Enfield No4 firing pin delay

[joab]

I have two No4Mk1s, a Savage and a Brit made.
Both have an irritating quirk in the firing sequence
There is a short micro second but still perceptible lag between pulling the trigger and the gun firing almost like a flint lock

I pull the trigger and the click of the firing pin and then the gun goes off enough later that at first I actually had time to raise my head a little before discharge

Is there something wrong with both of my guns or is this a No4 quirk, I don't notice this with my No1Mk3

 

[Detritus]

what ammo are you using?

is this happening with different/varied brands or souces of ammo.?

i know some of the older surplus .303Brit has hangfire issues of varying severity. if this is happening with new comerical ammo, and multiple types of new ammo. then my first thought is gunk in the firing pin channel or a weak spring.

my own savage No4Mk1* had a few borderline hangfires, then i had the bolt disassembled by someone who had the tools and more know-how RE: enfields, and the remaining cosmoline and crud out flushed of/off the internal bits. now I have no issues at all.
i'm sure someone here has some advice on how to get any crud flushed without having to go the route i did (ie having another do the work)

 

[swingset]

Sounds like hangfires to me.

 

[Marnoot]

I'll second the question as to what kind of ammo you're using. I had some terrible Pakistani surplus ammo that had terrible hangfires like that in my No4Mk1. You'd pull the trigger and get "click.......BOOM!" As soon as I gave it some decent fodder the problems stopped immediately.

 

[50 Freak]

Try different ammo. Lots of surplus 303 out there have this hangfire problem.

Worse one I shot had a half a second delay before firing. I'd hear click....then bang.

Good way to make sure you're not flinching.

 

[joab]

I don't know the ammo maker I bought a unmarked pack at the show where I bought the No1.

If it was ammo related would the problem be duplicated in my No1?

My first thought was hangfires also until it did not repeat in the No1 but did in both No4s.

What is a good source for .303?
For that matter who is a good source for NATO .308

 

[Steve in PA]

Make sure you completely take apart the bolt. When I bought my Enfield, I was dry firing it and noticed the lag. The bolt was filled with grease and crud, etc which caused the delay. There is a tool you will need to completely disassemble the bolt. If you go to surplusrifle.com and look up the Enfield, you will find a link to the tool.

 

[Marnoot]

I don't know the ammo maker I bought a unmarked pack at the show where I bought the No1.

What's the headstamp on the ammo? Does it have a "POF"?

 

[Sistema1927]

POF = POS

Pakistani ammo with the built-in hangfire.

 

[joab]

Seems to be mismatched brass and bullets possibly reloads. I think it was a bag of 50 for about $20 I just bought it because it was cheap enough and don't remember the price and the wrapper was simple heat sealed plastic

But one type of brass says RG 1942 VII with what looks like a brass washed bullet

The other is K52 and what I think is a 7 across from it on the opposite side of the primer it has a copper colored bullet

Does that help any

 

[rritter]

That sounds like surplus British ammo - the .303 Mark 7 was the latest Enfield ammo. I've bought some of that, and some of it hangs in my No1 Mk III*. If every round hangs in your No.4 then it's probably crud in the bolt. If it's random, then it may be the ammo.

With the surplus I've got (some POF, some British), I get some good rounds that fire right away, and some that hang, and it's pretty much random.

I had one British that just didn't fire at all (after three attempts I gave up on it). I disassembled the round when I got home, and the powder is (I think) cordite! Instead of little flakes or pellets, it's long rods like uncooked pasta. 'Twas very neat.

 

[DougW]

Sounds like the rifles are fine. The ammo is hang firing, or as we say "click/bangs". Try some Sellier and Beloit, or head for Wally World and get some Remington.303 and give them another try.

 

[joab]

OK so we're at
Probably ammo maybe dirty bolt, I can live with that.

So far every Enfield I have has a minor glitch, hangfires, broken extractor, magazine that falls out after ever shot.
All probablyfixable for little money but still irritating.
I'm about to give up on them

 

[Diomed]

So far every Enfield I have has a minor glitch, hangfires, broken extractor, magazine that falls out after ever shot.
All probablyfixable for little money but still irritating.
I'm about to give up on them

They're surplus rifles - that's part of the fun!

If you want out of the box reliability, get a Remchester. Milsurps can equal those but only if one puts the effort into it. Anyway, hangfires aren't the fault of the rifle.

 

[DougW]

Never, never, never, never, never, never, never give up. Never!

Springfield Sporters has the bits to bring them back in line. Tinkering is half the fun!