Checking The Lee Enfield Barrel For Wear
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- You're on the spot; at a gunshow or a friend's house, looking to buy an Enfield, but how are you going to know if the barrel is worn out or not? This video will explain how far between new or worn out your barrel is, and a few nifty tricks anyone can do to find out if you should buy it or not.
Very informative and well explained, thank you.
موضوعك مفيد يتم تغيير السبطانه بسبطانة البيكيسي لانه عيار الروسي متوفر بكثرة
I've been a shooter for 57 years and only now getting my first 303 (No4Mk2 / AGP burnished bbl). This is a VERY useful reference, thanks a bunch.
just bought a 41 mki no.4 today. Spent hours cleaning it and by the looks of it it was in storage for tens of years and i was questioning what the overall condition was. after this video i am very excited for this gun. rifling is a bit worn but nice and shiny and pretty, barrel bullet test shows almost the exact same amount of space as your bullet test, and the breech has about 1mm of clearance where the shell rests. this ancient video gives me a lot of hope and knowledge i can use.
just hope you somehow see this comment so i can thank you
Just awesome video. can not believe its taken me ten years to find it
I bought his book. The videos are a great complement. I wish he had gone further with this channel before abandoning it. So much useful info. The LE is still the grande dame of military bolt guns.
On a pitted barrel you can take some J & B bore compound and wrap a patch on a brass bristle, coat it liberally with J & B and work it back and forth until it wears out. Repeat as many times as necessary, clean and shoot. Effectively what you have done it polish away much of the pitting and each time you fire it with copper bullets they will impart copper into the low spots, thus improving accuracy to a great extent. Of course a worn out barrel needs replacing like the man said.
Muzzle wear seems to usually be caused but improper cleaning.
Chamber Throat wear (as you described), is generally from excessive heat, and powder "scubbing" on the rifling leade.
I keep a headspace gauge handy when checking out an unfamiliar rifle.
Great video!! Nice job!
I carry a dummy round to do this when I buy mosins. It helps alot, although doing a thorough inspection of any rifles bore is essential.
Awsome information. Just gave my 1908 the once over, The bore is mint considering the age of the rifle. Its been my grand fathers, fathers, mine and now that I know its in good shape, it will one day be my sons rifle.
I checked my Lee enfeilds barrel after watching your vidio and my barrel is still pretty good
Just tried this with mine, glad to see it still has some miles left.
My enfield tests differently on the crown test with different types of ammo. The 150 grn PPU seems good, but my Remington soft tip goes in deep. The rifling is super clean and strong, and the barrel looks brand new under the wood.
amazing . Great details about the 303's . The Garand mirror . There was a guy selling them on E-Bay for about $5.00 . Me being an idiot didn't buy one , simple because it looked like the cocking lug , on the end of the bole . I am sorry now , will start looking for a couple of them .
I hope your still going , you have a great voice , articulate etc . This episode was great content , many thanks .
thanks i used that trick on my new purshase! a lee enfield mk3 1917 .. few weeks and she have 100 years! jeez and with your trick i can see that the barel is still in a gooodd shape for some more shooting.. heh 2 time trough war and still ready for some.. what a rifle
oh and thanks again :)
I've recently come into a sporterized Enfield and I'm glad to report that I have a damn good barrel, and as far as I can tell my rifling looks to be sharp.
Unlucky Eddy From what I’ve heard 0.004” of rifling is still adequate.
Naw haven't had much chance to shoot, also ammo is extremely expensive
@@unluckyeddy7966 Load your own. I load BARNAUL 125gn SP at about 2,700fps and it is deadly on deer etc. with very mild recoil. One deer I got was shot up-hill and front quartered. The round went low into the chest, hit the heart then bounced down the spine, through the hip bone and came to rest under the skin in the hind quarter. Projectile had 90% weight retention and a beautiful mushroom-head. Shot at 125 metres. Can't complain about that at all!
@@Kysushanz got a reloading setup about a year ago.
Really appreciate the diagram and the measurements. Very helpful!
Just for reference, Armalon of the UK are now producing brand new hammer forged barrels with the correct rifling and the bayonet lugs for No.4 rifles.
PPS, I used your method to chose out my own No.4
What about No 1 Mk III's?
Ghh
Thank you. That was great.
Did the same thing while getting a No.5. I’m a little over a 1/3! The groves were good & the barrel shiny so I got a deal. Thanks!!!
MonsterofTheAslyum1- The same principle applies at the breech end of the barrel as the muzzle end. If you have 1/4 inch of projectile protruding at the muzzle, it indicates you likely have a good barrel, if you have a 1/4 protruding at the breech end, same is the likely indication, as it is the rifling that you are testing. This is especially true as the Lee Enfield cartridge is tapered as well, which makes this test all the more useful. I hope this makes sense.
