Fultons of Bisley; Enfield accuracy secrets revealed. (By RJW NZ)

[Bindi2]

The USA brass is skinny brass and some thinner than others. I use a Lee collet neck sizing die

[powdermonkey72]

Great post RJWNZ. Ive just got my hands on an LSA No4 "regulated" By Fulton. I dont have it as yet but await its arival with some anticiption. Ive tried to get details on the bedding and channeling from the owner, but have gleaned more info from the few posts here and from a couple of target dedicated sites (the fulton sight was extremly interesting) and dont want him too look really. Its locked up still anyway. Thanks for posting this topic.

[tbonesmith]

Hi, I posted these recently in another area, but it seems relevant here. Here's a Fultons regulated Maltby No4 Mk1 I got recently. Seems pretty original, less the rear sight. Barrel knox is scribed with a month( I forget which) and '67. The barrel is good but lacks bayonet lugs.
The bedding needs a tune up as the barrel wants to sit off centre. I'll sort that out when some other projects are completed.
It's centre bedded in a hardwood block, and floated forward of that. Unfortunately the guards have been heavily sanded... anyone able to help me out with replacements????? hopefully...
There has been a fine metal thread and nut added to the back of the foreend, to tie it together where it often cracks.
I noticed that the bolt while not scrubbed of a serial number has only the faintest marks of the last 3 digits of the SN. Also the bolt handle has been nicely bent up, and I suspect this was done by the previous owner, as all the rifles I got from him had this mod.

[RJW NZ]

Very interesting rifle, I've looked at those pics at least ten times. They really liked to open up the front fore end away from any barrel contact, huh?!
Nice straightforward bedding on the barrel and receiver, and really interesting to see the back bolts through the wrist area too. It'd be really interesting to see a group from this next to a comparible stock no4.

[Peter Laidler]

There were months and months of trials regarding the accuract of No4T rifles at the latter stages of the War. They tried all known methods of 'accurising' the rifle with different methods of fitting fore-ends. The Armourer Sgt doing this was the Small Arms School Armourer called S/Sgt Cooper.

And guess what........! None of the other methods was more successful than the correct method. This held good right up until the day the last No4T's were replaced in the early 80's and nthere was NEVER a relaxation in this standard

[RJW NZ]

lol, that explains something. I was always puzzled that T's used the stock bedding. I don't know why, I think I just assumed that the rifle was made over completely to turn it into a sniper, instead, if I now understand it, T's were entirely stock standard enfields, except that they were chosen because they happen to shoot better than most, and the scope attachment had to be very well aligned to do it properly.
I guess I thought there was something mystical about it and its kind of a let down that thats what it boils down to, a very good, stock standard enfield, with a scope.
Am I wrong?
(I'd like to be)

[jmoore]

What's mystical is the best bedded No.4 I've ever had is the 1931/3 Trials (T). Still centered and exerts a good 5 pounds upward pressure at the fore end tip w/ the original Enfield installed wood...

Oddly enough, it's also the best shooting of all my 303 L-Es, even though it's been around the block a few times!

[Edward Horton]

A standard Remington 700 has 3 to 9 pounds of up pressure at the fore end tip and the No.4 Enfield has 2 to 7 pounds of up pressure at the fore end tip with its longer fore end.

There are two ways to make a rifle shoot more accurately:

1.Tune the ammunition to be more accurate by adjusting the powder charge and this influences or controls barrel vibrations and accuracy.
2.Tune the rifle to shoot factory loaded ammunition or issued military ammunition and thus control barrel vibrations.



Mr. Laidlers little green book states that any No.4 Enfield Rifle received at Holland and Holland for conversion to a No.4 (T) was sent back to their owning organizations if the rifle did not have the required 2 to 7 pounds of up pressure at the fore end tip.



You will also not find any Enfield rifle that has been worked on by a trained British or Commonwealth Armourer with beer can shims under the barrel or credit cards under the receiver.

A Enfield rifle with a dried out loose fore stock that has not received its monthly rub down with raw linseed oil in years will string its shots vertically.



Reading all the books and manuals you can find or "borrow" from the MOD Pattern Room Library on the Enfield rifle can't hurt either.

50 yards, 10 shots, no beer cans, no credit cards, and translating the British word "Aborite" shims into American English of "Formica" shims in the draws area and reading the manuals.





P.S. RJW NZ if you want to help I have been studying the "Instructions for Armourers" section on British Military bicycles.



I have this idea on how to break the land speed record on a bicycle if you want to help.
(it makes more sense doing this than converting an Enfield rifle to .300 Winchester Magnum)



Sorry Mr. jmoore, the devil made me do it

[tbonesmith]

There were months and months of trials regarding the accuract of No4T rifles at the latter stages of the War. They tried all known methods of 'accurising' the rifle with different methods of fitting fore-ends. The Armourer Sgt doing this was the Small Arms School Armourer called S/Sgt Cooper.

And guess what........! None of the other methods was more successful than the correct method. This held good right up until the day the last No4T's were replaced in the early 80's and nthere was NEVER a relaxation in this standard

I'm not disputing this at all, but why have target shooters with No4 rifles, tended towards the same modification, ie centre bedding, for so long? One reason I hear with regularity is that shots tend to string vertically less as the barrel heats up in longer/faster course of fire.
I'll add that any rifles I set up from a while ago were and will be bedded conventionally, as per instructions/posts from Peter Laidler, unless they are performing very well as they are, as in the case of a couple of centre bedded No4's I've got.
It's interesting that these rifles continue to be set up in an inferior manner...

[jmoore]

Nodes, man. Find 'em and use 'em.