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 Englandicon) 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.
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