First Enfield: problem

[Nomoney]

Hello,

I just picked up my first enfield from a sporting goods store. It appears to be a No.4 Mk.1*. Has U.S. Property on the left side of the reciever. Anyway, It won't chamber any rounds. When I try to chamber a round, the rim of the cartridge hangs up on the firing pin. I've tried it with two different types of ammo(POF surpluss and Rem corlokts) same thing.

Am I just not doing something right? I'm completely new to enfields, and don't quite know the ins and outs.

I probably sound like a complete idiot,and for that, I'm sorry. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Jim K]

Hangs up on the firing pin? Sounds like someone put the bolt together wrong and didn't screw the firing pin into the cocking piece far enough. Since you don't seem familiar with those rifles, I suggest you take it to a gunsmith.

But do not try to get around the problem. If you were to chamber a round then try to close the bolt, the rifle could go off with the bolt unlocked and you could be seriously injured.

Jim

 

[Nomoney]

Thanks for the response. I wish I had a digital camera , I would put up a pic if I had one.

Thanks again.

 

[chris allen]

firing pin

The firing pin collar is not screw properly into the bolt body.You need to make a spanner wrench to tighten the collar under the bolt head .The bolt head has nothing to do with the firing pin being out to far,remove the bolt head and look at the firing pin and it is self explanitory

 

[mrmeval]

http://www.surplusrifle.com has some examples

http://www.surplusrifle.com/no4/boltdisassembly/index.asp

The original owner of the site has some medical issues but the site and the forum were rescued. His original work on the CDs is well worth the money for any cruffler.

I think you can make the special tool mentioned with a 6mm deep well socket. See if one will fit into the bolt. Just file both sides of the end to have two protrusions to engage the slots in the firing pin. You can use steel tubing of the right diameter as well.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Chris,

I am not sure what you mean. There is no firing pin collar that screws into the bolt body. The firing pin itself screws into the cocking piece, and there is a lock screw that keeps it from turning once it is adjusted. The firing pin stop is the bolt head, and I am not sure just how the firing pin could protrude when the bolt is cocked unless the firing pin is broken. Anyway, I think that situation is such that a gunsmith, or at least someone familiar with that action, should look at it.

Jim

 

[chris allen]

enfields

Jim,

as a Canadian gunsmith I used to work on SMLE (Enfields) and that is what I was assuming the rifle was .Is it a P-14 enfield or a SMLE.

Chris

 

[Jim K]

Chris, technically it is neither. Nomoney says it is a Rifle No.4 marked "US PROPERTY" which means it is a Savage-made rifle. As you know, the No.4 is not really an SMLE, being updated and modified to the point that it is a different rifle. And of course it is not a P-14, which is an entirely different rifle.

However, neither the SMLE nor the No.4 have any "firing pin collar". Though the firing pin (striker) on the SMLE and No.4 looks at first glance as if it might screw into the bolt body, it does not; the rear of the firing pin screws into the cocking piece and is kept from turning by the striker keeper screw.

Jim

 

[Nomoney]

Hi,

Thank you all for responding. Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner.

Jim, thanks for answering Chris's question. You beat me to it
Also, will copper tubing work as a pin removal tool or is it too soft?

 

[mrmeval]

I'd say copper would be too soft. Other than it breaking off and blocking the notches it can't hurt anything. You'd really want carbon tool steel properly heat treated but that's a lot of trouble. The closest is to make one out of an existing tool or you could pick up one of the easily broken Numrich ones.

The right sized box spanner could be cut to fit as well but it's cheaper to get a cheap hollow shaft 6mm nut driver and butcher it or a deep well socket if it'll fit.

http://www.diracdelta.co.uk/science/source/s/p/spanner/source.html

http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/484540

 

[Jim K]

No, generally tubing won't work. Removing the firing pin looks simple, but it is hard to do, as they are really in tight.

Before doing anything, remove the bolt head and look at the firing pin. It should stick out about 9/16ths from the end of the bolt body. If it is properly rounded and isn't broken, then look at the cocking piece on the back of the bolt. If the end of the firing pin is even with the back of the cocking piece and the keeper screw is in place, things are probably OK there.

Then look at the bolt head and make sure the firing pin hole isn't blocked by something. If it is, remove the blockage. Screw the bolt head back on until it stops, then back off until it lines up with the guide rail. Cock the bolt by hand by pulling back the cocking piece and turning it clockwise. Look to see if the firing pin protrudes. It should not. Then pull back the cocking piece and turn it counter clockwise until the bolt is uncocked. The firing pin should protrude from the bolt head about .06" or about the thickness of a pencil lead.

Now if all looks OK, insert the bolt back in the rifle. Then, without touching the trigger, close the bolt. Look to see if the firing pin is protruding from the bolt head. If it is, the sear is not holding the cocking piece back. The sear may be broken or the sear spring may be broken, or the cocking piece may be defective in some way.

Jim