went through WWII.
 
The lowest sight setting on the Number 4 Rifle was the BATTLE SIGHT. Generally, it was considered good for combat use at ranges up to 300 yards.

Technique for using the rear aperture sight on the Number 4 is very simple: DON'T use it. Just look THROUGH it, let it blur completely out of focus. FOCUS on the front sight. Take your first pressure on the Trigger. Place the FRONT SIGHT just BELOW where you want the bullet to go..... and PRESS the Trigger.

Another thing you might want to try if you are going into an ironsight match: put the Front Sight Blade HALF a width to your RIGHT and aim the rifle with the UPPER LEFT CORNER of the Sight Blade. You might be shocked at how much your groups shrink.

Remember, the standard target when thes rifles were in Service was the "Tin Hat" target; there was supposed to be a hairline of white BELOW the "Tin Hat". The BULLET goes into this area.

Hop over to milsurps dot com, take out a (free) membership, get onto the Lee-Enfield forum and download yourself a (free) copy of "SHOOT TO LIVE!". It came out in 1944 and it is STILL the finest book ever written on how to shoot ACCURATELY with a Number 4 Rifle.

BTW, have you checked the FORESTOCK of your rifle? Bedding issues can give you some pretty off-the-wall shooting.
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BORE on the Lee-Enfield was supposed to be .302" to .304" although the lower limit was relaxed to .301" during wartime. Grooves were about .0045" in depth.

BULLET DIAMETER was kept as close as possible to .312". I have NO idea why the Americans insist on making the bullets at .311"; they have known about this for 124 years now!

The British kept their bullet weight at 174 grains long after everybody else ent to lightweight bullets. Why? Because the rifles liked the heavier bullet. Something to think about.

ANY rifle with Enfield rifling (5 lands and grooves, deep grooves) will shoot its best with FLAT-based bullets.

PITCH is 1 turn in 10 inches and that holds for every .303 which ever left the factory.
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SPECIFICATIONS for the barrel of the SMLE were the same as for the Number 4, but the rifle had a lighter barrel.

BATTLE SIGHT was 200 yards and the rifles shot a bit high with it.

If your groups are several FEET away from where they shold be, you have a serious problem and it ain't the bore diameter of the barrel.

I would suggest looking for a CRACK in your Forestock. Two places to look: (2) ahead of the Magazine and, (1) at the REAR of the Forestock, where the Sear assembly goes down through the woodwork to meet the Trigger. This is the most common place for these to crack and it can REALLY throw your shooting out. For that reason, it is called (ta-daaaah!) The Damned Crack.

Fix it, float the barrel in the channel, be sure that the Muzzle Reinforce is 1 to 2 inches long, be sure the action and chamber are solid in the wood, check that the Inner Band Reinforce is high enough to damp the vibrations when the Magpie Screw is turned inwards, then put it back together.

This all has been discussed here a dozen times.

Good luck.
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PS: Get the book anyway; lots of good info on how to shoot the thing.
 
Yes, they do. That's what the 2-inch muzzle reinforce is all about.

The muzzle reinforce is 2 inches from the factory. I said 1 to 2 inches because the Bisley shooters around here used to trim theirs back to 1 inch, said it made the rifles a touch more accurate. I tried it with a Lithgow rifle and got half-inch called sighter groups, so I do tend to recommend it after trials with the 2-inch length.
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