My SMLE

[browningautorifle]

One of these days I'll take down the whole rifle and look at this

I think once you do that, it'll be clear to you. I'd be using my close up lookers for that...either it's abraised or it's been messed with.

[CINDERS]

What I did using a very small dremel was strip the rifles firing mechanism clean all parts in acetone or isoprophyl polish the trigger nodes lightly till they were nice and shiny, next very very carefully the sear where the 1st and second pull nodes hit the sear again extremely lightly with very small dremel then the end of the sear which contacts the nose of the cocking piece very carefully again, finally the face of the cocking piece which contacts the sear.
But I stress my dremel is an electric hobby one that bogs down just getting the fine compound on the soft wheel and any pressure above 4-5 ozs stalls the wheel the key is little bits very carefully especially the cocking piece face as you do not want to change the angle of engagement one iota.
I also pulled out the sear pin & trigger pin and polished those in the same fashion then used a thin coat of gun oil on all parts, that was on my MA MkIII 1945 and the take up and let off are like fluid smooth as I also polished the firing pin shaft so the spring can slide a bit easier may have increased the lock time who know but anything is worth a go. Others may be abhored by my little mods which are not as bad as some of them I have seen with filed out nose caps and bent trigger guards......................

[Ovidio]

Quite similar to what I did on the Mosin M44. Different mechanism, similar principles to make it better. No change of angles etc. just polish everything. Did a great deal of good.

[Ovidio]

Short question for all those who love the good old SMELLY.
I've been thinking about replacing the rear sight on my rifle with one with side adjustment.
With the offset right protection blade that should be possible, correct?
Is there any reason for not doing it? Standard rear sights, adjustable or not, should all be the same, right?

[browningautorifle]

Is there any reason for not doing it?

It'll fit yes, and it's your rifle so you can if you want. The thing is, they were long since removed from the rifles by that time. 1916 I think they actually stopped using that adjustable rear sight.

[Ovidio]

Might be a problem with range adjustment?
In this case, I guess that if it's not enormous, then it should not be very problematic.
My reloads already don't match the range on the rear sight.
From the collectors point of view it might be a terrible thing to do, but I'd keep the original sight anyway.
It's just that the only thing that really bothers me in all those bolt-action rifles is the adjustment of the sights.
Elevation is mostly ok, but the drift is always a pain right where the sun never shines.

[browningautorifle]

Might be a problem with range adjustment?

I think it was just a manufacture change and an unnecessary step when rifles were in dire need.

[Ovidio]

Today I took the lady out again and did muuuch better.
Still, when heating up, the rounds fell down.
Different load and different powder, but still the same effect once heated.
I also noticed that the right drift was 90% my fault.
Got back to it after I started losing concentration, but it took just a couple breaths to get back on target.
Well, that's all folks.
I wish everybody a wonderful and blessed Sunday.
I'll go up some mountains around here, since for the first time in over one month it's not raining during the week-end.

[browningautorifle]

So perhaps something is bearing against the barrel...the nose cap holding down the front or a high spot in the center. I find it hard to believe this wasn't attended forty or sixty years ago....

Enjoy the mountains, I know what you mean there...

[Ovidio]

Well, no mountain today.
I don't feel good. Some flu, maybe.
Too bad.
Anyway, here is yesterday's target.
The upper shots were test shots with my no.4. They don't count.
All the others are on target (with 3 exceptions) and are with the good old no.1.
Again I lost concentration after a few shots and went a bit right, but the downward pattern is confirmed, although not as extreme as last time.
Just one shot went totally astray, but it could be a mistake from myself (though I didn't notice). I took more time between shots, preventing a strong heating-up of the barrel. The rifle tends a bit to the right, but I also noticed that now, being warm and me shooting with a t-shirt, the shooting bench is so raw that I get my elbow raw and hurting, and that prevents me from having a comfortable shooting position. Windage is affected by these things quite a bit, so I'll try to make myself more comfortable when I get back to the range.
I'll load a few more rounds and get back at it next time.