Loose rear retainer ring

[mikemiller69gs]

My recently acquired No4 MK1* has a rear top forehand, retainer ring that is loose and floating. it is even loose an floating with the rear wood intact. I have no history on this gun and don't have any idea what may have been changed out previously. I've had a sporterized No4 MK1 for many years that I inherited and that is the extent of my Enfield knowledge. I have researched many places to find a reason or if a new retainer ring is in order and how to install. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

---------- Post added at 10:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------

To further clarify, with the furniture installed, the gap is pretty substantial. Can I shim this or do I need to replace? Thanks again

[browningautorifle]

The rear hand guard ring may be from another model of rifle, this rifle could be a put together from a sporter? There are so many rear rings that if you don't know for sure you may have one that looks close but isn't...

Pics?

[Roger Payne]

Yes, it could be that the wood is dry & has contracted a little over time, or as BAR says, it might be the wrong handguard retaining ring altogether. IIRC a while back we had someone with a similar problem & it turned out that the ring fitted to his No4 was from a P'14/M'17 Enfield. They look the same at a glance, but are bigger. Pictures could be a big help here.

[mikemiller69gs]

Comically, I've been rejuvenating the wood this week with tru-oil and I reassembled tonight to take a picture and it was a snug fit...Go figure

[Roger Payne]

Nice to know the problem was relatively straight-forward to fix!