Enfield No.4 Mk1 Loose Bolt

[grilledcheese]

To begin, I've never owned any Enfield rifles before. I recently picked one up after trolling the wonderful intertubes for as much info as I could find about the rifles. But upon receipt and inspection of the gun, I'm left with a question that no one on the internet (that I could find, anyway) has answered before.
How loose are Enfield bolts supposed to be when fully in battery?
The rifle I received is in fairly decent shape. But with the bolt full forward and locked, it only takes the slightest upward tap on the bolt handle and it pops halfway up, almost completely unlocking the action. I haven't tried firing the thing yet, as I'm wondering if the action is worn beyond the limits of safe operation. A trip to a gunsmith is in order simply to satisfy my worry, but I thought I'd ask any Enfield maniacs here on the board if this sounds like anything they've ever heard before.
As a side note, I did happen upon an old thread on another board where this exact question was asked, but no one ever answered the poor guy's question!

Thanks in advance,



Jeffrey

 

[madcratebuilder]

That is not normal. Have a gunsmith that has LE experience look at it. It is normal for the bolt to rotate about 10*, or 1/4- inch off the wrist with little effort. Pulling the trigger on a empty chamber well raise or rotate the bolt the 10* or 1/4- inch. That small bolt movement is normal.

Is the bolt matched to the receiver? What number is stamped on the bolt head? It well be 0, 1, 2 or 3, with 3 being the longest.

 

[grilledcheese]

Bolt and receiver are matched, and bolt head is a size 1. But dry firing causes the bolt handle to rotate much further than 10 degrees---sometimes the action unlocks. I'll definitely take it to a gunsmith.
I have disassembled the rifle to give it a thorough cleaning tonight or this afternoon. The recess in the receiver where the bolt lug locks does not appear worn much at all, but the notch surface where the bolt handle locks might be worn a bit---I really don't know what a new receiver looks like. Same for the bolt.







At worst I guess I just bought myself a wall-hanger...



Jeffrey

 

[nathan]

It could it be the safety lever not placed correctly. I read somewhere about this before. Pls check in with surplusrifleforum.com in their Lee Enfield forum.

Other than that, i think its a very cheap fix . Could just be a part thats worn and may not cost that much.

 

[DougW]

Sounds like there is a LOT of wear on that rifle. When cocked and closed, the bolt will spring back if you flip the bolt handle (Enfields cock on closing). I have one that when dry firing, the bolt moves a bit, but it doesn't move at all when firing. If the locking lugs are worn, a different bolt might tighten it up a bit.

 

[Ignition Override]

You are on the right track with 'madcratebuiler' and others.

Have you also checked the Enfield forum at "Gunandgame" etc?
You might have read "Surplusrifle" and "Gunboards".

"Gunboards" has many members in the old British Commonwealth who seem to know their guns very well.

I'm still torn between another potential (4th) Enfield and my first M-1 Garand (CMP).

 

[madcratebuilder]

You may have a tired striker spring. The striker spring pressure is what holds the bolt against the lugs. I does take a special tool to work in this area. You can make one from a 1/4 drive 8mm deep socket. Grind the tip of the socket and don't let it get to hot or it well weaken the metal, start with a quality socket not some .69 special.

Worn out lugs and receiver are not unheard of but fairly uncommon. A new spring is cheap to try out. If the rifle passes head space with a 0 or #1 head that is an indication of little or no wear to the lugs.

 

[DougW]

madcratebuilder brings up a good point that I had forgotten about. The striker spring might be the ticket. Tired rifle for sure.