I grew up with these beauties, my first large game (feral cattle) animals were taken down with my dads pristine No4. Mk1 (had the test tag attached when he collected it!) at the tender age of 12yrs old. My hunting rifle now is a previously sporterised (by a previous owner). No4. Mk1. I used this exact test, got the exact result as above, it groups about 1 1/2 to 2 inch at 100yrds. It shoots better than I do! I am a LOT older now. :)
This guy sounds definitely kiwi. Great series of vids too! Thanks.
There is only one part of this video I don’t understand, and that is the breech test. If the round protrudes 1/4” from fully seating in the bore what does that actually mean? If this is how it should be, then it seems to me that the rounds will be pressed fit tightly in the chamber every time a round is fully chambered by the bolt. Having never owned (As of right now) a Lee Enfield this seems different from any bolt gun I’ve ever owned. I’m smart enough to understand that a sloppy loose fit would indicate a worn out chamber, but I’ve never owned a firearm of any sort (handguns included) that the rounds would not completely seat fully in the chamber by simply dropping them in.
Thank you a long tonne for doing these vids. I never come away but that I have learned something new and for me exciting
An excellent video. Thanks.
It's interesting that you mention 2 groove rifling. I used to be a captain in the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and commanded a weapons repair work shop. In Canada the Lee Enfield is still in service with the Canadian Rangers, who are a branch of the reserve forces, mainly made up of Inuit, in the Canadian arctic. I understand that a Ranger is given a Lee Enfield after training, and it is then his to keep. I never saw one come through the shop, (most our work was bigger stuff than small arms), but we did have parts and technical docs for them. Anyway, to make a long story short our procedure was to write off and scrap any rifle found that hade two groove rifling. I assume any Canadian rifle would be of Long Branch manufacture, and they made two groove rifled barrels only towards the end of the war. Long Branch rifles are usually top quality weapons.
It was/is funny as the two groove rifle was supposed to be better more accurate and that was why they were supposed to have been made as sniper rifles. I was able to pick up one with its unattached original raised cheek-piece that was supplied and fitted to/for the individual the rifle was issued to.
@Alexander Challis That's amazing, thanks for that. I had the Canadian one one CD at one point but I have lost it in my travels.
Thanks for the heads up. My SMLE still has some barrel left over. It still shoots surplus and factory made ammunition at reasonable distances.
I have a Lee metford mark with the 10 stack magazine and the safety at the cocking piece and that barrel is in super tight spec,u cant get the .311 barrel in at the muzzle and it falls in the chamber and then its stuck,so happy with this Metford as these are legal to own in my country.
thanks for the video, so many useful tips! Its hard around here to fins one that someone has not "home improved" in some fashion. its a shame but that's why we keep looking for the nicest ones
simmons865 same here, I'm in the process of restoring a sporter no4 mk1 myself. passes the bullet at the muzzle test, rifling is visible but not sharp, was shooting 12 inch groups at 25 yds. plus this barrel's been cut anyways, so its going off to the smith for a new old-stock .303 barrel in a couple weeks. looking for a military woodset as well, might as well get the old girl looking and shooting good :P
I watched your video a few years ago when I was going to buy a No.1 Mk III* and I love it. Just came back to watch it again and apparently mine has a worn out chamber. So far I havent had any problems with accuracy or anything and the rifling is still good so I guess its not a problem. reguardless thanks again for making this video, I have used it alot since I first saw it
I never thought of doing this, very good idea. I went ahead and bought a beater no.1 mk3 for $175 before seeing this vid, at the time of purchase I only did visual on the barrel with the bolt out, It looked bright with good looking rifling. Now after watching your vid I took a 303 rnd and stuck it in the muzzle, it went in 2/3 thank god. I guess I lucked out.
Do you ever consider swapping the barrel/chamber out for one in 7.62x54R? One of the biggest problems with the Enfields (particularly wartime) was the bore/groove tolerances being all over the place. With a simple barrel swap many people with "minute of barn" Enfields could garner the kind of accuracy one would expect from a brand new Remington 700. Too many people buy the "rearward lugs make for bad accuracy" myth even though Sig Saeur makes an EXTREMELY successful sniper rifle with that very same rear lug design. It can't handle magnum cartridges but there aren't enough people who can even handle those kind of rounds to make it worth mentioning.
If snap caps aren't your speed, take one of your unfired brass (if you're into reloading like me), skip the primer and powder steps, and simply seat the bullet. Take a drill, and drill out the primer flash hole to the same size as the primer pocket. Now you have a proper dud that can easily be verified as safe, and it has the exact bullet type you load with, with the case you load with as well.
Great information thank you 👍
good tip. too many people trying to rip off the consumer now. thanks. Buyer Be Ware!
