A question about danger...

I found an SMLE III* that had been "sporterized" for a good price, ($200), made in 1918 at the Lee Enfield factory. Since it's the first firearm I ever fired, (back in the CCF at school in England) and quite possibly the firearm my great grandfather carried at the battle of Paschendaele I went ahead and bought it. For another $200 I returned it to it's original state, (OK, the wood I bought has DP stamped on it, but it looks as it should now).

The rifle came with some ammunition. Much of it was Priv Partizan .303 Brit and there were 5 or 10 rounds of round headed bullets with the lead showing through the front with an EMP mark at the rear of the case. In order to be able to fire it I found 200 rounds of some Portuguese ammunition at a good price and recently went to fire it.

The concern I have is that the bolt runs smoothly during dry firing but when I fire live rounds through it is very inconsistent. Sometimes, after a round is fired, the bold still cycles quite smoothly but sometimes I have to literally hit the bolt with the heel of my hand to unlock it so I can recock the rifle.

I'm concerned that this is dangerous in that the bolt is coming slightly out of battery and therefore could signal a potential future failure that could be quite dangerous.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated and if there's a fix that would be similarly appreciated.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Welcome to the forum...the bolt handle may lift a slight bit when fired. That's not so unusual. It's hard to gauge how hard you're hitting the handle of the bolt from here. They can be tight when fired and it's probably OK. You could take it to a qualified gunsmith that knows these rifles and see what he says.

As Jim said, probably fine, but get her checked over by a gunsmith, preferably one that understands Enfields.

Thanks for the replies.

The bolt is more difficult to lift each time I fire, (as opposed to dry firing), though the amount of force required to lift it varies from shot to shot. Most of the time I just exert a small amount of effort to open the action but once in every 5-10 shots I am cannot accomplish that from a normal firing position so I have to hit the ball of the cocking handle upwards to "break it free"". It doesn't require very much force at all but when keeping the rifle in my shoulder getting the action moving requires that little "thump", after that it's smooth.

It's been about 44 years since I last fired one but I don't recall that happening with the several old rifles I fired back then.

I'll get it looked at but I fear finding a gunsmith with knowledge of Lee Enfields here in Michigan, USA might be a little difficult.

Thanks again...

Are your cases nice and clean, AM?
Sometimes old cases with a bit of discoloration will stick a bit, causing the problem you mention.

Was using some old Greek ammo recently, and the cases looked a bit poxy and caused the same thing in my No 4.

Richard:

Ahhh... You may have it. This Portuguese ammunition is more of a dull tan colour than even a dull brassy colour. Next time I fire I'll try some of the shiny new Priv Partizan and I'll take some Brasso to a few of the Portuguese stuff and see if the issue goes away... :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by am1958

. . . and I'll take some Brasso to a few of the Portuguese stuff and see if the issue goes away... :D

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Hope you're kidding about the Brasso! (Ingredients not healthy for cartridge brass.)

Parashooter:

Thanks for that. Does it matter that I'd probably shine them up right before firing them of is there something else I should consider using.

Try some fine steel wool to polish them up.

Safety spring every time. Tension goes out of them and the safety moves slighty binding the bolt.

Check and scrub the chamber. It could have pitting that's causing hard extraction. I recently had a guy here with a No.5Mk.1 that had a small but relatively deep ring of pitting in the chamber just behind the shoulder. No amount of polishing would eliminate the problem as the brass was expanding into the pitting making primary and secondary extraction impossible without a couple of taps with a plastic mallet. Needless to say, I couldn't fix it. It needs a new barrel.

the brass is new or reloads? Do you know how many times the brass has been fired? take yor brass and rifle to a 'smith for inspection

Mike16:

The Portuguese brass seems original and quite old. That's the only brass I've fired through this rifle.

Brian:

I took a magnifying glass and a powerful light to the chamber... What I found was "odd" since I'd given the rifle a rudimentary cleaning after I fired it.

The barrel looks unpitted but the chamber had something I'm unsure how to describe. Excuse my attempt at describing it. It seemed to be wiggly calcium deposits something like I have in my marine aquariums in the past... Look at the images here.

I put a copper brush through the chamber followed by a general cleaning of the chamber and now I'll see what happens - I'll polish the brass too...

It may be a while until I get to shoot again though...

I'd guess you've found the problem. Even a lightly pitted chamber can cause hard extraction. Give it a good scrub with an oversize brush and try it again. If they are still sticking, you may have to gently polish it a bit to cure it.

Just an idea, I am not a gunsmith in any way, just a keen amateur trying to understand as much as I can..

This is probably a stupid idea and I am sure there's a good reason not to do this .. would it be possible in the event of very light chamber pitting to clean, "key" and fill the pits with a hard resin of some sort, then polish the chamber??

Here's how I'd polish the chamber: I'd get a fired case, cut it down below the shoulder, drill a hole through it, put a wooden dowel through the hole so it sticks out about 12 inches behind, smear some brasso on the case, put it in the chamber, and twirl the wooden dowel. Rinse and repeat until the chamber is polished. I'm sure there are smarter ways...

Here's a practical way to polish a rough chamber with commonly-available tools and materials -

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../34j2ng6-1.jpg

Start with 400 or 600 grit. Finish with 1000 or finer. Turn rod with hand brace or power drill at low-medium speed, using light pressure and plenty of thin oil for lubrication. Don't overdo.

The way Parashooter shows is the way. I use a wood dowel though, and oil. Don't be cheap with the paper and don't over do.

I got tired of replacing broken wood, tried the brass rod and never looked back.

You can polish it all you like. Some call it grinding it away. But that's all it is and as you're grinding away along a taper, the mathematics of that route takes it from what the technical people call 'a knackered chamber' into an '.....even more knackered chamber'. Just my opinion of course, based on nothing more that simple maths in this case!

At least when finished, there'll be no problem getting ammo to chamber. Almost any cartridge would fit...