minimum kit for shooting with a Lee Enfield

[spinecracker]

As previously mentioned in my other posts, I am close to purchasing a Lee Enfield No4 Mk1/2 (sorry to all those Savage and Long Branch buffs out there - I just like the bolt release mechanism on British-made LEs more) from Cabela's or the Reno Gun Show (if there is nothing suitable at the gun show, I am turning round and driving straight over to Cabela's - my wife has already given me the "you are a big kid" talk). As I fully intend to shoot the weapon, as well as gaze admiringly at it from a collector's point of view, I was wondering what would be the minimum ancilliary kit for day to day maintenance. I assume that a cleaning kit would be in order (what is the best source for LE cleaning kits?), but would I need any special tools for the stripping down and cleaning process? Should the rifle be stripped down to individual components and fully cleaned before shooting? Yes, I am a newbie, but I am an obsessive compulsive newbie who doesn't want to do something that ends up blowing off half my face and/or some fingers lol.

Fortunately, the rifle I have my eye on at Cabela's looks like it was looked after pretty well (only a few small dings, hardly any dirt on the metal and wood that will wipe off, and the fore and butt stocks look like they've only had linseed oil/tung oil on them - no polyurethane, thank goodness - I think it could be worth the $300 they are asking for it) but, as I have no idea of where to start, I thought I'd ask the guys in the know.

Information

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[villiers]

Just a pull through, a roll of 2 by four, a can of oil and a rag.

[Alan de Enfield]

If it aint broke, dont fix it.

You could 'upset' all sorts of things by dissasembling, the only thing you need to take out is the bolt, everything else can be cleaned (as Villiers says) with 4x2 and a pull thru'.

At some stage you may want to take the bolt apart ( but why would you ?) for which you will need a firing pin removal tool.

Something I found useful was a "range emergency breakdown kit"

Get one of the Enfiled oil bottles (that fit in the Butt trap), remove the 'spoon'.
Get hold of a spare extractor, extractor spring, and extractor screw and a small jewellers screwdriver (that fits the extractor screw), and a broken case extractor, these should all fit into the oil bottle.
There you have it - the two most common Enfield problems can now be fixed 'on site'.

(The spare extractor screw is because you will lose the one that you take out of the bolt head)

[Buzzard]

Oh!....come on. Bare minimum is a pocket (or two) full of ammo.

[spinecracker]

Well, ammo is a given, unless I decide to club the target with the rifle - always an option, and it might improve my accuracy lol. What would be a good source for Alan's "range emergency breakdown kit"? I was looking online for places that sold LE spares in the US, but google was not being my best friend.

[Alan de Enfield]

http://www.ssporters.com/Ordering%20Information.htm

Lee-Enfield No 4 Mk 1

Firearm Parts and Accessories | Numrich Gun Parts Corp. | e-GunParts.com

Dealer Showroom

[bearhunter]

Spinecracker, all of the advice above is good. It really is the bare minimum though. A lot of the milsurp ammunition being imported right now is of dubious quality when you can find it. There is also a very good chance that it will be corrosive. I seriously suggest hand loading or buying commercial brand name ammunition.
As far as a cleaning kit goes, milsurp rifles are notorious for having worn muzzles from improper use of a "pull through" cleaning apparatus. Before you buy the No4 MkI/2, check the muzzle closely and check out the bore for throat erosion as well as pitting. Also, use a regular cleaning rod from the breech end of the rifle to clean. If you're not using corrosive ammunition, or doing a lot of shooting, cleaning really isn't that much of an issue. I usually clean with a standard, non copper eating cleaner right after a shooting session, unless I shoot 30+ rounds. Then I do a complete cleaning procedure.

If you buy it, at least remove the bolt head and either clean it out by flushing with solvent of some sort just to make sure and check the firing pin tip for pitting or damage, which can cause erratic ignition and even hang fires.

Also check the extractor/spring to make sure they aren't cracked, broken or the tip broken on a corner etc.

Look closely at the fore end wood, just in front of the trigger guard screw. It could quite possibly be cracked and the damage difficult to see.

The fellows are right about not taking it apart. There really isn't a lot of damage that you can do but unless you think there may be cosmolene under the wood, it just isn't necessary. If you do decide to take it apart, go to surplusrifles.com for simple instructions and pictures.

[Thunderbox]

You don't need any spares; it might take 20+ years of hard use before even an extractor spring breaks.....

[bradtx]

spinecracker, First trip to the range pick up some UMC .303 to baseline your rifle. It's as good as the highly rated Greek HXP in my testing and is very uniform from lot to lot.

A tool to adjust the fore sight's windage (reverse head screwdriver or brass drift and small hammer). If not using commercial ammo a broken head extractor could be handy. A pair of needle nose pliers maybe needed to adjust the feed lips on the magazine. A screwdriver that fits properly (big) is handy if the front trigger guard screw (kingscrew) loosens.

Brad

[spinecracker]

Such a variety of opinions, but then again everyone will have a different experience depending on their rifle(s). I like the idea of performing a "minimal" strip and clean to ensure proper function and to check the condition of easily replaceable components, and having a few replacement pieces on hand(extractor, extractor spring, and extractor screw) that I can find for a reasonable price (who knows how long such prices will last?). Anything else I need I will get if/when something goes wrong. Adjustment of the foresight is a given, so I will plan for that.

As for ammo, I was looking at UMC .303 last night, so I will be sure to pick some up when I am ready.

Thanks, guys - informative as ever.