No.4 Canadian Lightweight Experimental Rifle - Serial #J5550-12

[Badger]

With thanks to pazv54re, Jay Currah and claven2, a new addition has been added to the Canada - Milsurp Knowledge Library (click here)

No.4 Canadian Lightweight Experimental Rifle - Serial #J5550-12 (click here)

Regards,
Badger

Information

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[Badger]

With thanks to member burnt45, we have updated an MKL entry in the Canada section. We have added an additional 16 picture photo montage of his No.4 Canadian Lightweight Experimental Rifle, to accompany the first rifle displayed in this entry.

[Click PIC to Enlarge)

[Click PIC to Enlarge)

Canada Knowledge Library - No.4 Canadian Lightweight Experimental Rifle (click here)

Regards,
Badger

[Bruce_in_Oz]

I got to play with one of these a few years back. It was interesting to see what had been done to the receiver to reduce weight and to work with a one-piece stock.

The removing of weight obviously started with the deletion of the butt socket, but they seem to have had a good hack at every other surface that did not appear to be directly involved in resisting bolt thrust.

The really tricky bit is how to adapt the receiver to a Mauser type stock.

The pictures on pages 322 to 326 of Ian Skennerton's most recent edition of the "Lee Enfield" book tells most of it. The two added bits seemed to be:

1. A seat for the rear triggerguard screw. This screw is interesting in that it enters from the top-rear of the action and is threaded into an extension to the rear of a normal triggerguard.

2. A bearing surface for the Mauser type trigger mechanism.

What struck me was the relatively tiny area of the surfaces that were supposed to transfer recoil to the stock.in a "real" L. E., bolt thrust is transferred to the REAR of the receiver because that is where the lugs are. The thrust the then transferred to the butt via the generous and solid connection of the butt socket.

The J5550 has, I believe, an engineering defect in the way the recoil is transferred. The only surface remotely capable of doing the job on the lightened receiver is the tiny sliver that remains of the socket. Being rear-locking, (and now lighter and more flexible than ever), there is not much point trying to anchor the thing at the front. This is especially so given that there is no proper lug at the front of the receiver and, even if there were, there is not enough wood in the stock to support it.

At the rear, the stump of the socket recoils directly against the wafer-thin wrist of the stock, right at the point where it angles down to form the notional pistol grip.

A steady diet of Mk7 ball would give the assembly a fairly savage pounding.

Perhaps if they had reduced the socket to a solid but reasonably narrow "leg", as per the SKS, they could have kept the original trigger or the Mk2 "hung" style. The trigger guard would still have to be modified to provide two-point compression a la Mauser, but could solve the recoil transfer issue.

Has anyone out there got a range report for one of these?

Nice (and necessary) butt pad though. It looks similar to those on the Canadian No4 (T) C with the "sporter" butt. Any more details from Canada?