Restoring ANOTHER Enfield, and have No1*** questions

Sorry, but those aren’t M70 sights! They’re M700 Remington sights.
Check the front sight for alignment. That’s what will cause misalignment .

Hopefully you get it straightened out.
 
David Hoback said:
Hello Patriot..:)
First, I’d want to verify. Did this rifle always shoot like this, or did something happen recently. Have you had someone else shoot it with the same results, or are you confident in your ability that you know POA & POI are 2” apart?

With those items in order, this is a large inconsistency. Having the sight at max drift at only 25yds distance, means there is a big problem. Either a problem with the sight or perhaps a bent barrel. Unfortunately, if you’re unable to diagnose yourself, you will likely need someone who can take a look at it. Difficult to diagnose online, as we would need to see what it’s doing.
Click to expand...
These are the first shots I have taken since I have restored it.
IMG_20220731_174955510.jpg

Those are four separate groups. I don't think the barrel is bent. I would have seen that when it was spinning in the lathe. I had the crocus cloth in my fingers at 500 rpm's at the muzzle end when it was in the lathe at the chamber 19 inches away. I didn't feel any wobble.
 
Last edited:
robin banks said:
seems like the front and rear site not lined up on the barrel. in the pic the rear site is way off to the left side of the barrel
Click to expand...
I see what you're looking at. The sight is true, that's just me holding a cell phone with one hand and the rifle with the other. The rifle was a little cock-eyed in the photo. rear sight finished.jpg
 
Also, that last group was rushed, 3 minutes till range closing, with a hot barrel and to be perfectly honest, A better set of glasses could have helped.

That up and down stringing is completely a breathing control issue under time.
 
Last edited:
Honestly, I think a shorter sight blade, drifted slightly to the left will solve a lot of the issues. I will be polishing the trigger contact surfaces with jeweler's rouge and a dremel tool. maybe that will help tighten it up a bit.

To be honest, I had forgotten about the difference between POI and POA at short range. I'm just going with a shorter sight blade to get back some of the adjustment range in my rear sight.
 
A little drifting of both front and rear sights will get you centered.
I’d call it good!

I have an Interarms MkX Mauser in .30/06. The iron sights have always required the front and rear sights to be drifted to almost the maximum range of lateral drift to center the groups. But, it’s a sub MOA tack driver, so 46yrs later, the sights are still the same...
 
GooseGestapo said:
A little drifting of both front and rear sights will get you centered.
I’d call it good!

I have an Interarms MkX Mauser in .30/06. The iron sights have always required the front and rear sights to be drifted to almost the maximum range of lateral drift to center the groups. But, it’s a sub MOA tack driver, so 46yrs later, the sights are still the same...
Click to expand...
I am no machinist but was a rough framer for 45 years and when I put open sites on I ran a string from the center of the back and front of the receiver to the end of the barrel. had no lathe no machinist tools
 
From the pics, they looked good.
Remember, the bore isn’t necessarily co-axial to the outside of the barrel.
The barrel was likely “straightened” in the manufacturing process.

Drift the rear sight a bit to the right, and front to the left. Likely it’ll center just fine!!!

FWIW; Enfields typically shoot better with barrel pressure or full length bedding.
There is an excellent thread on accurizing Enfields at castboolits.com - cast boolits in military rifles.

I even have a Remington M700Tactical w/20” bull barrel that demands upward stock pressure at the fore-end.
Midway has .312” 174gr BT-FMJ Hornady blems on sale.
 
Last edited:
GooseGestapo said:
From the pics, they looked good.
Remember, the bore isn’t necessarily co-axial to the outside of the barrel.
The barrel was likely “straightened” in the manufacturing process.

Drift the rear sight a bit to the right, and front to the left. Likely it’ll center just fine!!!

FWIW; Enfields typically shoot better with barrel pressure or full length bedding.
There is an excellent thread on accurizing Enfields at castboolits.com - cast boolits in military rifles.

I even have a Remington M700Tactical w/20” bull barrel that demands upward stock pressure at the fore-end.
Midway has .312” 174gr BT-FMJ Hornady blems on sale.
Click to expand...

After I polish the drag out of the trigger (it is every bit a military two stage) I will put in a shorter front sight blade, drift left and the rear slider right. I will then shoot three groups each with a pressure point on the front of the barrel channel, and without a pressure point. I'll then average the group size and see what we get.

