Bolt Release Problems Enfield No4 Mk1 Longbranch 1944

[Clintk]

Hey all,
So I have been officially stumped on the Long Branch No4 Mk1. I have been looking at pctures of other model years (Mine is 1944) and it seems to be that the 1944 model does not have a bolt release. At least where there is supposed to be. I was looking at it today at the store and was trying to look inside the bore from the bolt side but could not figure out how to get it out. I had already done my research before going in there but I just do not understand it.

ANY HELP?

[Paul S.]

Is there a cut out space on the right side rail (the the bolt rides on) about a 1/2"-1" back from the breech? If there is, position the bolt in the slot and lift the front bit.

That is the difference between the No4 MkI and the No4 MkI*. Your rifle, being a 1944 Long Branch should be an MkI*.

[Clintk]

The rifle is still on the shelve and I am going to go back tomorrow if i can get the information I need. But anyways thats the best picture i can find. Can anyone explain the differeances of a Mk and Mk* Longbranch that would be great. Also i tried to lift the bolt in that little 1/2 slot in the back where the release usually is, but it wouldnt budge at least under the some what fair amount of pressure/ times i tried. There was also a small metal tab coming out of the end of the bolt, fron the hammer hole to the side of the top. That thing didnt move either but i figure thats the extractor. Anyways, any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Paul S.]

Simply put, the No4 MkI* is a version of the No4 MkI that deleted the a spring loaded clip the normally retained the bolt at the point at the rear of the receiver where the bolt head on the MkI is lifted to remove the bolt from the receiver. Instead, Long Branch and Savage (they and only they produced MKI* rifles) made a small cut out the bolt race or rail on the right side of the receiver about an inch or so back from the breach that allows the bolt head to be lifted out of engagement and the bolt removed. As I said above, the clip and the spring were deleted. That is essentially the only difference between the two and the "*" denotes rifles with this modification.

Your rifle in all probability is an No4 MKI*.

[Peter Laidler]

Clint K, before you go much further than getting the rifle home, might I humbly suggest that you read up a little on the vagaries of the rifle and invest in a little book in the SAIS series titled 'The No4 Rifle'. It's cheap, paper/card cover and available from BDL Ltd in SC. It's the best ready reckoner type booklet you'll ever read on the subject

[Clintk]

Thanks for the info Paul and Peter. Unfortunatley I feel like if i do not act now on this rifle that someone else will so I am going to just go put it on layaway (broke college student) until I can fully pay it off. But about the rifle, the wood looks new on the forend, almost too new as if refurb, and the bands are definatley brand new. The bolt cycles perfectly and the trigger is crisp. The safety works, the flip up sights are intact (a little rusty), the front post looks newer and the mag works, but there is no serial on the bottom of it. The only thing i have an issue with is the barrel, which I've only seen from the front end with a bore light in the bottom, which isnt good enough. Also if anyone could advise me where to look and how to match the serial numbers. I know there is one on the band before the trigger and there are also markings on the end of the barrel but other than that I dont know what im doing when it comes to matching them on this old gun. Any help would greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

[Peter Laidler]

You've already had the best advice anyone can give you without writing yet another................ BUY THE LITTLE BOOK. Even a poor skint student can afford it. If you can't, let me know and I'll buy it for you

[Paul S.]

The S/N is on the left side of the receiver band. The model number should be on the left side of the receiver body. Also, please take Peter's suggestion and buy the book. It will be money well spent as the book offers a bounty of useful information.

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

I have to echo Peter & Paul's advice; get a book and educate yourself as much as possible before making a purchase. The serial number on the left side of the receiver should be repeated on the back of the bolt handle and on the bottom of the forend just behind the front band. An un-numbered magazine is fine.

[Surpmil]

Yes, get the book(s).

Have a look a the edges of the slot where the bolt head releases from its guide rail. Are the edges square and undamaged? If so, is the bolt head marked with the "LB combined" Long Branch mark or the capital A inside a larger capital C mark of Canadian Arsenals?

The slot for the bolt head release, as opposed to the catch on the No.4MkI is what makes it a No.4 MkI*

To find a machined trigger guard and a MkI backsight on a 1944 rifle is usual, so someone may have made this one up to be what they wanted. Who? Hard to say.

You may find that if someone put this rifle together to be what they wanted, they chose a bold head with almost no "over-turn" and those can be stiff when you try and turn the bolt head out of the slot.

Take the bolt out and hold the body of the bolt in one hand the bolt head in the other and try to loosen and tighten the bolt head in the bolt body. It unscrews in the usual counter-clockwise direction. If it gets tight as you screw it in, just as the bolt head lines up with the long ridge on the bolt body, (otherwise known as the main recoil lug) then you have a bolthead with no or little over-turn. Which is a good thing, since the less overturn you have, the more primary extraction you have.

Looks like a nice rifle.

[lagermat]

I'm also having problems with the bolt release with my No4 Mk1* I just purchased (today) my first Enfield, After a little bit of pricing... anyway I have a Savage Manufactured No4 Mk1* which was built in 1942, and the problem I am having is that the bolt release is "releasing" itself while I am cycling the bolt (not every time, and it happens more often if I try to cycle faster) I have looked at it and it seems that years of what I would call "slamming" (maybe the wrong word for it) the bolt down during a Mad Minute type situation has caused the bolt head to become over rotated I will post a photo if I can of what seems to bee happening. I am hoping that I am some how causing this problem seeing as I have owned the rifle for less then 12 hours but If anyone could give me advice on how to solve this problem I would greatly appreciate it..Thanks all.
-Tim

[Thunderbox]

I'm also having problems with the bolt release with my No4 Mk1* I just purchased (today) my first Enfield, After a little bit of pricing... anyway I have a Savage Manufactured No4 Mk1* which was built in 1942, and the problem I am having is that the bolt release is "releasing" itself while I am cycling the bolt (not every time, and it happens more often if I try to cycle faster) I have looked at it and it seems that years of what I would call "slamming" (maybe the wrong word for it) the bolt down during a Mad Minute type situation has caused the bolt head to become over rotated I will post a photo if I can of what seems to bee happening. I am hoping that I am some how causing this problem seeing as I have owned the rifle for less then 12 hours but If anyone could give me advice on how to solve this problem I would greatly appreciate it..Thanks all.
-Tim


From the second photo, it looks like the rear part of the bolt rail is chipped. This in itself does not necessarily cause the bolt head to rotate out of the track - many rifles work just fine with both sides of the rail chipped - but it can be a contributory factor. The cause is usually the interaction between a loose or poorly-fitting bolthead (ie where the bolt head rotates past the bolt rib by a significant amount), the play between bolt body and the bolt channel, and even the fit of the magazine and type of ammunition you are using.

The good news is that it nearly always possible to fix a rifle with this problem, by tweaking one or more of the factors mentioned above. The usual quick fix is to replace the bolthead with one that fits the bolt body well, and which is not very loose in its rotation fit. The problem is that you'd need to find someone who has bolt heads ad knows how they should fit (buying bolt heads by mail order has a very low probability of success; I have hundreds of bolt heads available to me, and I typically try 12-20 to obtain a good fit....)

If you do not have any expertise or resources available to you at this time, try the expedient of giving the bolthead slightly less slack thread rotation - some very thick none melting grease on the threads, or even a bit of PTFE tape. See if this significantly reduces the incidence of bolt head jumping out of the track.