No4 Bolt Advice

[CINDERS]

Lucky you with the No.5 I mean.

[Singer B]

Lucky you with the No.5 I mean.

Thanks. I hope it is in good shape. I've only seen pictures. It appears to be a BSA. I can see a couple of rust issues that will need attention and the bolt is mismatched to the receiver. I tried for a couple others over the last year but one turned out to be a fake and the other was too rich for my blood. Looking forward to picking it up, breaking it down, and starting the refurbishment process.

[CINDERS]

I'm kind'a along the lines of very judicious refurb/cleaning be kept to the absolute minimum to retain as much of its journey patina as possible. What gets me say with artillery or ordnance brass and oilers or anything brass sellers shine the bejeezer's out of it to a mirror shine and lose all its journey patina may as well be a 2021 produced piece in that case. (Pun)

[Singer B]

I'm kind'a along the lines of very judicious refurb/cleaning be kept to the absolute minimum to retain as much of its journey patina as possible. What gets me say with artillery or ordnance brass and oilers or anything brass sellers shine the bejeezer's out of it to a mirror shine and lose all its journey patina may as well be a 2021 produced piece in that case. (Pun)

I completely agree unless the rifle is a complete rust bucket and the only way to save it is to completely refinish it or it has little or no real collector value.

[GeeRam]

Thanks. I hope it is in good shape. I've only seen pictures. It appears to be a BSA. I can see a couple of rust issues that will need attention and the bolt is mismatched to the receiver. I tried for a couple others over the last year but one turned out to be a fake and the other was too rich for my blood. Looking forward to picking it up, breaking it down, and starting the refurbishment process.

Not another bolt mismatch...!
You may have the same problem with the No.5 if its not been matched properly.

Bolt miss-matched Lee-Enfield's do seem much more common in USA than anywhere else, no doubt many importers never understood the fact that you can't just replace the bolt of a LE with one from another rifle.

[Brian Dick]

Check the left hand locking lug to see if there's a distinct drag mark when it rides over the sear. Also check the safety and make sure it's installed correctly. I see so many bolt assemblies sent here that are either out of spec from long service or because someone disassembled, cleaned and reassembled it wrong. Worse yet, they've changed a bolt head while clueless as to how they are supposed to fit and be in spec with proper bolt lift, cocking piece lift, firing pin protrusion and bolt head overturn. Read Peter Laidler's article on bolt fitting. If the rifle is a Turkish or worse yet, Ethiopian import, some or all of these problems may exist. If the left hand lug is dragging over the sear, the body is worn out or very close to it. There is a hasty fix that was allowed one time to keep it in spec but if it didn't work, the rifle was scrapped. ZF!

[30Three]

With regard to Enfield Bolt's; I think the best advice is buy always a rifle with a matching bolt!
It may be more expensive to purchase initially; but will save you problems such as you have with this No4.
And of course a mismatched bolt that does not fit correctly could have more serious consequences than just spending a bit more money.
It needs careful inspection; as will the No5 if it's also a mismatch.

[Singer B]

So I picked up the No 5 yesterday. The bolts from both the No 5 and the No 4 work flawlessly in the No 5. When I tried them in the No 4, they both displayed resistance in the same exact place. This leads me to believe the problem lies with the receiver. Since I am not a gunsmith, I think I will probably take it to my gunsmith and see if he can find the cause.

[Roger Payne]

Sounds like a sensible course of action.

[Singer B]

With regard to Enfield Bolt's; I think the best advice is buy always a rifle with a matching bolt!
It may be more expensive to purchase initially; but will save you problems such as you have with this No4.
And of course a mismatched bolt that does not fit correctly could have more serious consequences than just spending a bit more money.
It needs careful inspection; as will the No5 if it's also a mismatch.

I wish I could only buy matching guns, but that was always a difficult thing to do when the market was flush and is now extremely difficult. I was lucky to find this No 4 and the No 5 in the current market which has gone completely crazy with COVID, the leadership change in Washington DC and the current anti-gun sentiment in California. That said, if I do find one, I will have both of these to use as trade ins! My 1917 No 1 Mk III* SHTLE is all matching so they are out here!