What do you recommend for a temporary pressure point in the barrel channel?
 
Business cards are the typical answer, but I’ve found corrugated cardboard to be required if the gap is really large. 12-15 lbs of upward pressure is typically recommended.

Go easy on the trigger. The parts are flash or Case hardened and hardening is only surface deep.
Personally I don’t find a two stage trigger an issue as long as it’s got a smooth predictable let off.
Don’t forget more pics!

Based on the most recent pictures, I’m not sure you need to shorten the front sight. You appear to have a lot more elevation available.
 
Last edited:
GooseGestapo said:
Business cards are the typical answer, but I’ve found corrugated cardboard to be required if the gap is really large. 12-15 lbs of upward pressure is typically recommended.

Go easy on the trigger. The parts are flash or Case hardened and hardening is only surface deep.
Personally I don’t find a two stage trigger an issue as long as it’s got a smooth predictable let off.
Don’t forget more pics!

Based on the most recent pictures, I’m not sure you need to shorten the front sight. You appear to have a lot more elevation available.
Click to expand...

So how do I go about measuring forearm pressure on the barrel?
 
Fish scale, cord
It’s really trial and error...
If one thickness of card slips between barrel and stock, put two, then shoot. If it improves, try three...
You’ll figure it out.
 
Well, after installing a shorter front sight, drift the front to the left and the rear to the right, as well as three layers of poster board (thanks, Goose) under the barrel, what I got at 25yards was this:
IMG_20220925_201906000.jpg

Shot with this old stuff:
IMG_20220925_201906000.jpg IMG_20220925_220220150.jpg

Pakistan surplus. I'm going to acra-glass the barrel channel to provide barrel pressure, shoot again with better ammo and call it good.
 
The Privi Partisan as sold by Grafs.com is good stuff! Excellent reloadable brass.
The only more accurate ammunition I’ve found is Hornady with a .312” 174gr BTHPT Match bullet. I load it’s equivalent with 43.0gr of BLC2 in PPU ofb.
I took 2nd place at the last Vintage Military Match I shot at CMP Talladega. I shot roughly 2moa at 200yds. (Except OFFal Hand!). I was beat by gentleman next to me shooting a Savage No.4 Mk2 with a Whitworth match target rear sight and using Sierra .311” 174gr Match Kings a undeciferable charge of IMR4064.
IIRCC he shot a 95 on the offhand position! We were shooting against several Swiss G11’s and several’03 Springfields. He shot a 99/100 at the prone and was moaning about it!
He also won the vintage sniper match.
With a .303! Who woulda thunk it!
 
I have the entire barrel channel acra-glassed, and am just waiting for it to cure. Few more days. I have a partial box of privi factory ammo with the 174 boat tail bullet, should be sufficient for the final test shoot..

I am confident that with the pressure applied to the barrel, and ammo that isn't a borderline hangfire every shot, the groups are about to get small.

Hell, even if the groups stay the same, multiply 3/4 times four and you get three inches. That is a perfectly acceptable group for a hundred yards with iron sights.

THEN, she gets cleaned within an inch of her life, and I case her up and work on the 1917 Enfield 30-06 I just picked up for a song.

I swear I'm cursed with Enfields. I only wanted one, now it looks like I may end up with four.
 
ressurection post: I am avoiding the Pakistani ammo now. That last box I shot was just awful.

I got a great group with Privi Partizan, but it was stringing up and down. That was my fault, strictly breathing issues.

I'm also putting an Addley Precision scope mount on it. I either need new glasses or a scope. The target was just too blurry to make good testing groups.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
  • Locked
lee enfield no1 mk3 scope mounts
Replies
7
Views
2K
lee-enfield shooter
L
N
  • Locked
Enfield No1 MkIII Questions
Replies
13
Views
501
bigedp51
B
L
  • Locked
lee enfield no1 mk3 parts
Replies
2
Views
1K
lee-enfield shooter
L
L
  • Locked
Lee Enfield Barrel Maker
Replies
8
Views
628
Scoped
S
GunnyUSMC
  • Locked
Another Enfield
Replies
19
Views
2K
GunnyUSMC
GunnyUSMC
Back
Top