lee-enfield questions

[msanford]

Can anyone tell me the purpose of the small ring that is attached to the floorplate on my #4 MK 1? Also, and this may seem like a dumb question, but what is headspacing and why is it important to know before I shoot my new(to me) Enfield? From reading about the Enfields, much mention has been made about having a gunsmith determine the headspace before I shoot the rifle. Would someone care to enlighten me>

Matt

 

[Mk VII]

By this stage, the ring was intended for the retention of a tie-on threaded to a fabric breech-cover (available as surplus, though often too tight to be usable). It hardly ever gets used for this.
For rimmed cartridges like this, h/s is the distance from the ledge on which the front of the cartridge rim sits, to the bolt face. Should be a max of 74 thou and a min of 64 thou (US commercial gauges differ from this standard). The injunction to get it checked applies to all surplus rifles with an unknown service history. Different length boltheads are available to correct an out-of-gauge one, though many users neglect the need to adjust striker protrusion at the same time.

 

[msanford]

Mk VII,
Thanks for the quick response. I also have seen admonitions to make sure that the bolt #s and the receiver #s match and if not, to have a gunsmith check the headspace. It is a rare occasion to have matching numbers on milsurp rifles, enfields anyway.

 

[Mk VII]

I'd need a lot of convincing to buy any Enfield which didn't have a matching bolt, but maybe we're just spoilt for choice here.

 

[25 Pdr]

Regarding headspace on a rimmed cartridge what about fixing a shotgun pellet, (7.5) to the base of a fired case with a touch of bullet lube, closing the bolt to compress the pellet and then measure it with a micrometer.

Tried this with my SMLE and it seemed to work ok.

I'm not a gunsmith so perhaps this method may not be accurate, I'm sure there are people on this excellent forum with more expertise than me that will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[DougW]

It is not uncommon to have a bolt and reciever miss matching on the serial numbers. If the rifle was FTR'ed, then there is a big possibility that the bolt could be miss matched. This is not a specific reason to check headspace. All Enfield #4's headspace can be changed by changing the bolt head. I have matching s/n #4's that will close on a SAAMI .303 Field (roughly close to a mil spec No-go gauge) that shoot very well and exibit no evidence of a head space issue. I also have rifles with miss matched bolts that will not close on a SAAMI gauge that shoot well also. Be cautious of a gun smith because thay will probably be using SAAMI gauges. And, if you want to have some real fun, get a caliper and measure the rim thickness of various cartridge manufacturers .303. The measurments will be all over the board.

IMO (and my opinion only), the headspace issue on a #4 is not nearly as critical as many would have you believe. My opinion comes from a few years of experience with the Enfields and reloading of various .303 brands of cartridges. The cases will grow after firing. The question is weather or not the headspace makes the rifle unsafe to fire. Even a rifle that does not "pass" can shoot safely and wonderfully.

YMMV