The Lee-Enfield Icicle Test

flying pig

flying pig

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Had one of my No4 MkI sporters out yesterday on a sledding adventure into an area well known to be littered with predators (wolves, cougar etc). I found a couple of things very interesting. I'm not sure how the Mosin does with snow, but the Lee design will actually allow snow to pack on the left side of the long locking lug on the bolt body. When this happens it won't allow the action to cycle. Did soldiers have this trouble in the mud and extreme snow conditions? Other than that, it was tough as nails and was a pleasure to have slung on my back for the full day.
 
I'm a Ranger based out of the Yukon, equipped with the same rifle.......the bolt will freeze to the action in extreme cold temperatures and believe me they freeze solid. A couple of drops of gas-line antifreeze on the bolt and you are good to go, done it many times.
 
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Quite possible this is the reason that canvas action covers were made for the No. 1 and No. 4 rifles. You see them advertised on the EE every once in a while.
 
The troopies knew how to keep the ice and snow out of the action. They got yelled at a lot in training for failing to keep their rifle ready to use.
There is one of the issue canvas covers(actually made for No. 1's) on a Brit parts site at $25 English pounds. That's about $45 Cdn. plus shipping, etc. Easy enough to make something like it though.
 
bros said:
I'm a Ranger based out of the Yukon, equipped with the same rifle.......the bolt will freeze to the action in extreme cold temperatures and believe me they freeze solid. A couple of drops of gas-line antifreeze on the bolt and you are good to go, done it many times.
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Thank you!
 
buffdog said:
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Quite possible this is the reason that canvas action covers were made for the No. 1 and No. 4 rifles. You see them advertised on the EE every once in a while.
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They work against snow, but they were made for mud and dust which was more to the fore in the British experience.
 
Always keep a bottle of lock de-icer with you when cold works wonders and you don't have to worry about being locked out of truck.
 
flying pig said:
Had one of my No4 MkI sporters out yesterday on a sledding adventure into an area well known to be littered with predators (wolves, cougar etc). I found a couple of things very interesting. I'm not sure how the Mosin does with snow, but the Lee design will actually allow snow to pack on the left side of the long locking lug on the bolt body. When this happens it won't allow the action to cycle. Did soldiers have this trouble in the mud and extreme snow conditions? Other than that, it was tough as nails and was a pleasure to have slung on my back for the full day.
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like all Russian firearms it was designed to handle any conditions they could throw at it freezing cold or mud and muck I never had a Lee Enfield in any bad conditions(mine is a family heirloom) but I do not baby my Russian stuff
 
Cold weather requires different lubricants as the Germans discovered on the Russian front. At extreme low temps, no lube or powdered graphite is said to be the best choice. It would be possible for snow and ice to collect on the exposed side of the recoil lug when the bolt is closed, but the presence of ice indicates either rain or a rifle that was allowed to get warm and then taken outside where moisture condensed on it and froze - important to avoid that scenario. A good wool sock with the toe cut off sounds best to me, unless you have scope fitted permanently. Holding the rifle vertically and opening and closing the bolt forcefully a few times should knock off any accumulations.
 
Naw it was left on the sled deck to cool from pick up cab temp to the outside -20*C while we unloaded. I carried it slung across my back. It snowed hard all day and we were in pretty thick woods all day, passing through willows etc. it literally got packed with snow. Was just neat to find a real world limitation in the design. They are such a wonderful rifle.
 
Interesting topic here today. I guess it pays to know how your rifle performs in the cold before there is a problem, otherwise you find out the hard way. Yikes! Kerosene or diesel would probably work equally well in loosening up a stuck bolt in the cold. I should add a little dropper of kerosene to my preps if I get out into the real cold. I've never had the problem but that doesn't mean it will not happen!
 
paisley70 said:
Interesting topic here today. I guess it pays to know how your rifle performs in the cold before there is a problem, otherwise you find out the hard way. Yikes! Kerosene or diesel would probably work equally well in loosening up a stuck bolt in the cold. I should add a little dropper of kerosene to my preps if I get out into the real cold. I've never had the problem but that doesn't mean it will not happen!
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I read somewhere, or maybe saw some documentary (sorry, can't be more specific, it was many years ago), that the soviets cut their gun oil with diesel as a cost saving measure during WWII, turns out it also helped prevent the bolt from freezing up during the winter.

Not sure of Truth or BS, but someone around here might have info one way or the other.
 
grelmar said:
I read somewhere, or maybe saw some documentary (sorry, can't be more specific, it was many years ago), that the soviets cut their gun oil with diesel as a cost saving measure during WWII, turns out it also helped prevent the bolt from freezing up during the winter.

Not sure of Truth or BS, but someone around here might have info one way or the other.
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I've heard on TV that the soviets were thinning the frozen gun oil with gasoline.
It was on discovery about what gave the soviets the edge during the winter war.
 
5THBATT said:
Actually a trick to help keep the slider/keeper thingy in place on a leather sling so your sling did not open fully out all the time.
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Which has me wondering what type of sling is he using? It's not the standard canvas "Enfield" sling as there is no slider/keeper thingy's on the webbed sling, just brass claws. I'm aware of 1907 slings (leather) being used on Enfield's, but that's not a 1907 either.
 
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