How to reduce free bore in No1 Mlll*

[jona]

How good is your gunsmith? The only good way to do it is to remove the barrel, shorten it from the breech end(both rear of the barrel and breech step), re-install the barrel and recut the extractor slot and ream the now shortened chamber to the correct size.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[tidesout]

How good is your gunsmith?

Thanks Jona for the reply. Thats what I was thinking but I don't know if there is a std. throat length the gunsmith will cut back to or do I give him a dummy round to measure and take it from there. If he cuts too much off does that mean I cant use longer projectiles? I had had the rifle checked for headspace etc. and the report that came back was the rifle is servicable, but in doing his checks he removed the scope and when he replaced it buggered the screws. if a gunsmith cant do up screws with out damaging them how good is his other work?.

[vintage hunter]

Tidesout, you stated your rifle has a scope, does it have a sporter type forend? If it's still in full military trim there's a lot more to consider when setting the barrel back. Your gunsmith will have to determine exactly how much he will need to remove from the shoulder to get a full turn or two, it has to be exact or the sights will be off to one side. In doing this you are shortening the barrel from rear and this will through off a lot of critical dimentions. As stated earlier, light short bullets very seldom work well in military rifles because even a new barrel will have a long throat. When the manual says a certain load will produce a certain velocity that does'nt mean all rifles of that caliber will produce the same results, thats just what the test rifle achieved. Some rifles have ''slow'' barrels for some reason or another. Have you slugged your bore to determine the diameter? If it's oversized and the bullet does'nt ''fatten up'' to create a seal then it will have blow by and velocity will suffer as a result so setting the barrel back won't solve the problem. Like Brian said, rebarreling would be a better option.

[RJW NZ]

I think the boys nailed it, bullet is too short compared to a 174 or 150 grain,
My 2 cents = try heavier bullets and observe if problems still exists, use a chronometer,
Then reload with 150grains, using larger diameter bullets to match the wear on your bore.
If you want speed of light varmint type shooting you could always try the classic and well proven 303-25 and there's other wildcat sizes out there too, etc, thats a big case driving a small bullet very very fast, 3240?
Or, a new barrel ...
but do not shorten it the way you're thinking, try everything else first.
Don't use boat tails on a worn barrel = keyhole issues.

and btw, welcome to the forum, for links to absolutely everything enfield try enfield resource.com

[RJW NZ]

when he replaced it buggered the screws. if a gunsmith cant do up screws with out damaging them how good is his other work?.

really pertinent question. he doesn't have to be a bad person either, just not the best with your gun, and perhaps life ...,