Bolt Head Problem

[lngstrt]

I am in the process of bringing a Bubba's 1940 Ishapore back to military trim and I've hit a snag. One of those things that hits after you've spent the $$$ and now it seems you might not be able to shoot the poor thing.

I checked it for head space before starting the project. HS is OK. So I ordered the appropriate pieces from our friend at Springfield Sporters. Typical experience there ... faxed order, no confirmation, package arrived about a week later, all parts are great or better than expected!!!

I cleaned up the DP wood .... I'll have to do more .... and decided to fit all the parts together to make sure all was well. It went together with no serious hitch. Good so far.

Then .... Hey, I'm gonna throw a couple snap cap rounds in the mag and cycle the bolt and ..... The bolt head jumps the rail about an inch and a quarter ahead of the charger bridge!!!

Bad bolt head was my first thought. I have a bunch of heads of various lengths so I tried 3 others. All jump the rail at the same point. If I run my finger along the rail I can feel that the rail is worn there.

Geeeeez!! What do I do about that?? If I run the bolt slowly, with just one round in the magazine, it picks up the round and works fine. Move it briskly and ....JAM. Bolt head jumps and the round slips below and jams. Slow isn't any fun!!!!!

Is there a fix or do we have a 1940 Ishapore single shot?

Thanks in advance.

(For those of you who read the various forums - you know who you are - I apologize for having to read this several times. Sorry.)

Information

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[RJW NZ]

New to me, it seems it would either take quite a bit of tension to make the spring pop free or quite a bit of wear, or even a bit of both because if the rail was worn the bolt head should still track and hold in place just by gravity.

-Does the bolt (complete) move freely up and down the track, with the mag in and with the mag out?
-If its binding, does the bolt cycle freely with the bolt head off?
- If you put something like a metal straight edge along the track is there a lot of wear at the jump point?

I'll have a play with a rifle and see what shows up here, I have had an enfield that the whole tube shape that the bolt travels in was so worn out that the safety could let itself off when the bolt lifted up, now broken down for parts as being too dangerous.

Ok, I had a play and have no bright ideas, the only thing I noticed is that the floor plate in the magazine is pushing upwards quite firmly at that point you described, maybe there's excess pressure, maybe the mags interfering somehow, hmm, good luck

[Son]

Hmmm- thats nasty. I have a very nice MkI*** receiver that does the same thing. The usual cause is the receiver sides have been spread. This allows the front of the bolt to wander too much and the cartridge case coming in contact with the extractor as it tries to go underneath it onto the bolt face, rotates the bolthead off the track.

I'm not sure how you can prove it as a cause, but if the barrel has been changed by Bubba- he may have gripped the receiver in a vise or put the handle of his pipe wrench through the receiver to turn off the old barrel.

Look for signs of abuse like toolmarks inside the receiver or vise marks on the barrel knox or receiver base.

Good luck...

[Brian Dick]

It's bad news. The Indian receiver is ZF or what we civilians would call just plain worn out. I've seen the problem on several rifles over the years. Many of them Ishapores. There are many worn out SMLE and No.4 Mk.1* rifles on the market thanks to the big importers who don't give a s--t about selling crap. Caveat Emptor.

[Peter Laidler]

Good advice there Brian............. I couldn't have said it better or more diplomatically!

[Son]

Brian is right no matter what caused it. As I found with the MkI*** receiver here- there is no acceptable fix for it if twisted. Worn out is something I haven't seen personally, but if bubba hadn't twisted it- it's the only other possible cause.

[lngstrt]

Well ..... The gun was bought by my Dad at a gun show some 20+ years ago when things weren't worth so much. So .... The only money involved, for all intents and purposes, is for the wood and parts to de-Bubba it. Parts that can be used elsewhere, for sure. Certainly a bit disappointing

If I knew a 'smith here in Phoenix who I thought knew what an Enfield was .....

[smellie]

I cannot possibly add to this debate or explication or exploration or whatever we are going to call it, for one reason: I am not qualified.

That said, I must point out that I also am a shooter and a collector, if you can call the junk in my basement a 'collection'.

The standards and the specifications make sense. They have to: they were designed for an era in which the Army was looking after hundreds of thousands, even millions, of rifles of the same couple of types. They HAD to have standards, else they never would have been able to fight. On the other hand, YOU don't need rigid standards because you have only one old rifle with a problem, a problem which can be repaired easily through the use of a non-standard part. So long as you're not expecting a repair depot to have, in stock, the precise part required for your rifle, there is no safety reason that you cannot use a non-standard part. I know this is an 'old farmer' approach, but I live in a part of the world with a lot of old farmers and, in the old days, they kept their rifles working until they ran through their last box of shells, about 20 years after the factory put the ammo out of production.

Your rifle can be repaired with a 'farmer fix'. Just do NOT expect the parts to interchange with the parts on every other SMLE.

The problem is the bolt-head jumping its track. The track is worn, or else the bolt-head is worn. You have established that it is the track which is worn. You have 2 options: build up the track or build up the bolt-head. Building up the track in the Body is possible, although it is a LONG way from practical. Stripping down the bolt-head and forging the bottom lip inward (as seen from the Body) a very few thousandths of an inch would serve the same purpose. The bolthead, were this done properly, would not be able to jump its track, as it is doing now. You would just have to be careful not to forge the part TOO much, else you will not get it on to start with! But it can be done.

It is a farmer fix, yes.

It is NOT standard. No.

But it will keep your old rifle working for another career and, if you keep the bolthead lubricated properly right where it needs it, the job should last a long time.

Good luck.