Enfield MKIII extractor

[jsalcedo]

I recently bought a sight unseen Enfield MKIII dated 1915.
Since I paid $70 for it I wasn't too worried about condition.

All I wanted was a rough old gun with some character.

When I got it I was surprised the wood was a little rough but the bluing was decent and the whole gun was covered in hard
shellac-like substance. The action was smooth and bore was
pristine, perfect and shined like a new penny.

When I took the bolt out I noticed the firing pin was broken and the extractor missing.

I found a place in canada that sold me an extractor, screw and spring. and a firing pin and bolt dissassembly tool.

I was able to get everything together and take it out shooting
my only problem was extraction was intermittent sometimes I had to pull the case out the rest of the way other times it went flying when I worked the bolt.

I have moved the extractor spring further in and out of the bolt
and found when there is too little tension the bolt won't close and with too much tension there is unreliable extraction.

Is there a rule of thumb or a direct measurement of how far
the spring should be inserted into the bolt face?

Its a booger to mess with and I'm worried about damaging the bolt head so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[George Stringer]

There's no direct measure I know of. I'd insert it as far as it will go, where the most tension is on the extractor. Sounds to me like you could relieve the inside of the extractor body a little and allow it to hold the case tighter against the bolt face. George

 

[jsalcedo]

Thanks George, heh I ended up breaking the spring but I like
your idea. So I'm going to buy a couple more extractor springs and try to get it right.


Thanks again

JRS