Wrong stagger in charger ....

[Robyn]

hi all
my no4 mk1 ROF has an A suffix on the mag and the rifle serial # and it will not load correctly if you use the _-_-_ method or even -_-_-... the only way it loads without a rim jamb is to load ///// with each rim in front of the lower one...
now before you say I am doing it wrong I have loaded others with the up/down without a problem
strange things can happen in rifles built in war times.

regards Robyn

[jmoore]

Robyn, I don't doubt that your experience is unique, however its probably not so much the rifle itself as the magazine. To test, just round up another known to be good No. 4 mag and try it in this rifle. (Not a "for sure" test, but it usually works.) Generally, the feed lips on the mag just need a bit of tweaking to get things running smoothly. OR you just live w/ it. Its not like your gonna be sent to the front lines w/ this rifle.

[Son]

hi all
my no4 mk1 ROF has an A suffix on the mag and the rifle serial # and it will not load correctly if you use the _-_-_ method or even -_-_-... the only way it loads without a rim jamb is to load ///// with each rim in front of the lower one...
now before you say I am doing it wrong I have loaded others with the up/down without a problem
strange things can happen in rifles built in war times.

regards Robyn

Sorry, mate... you may be doing it wrong.
If it feeds ok when the rims are sitting in front of the one below, then I don't think it's likely to be a feed lip problem. Are you trying it with the bolt in? If it's not there the charger has nothing to hold it upright. Also ensure the charger is right down.
There are slight differences in some of the chargers that may make it less easy to strip them correctly, though. On the sides of the charger you will see two little "nibs". These are what locate into the small slots in the charger bridge. Some chargers have a tiny dot type nib, while others have a much larger teardrop shape nib. The larger nib locks in more firmly, where the smaller dot type are left with a little movement allowing them to tilt forward.
Try stripping your chargers while holding a little backward pressure on them. Remember to get your thumb right back. Look at the link I mentioned before, experiment and practice a few methods.

[Badger]

Member "Alan de Enfield" posted an excellent pic in another thread showing the correct stagger sequence in a stripper clip.



Hope that helps ..

Regards,
Badger

[villiers]

Putting new chargers in with the cases and polishing them for a few hour makes pushing the rounds into the magazine a LOT smoother.

[browningautorifle]

I know that when things don't work properly it's vexing, but sometimes it just takes practice, practice, practice. I too have had various things happen, but remember this isn't brain surgery. Military rifles and their ammo can't be that finniky as to require a magic touch when you're shaking and sh*tting razor blades under fire. In the army we taught perfect practice makes perfect. Get some drill rounds and give'er! It will all work out.

[XLesky]

Thankyou to Son for your picture demonstration on LE loading. I still haven't fired my No4 Mk1* yet, but when practising I'm finding the 1st charger goes in perfect, then the first 4 on the second go fine but for some reason the last round to go in (no. 10) seems to keep rimming-over. I've got 3 charger clips at present, and no. 10 does it in all of them despite my best efforts to keep my thumb against the charger etc.

[Son]

Thankyou to Son for your picture demonstration on LE loading. I still haven't fired my No4 Mk1* yet, but when practising I'm finding the 1st charger goes in perfect, then the first 4 on the second go fine but for some reason the last round to go in (no. 10) seems to keep rimming-over. I've got 3 charger clips at present, and no. 10 does it in all of them despite my best efforts to keep my thumb against the charger etc.

If you are anything like me with short phat phingers, getting the last round deep enough to engage in the feed lips can be a hassle. If you try it slowly and watch closely, you might be turning your thumb or rolling it forward a touch. This will tilt the front of the round down and then as you push it home the rim is lifted, letting it side back over the rim below.
One trick I found when firing from the prone position- you can leave the rifle on the shoulder, cradled on the left palm under the foreend, left arm wound into the sling. Sit the charger in and roll your hand back putting the thumb under the foreend and stripping the rounds off the charger with two fingers (which are longer than thumbs and reach all the way in!)

Bottom line, either get or make some drill rounds and practice on the loungeroom floor after dinner. See what works for you.

[Al Diehl]

Maybe ignorance is bliss. (me being the ignorant one)

I mean, I currently have 2xNo4Mk1*s, 1xNo4Mk2, 1xNo3 (P14) and 1xNo5Mk1 not mention the fact that I have owned and sold or traded at least 5 times that many more, and I have never paid any attention to how the cartridges were in the Chargers (stripper clips here in Louisiana) and never had any kind of issue what so ever. Never. Ever. Hmmmmmmmm????

Thanks guys. Now I will have issues every time I don't check them . Dang it!

[jmoore]

Well, if you were in a hurry pulling fresh ammo out of bandoliers on a "busy" day, you probably wouldn't check the chargers either. I've seen them packed all sorts of ways, fresh out of the tin.

If you're especially fortunate they'll all have five rounds in 'em! (Always seem to be a few loose rounds lost in the pockets.)