This answered my question. I just bought a 1916 Mk 3 Enfield and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to use it because of the bullet test. Now I’m really hoping that there’s no deep corrosion or pitting inside the barrel. I would hate to retire the rifle. Thank you very much.
Really enjoyed this video! Thanks
Some rifles are counter-bored at the muzzle which means the bullet in the muzzle test will allow the bullet to fully seat against the bullet casing.
Counter-boring is done to re-accurize a barrel.
Just adding my $.02
Thanks for the info man!!! Good video and easy to watch and understand👍🏼
Great video mate it's good to know when you are at a gun show and thinking of buying
Excellent video. I hope you are well and good.
Great as I was looking at buying my first 303 Enfield. Thanks
Kudos, great tip for gun folks thanks
Excellent advice. Thank you.
VERY useful - thank you!
very informative and helpful...thanks
Great info here!
Good vid ,,bore check is a good trick ,,breech concept is way off for an Enfield which were purposely cut at loose tolerances due to wide tollerances of ammo at different factories in the vast British Empire,these guns were also designed this way because of weather conditions in Africa ,India ,Australia to accommodate for sandy windy muddy conditions ,Mk 4 s fire with all kinds of ammo in the dirt and mud like an ak47,also there's a port hole for back gas to escape at the breech .Use Modern ammo
Exactly. Most breaches were oversized if not at the factory, in the field. I have a Ross Mk. III with a pristine bore but the breach was reamed out in the field to fit a brick. Still shoots beautiful groups.
Merry Christmas Mr. W😇❄️🎄❄️🇺🇸🇳🇿
my type 53 mosin nagant had had at least 18,000 rounds through it. between myself, friends, and the past owner (my uncle), and the barrel looks new because we use index and wire brush it every time.
Great tips there thanks for sharing
Good information. I can’t locate any of those common bore mirror /reflectors. The CMP has a cheap plastic one for $16.95, and one seller on EBay has a brass surplus one (.30 cal) for $18.95. No one else? Numrich, Amazon, 2 dozen or more gun and military surplus stores. I guess just a bore light and looking down the barrel will have to do.
fantastic explanation
Love the Enfield have 2 so far. 1 marked with the Crown and England and the other stamped U.S. Property. About to get a 3rd one withe just the Crown on it.
Excellent!
Excellent video
Thank you very much for a very informative video, found it a great help
Thanks for the information and a great video. You might want to work on the focus but all up a good quality and top technical video.
I too love these historic firearms (I own a No1 mk3* HT SNIPER and a No4 Mk1* Long branch)
Just like to add my Enfield is a L42A1
thanks for that really good explanations
Quite instructive video. Thank you very much such an interesting video. Indeed, a lot of really practical and useful information. Best regards.
Good video, but as Unckle Bob says below, the chamber check is incorrect. These rifles were built with looser tolerances for expected harsh field use. That explains why the bores on both my SMLEs were excellent while the round slid up to the hilt in the breech. Also, I have those new magazines and I can cycle rounds through with ease. They only seem to want to take eight rounds, however. That might be due to the newness of the mag. I have read some shooters who say that loading only eight is a good idea anyway.
There is only one part of this video I don’t understand, and that is the breech test. If the round protrudes 1/4” from fully seating in the bore what does that actually mean? If this is how it should be, then it seems to me that the rounds will be pressed fit tightly in the chamber every time a round is fully chambered by the bolt. Having never owned (As of right now) a Lee Enfield this seems different from any bolt gun I’ve ever owned. I’m smart enough to understand that a sloppy loose fit would indicate a worn out chamber, but I’ve never owned a firearm of any sort (handguns included) that the rounds would not completely seat fully in the chamber by simply dropping them in. The breech part doesn’t make sense to me either
Thanks I learned a few things to-day.
Awesome video. Thanks
Wow, that just made things a lot easier.
Michael Irons y
Man....this channel is great
In my opinion, this concept doesn't take into account which Ogive the bullet has when he came up with the 1/3 figure. I do agree that if the bullet goes all thr the way inside will give you some idea of the muzzle's condition, but the most concerning region of barrel to be concerned with is in the throat.
Thanks for that!
Excellent video!
Thanks a lot, very informative and interesting
amazing video. such great knowledge! Thankyou for sharing!
Excellent, thank you.
wow...that is very very helpful
If the projectile go in the end of the muzzle. Barrels long pass shot out. Barrel wear starts at the chamber.
Very good information! I'm looking at a full wood No4 1938, it's missing the bolt and bolt lock but the gun itself is in ok condition with ok rifling. The only problem is it came from a sea chest and I'm concerned about the rust there is not much it still has a bit of cosmalein on parts. So it might clean up fine and will be reblued
Good information, thank you.
thanks for the info,
Great video but I have a slight disagreement just for the fact of different bullets have different tappers on the bullet itself...... just my thoughts
that deppend on the bullet diameter .remington use .311 and example federal use .312 tighter fit then remington
You seem to like detail. Have a look on the net for a thing called the "Enfield inch". It is the story of the creep in the dimensions used in the manufacture of Enfield firearms over time. Partly to do with having inhouse Quality assurance and calibration. In the end an inch was not an inch when they actually put against a certified standard.
