Enfield Question

[bernie]

I have a buddy that has a No.4 Enfield that currently has a #1 bolt head. However, the head space is too tight and it will not close on a case. We have gotten a #0 bolt head and I believe that putting this on the bolt body may well fix the problem. However, there is a problem. When you put the #0 bolt head on the existing bolt body, it likes about 4mm lining up with the locking lug on the bolt body, therefore I cannot get it into the rifle. I believe that I need to polish the back of the bolt head a little bit so that it will get the final little bit of rotation that will allow it to properly mount to the bolt body. Is my logic sound? Also, does anyone have a trick for inserting the spring and the extractor into the bolt head? Thanks!

 

[boom boom]

Try Peter Laidler's monograph on fitting bolts to the Enfield. It is on the milsurps.com website. Should tell you what you need to know. BTW, Sarco has the bolt head fixture buried on their website under tools.

http://photos.imageevent.com/badger...s/Fitting rifle bolts - CHS and boltheads.pdf

 

[carbine85]

How did he end up with tight head space? It's usually the other way around with Enfields if head space is a problem.

 

[bernie]

He actually purchased the rifle from an importer years ago, and that was the way it was when he bought it. I actually did get the 0 bolt head on, but it is still doing the same thing. everything works fine if the rifle is empty, but with a cartridge in the chamber, the bolt will only close about 1/3 of the way. I think that the chamber is a little out of spec (which I have not been able to look at yet) or the barrel may be set to far back. The barrel does not appear to be new, but it may have been a parts gun put together by the importer.

 

[j1]

Bring it to a knowledgable gunsmith before you Bubba it up.