Hey there I own a 7.62×51 NATO Enfield 308 Cal born in 1967 last year of service 1975 I love my Enfield it’s my heirloom just thought I’d let you folks know thank you for your advice🕶
Thanks for the info!
Well done, EA..!
You're a very knowledgeable gent, but honestly I'm a bit baffled. I recently acquired my first Enfield- a non import '42 Lithgow no. 1 mk. lll*, refurbished in '46. With an old surplus cartridge both the chamber and the muzzle fit loose all the way, but with some new Federal ammo it was in the good range. Visually the bore has clear lands and grooves. A few skuzzies but not totally wasted. I suppose the truth will be told when I get a chance to shoot it, otherwise I'm really not sure how it will perform. Regardless I really like the gun and I like your info.
Purchase a micrometer.That will tell you. Measure the bullets on the same part of thr ogive.
Excellent video! MiF
Do you know of a gunsmith in the states that can rebarrel an enfield? Where would one find a new barrel?
Virtually any decent gunsmith should be able to rebarrel an Enfield...finding a proper barrel and a GOOD gunsmith will likely be harder than finding someone who can do it.
Great video. just found out my breech end is worn out :( the rest looks fine :)
This isn't about the Enfield, but my K31 the bullet sits right up to the case at the muzzle... But I just shot a couple sub Moa groups. It averages 1-1/2 moa. So Idk how, but it still shoots
The video is correct. I took my rifle to a gunsmith and had the headspace checked and its unsafe. I dont wanna deal with blowback. If yours is loose too then your screwed as well. Probably gonna take the gun back to the shop and get some credit towards a 870 rem.
Thanks for the info, always afraid of shooting my enfields as I don't want to wear the old girls out.
Use em, trust me enjoy the gun for what it is don't die with a perfectly good rifle never been fired.
Mild reloads with single base powders and your barrel will easily outlast you:)
I have the same issue with my no1 mkIII sporter and no I did not sporterize it. When I do the muzzle it's perfect but breach only proud about a 16th
My 150 grain soft point sticks out father out of the muzzle compared to a fmj 174 grain
When I check the muzzle, I get a quarter of an inch. My rifle was made in 54, Fakarzary, and the barrel rifling looks fresh, shiny and square. The question that I have is about the breech end and the rear of the cartridge. My cartridges go in to about a 16th of an inch! Are you sure that there is supposed to be a whole quarter of an inch of brass hanging out there when the bolt is closed? That seems like a lot of brass to be unsupported...
Check your case length is correct.
very useful thank you
Good info thank you.
So a question that I've always had was.... was why when I dry fire an Enfield (a No.4 to be exact...), does the bolt handle rotate about 15 or 20 degrees, like it wants to unlock/open?
The bolt partially cams open, but doesnt completely unlock.
What is wearing out and how dangerous is this.
Or is this not anything to worry about?
Some have told me that this is normal and NOT to worry about it.
The new "perfect" or new/newer Enfield actions that I've observed do not do this.
There is only one part of this video I don’t understand, and that is the breech test. If the round protrudes 1/4” from fully seating in the bore what does that actually mean? If this is how it should be, then it seems to me that the rounds will be pressed fit tightly in the chamber every time a round is fully chambered by the bolt. Having never owned (As of right now) a Lee Enfield this seems different from any bolt gun I’ve ever owned. I’m smart enough to understand that a sloppy loose fit would indicate a worn out chamber, but I’ve never owned a firearm of any sort (handguns included) that the rounds would not completely seat fully in the chamber by simply dropping them in.
That's a No. 1 Mark I*? Nice old girl!
My barrel rifling was mint but the chamber was shot oblong and throat junk , currently waiting on new barrel in mail ishpore 762 NATO 1967
Thanks but how can we check the bore of lee enfield No 5 aka jungle carbine. I don’t think this method will be applicable because of flash hider
I have a Alf J Parker No4 that shoots 2.5" groups at 100m and the cartridges sit flush in the chamber. Obviously .303B headspaces on the chamber. If I load a round just 20 thou over SAAMI length, the round will not chamber and rifling bite marks are apparent.
Yeah, I was wondering about that too. It's a rimmed cartridge and has a flat bolt face. A round that sticks a quarter inch out of the breach seems more like you've got a stuffed chamber, a bullet that's over caliber or a case with shoulders that aren't necked down properly. And it makes me wonder how you'd actually be able to fully index the bolt without causing a barrel obstruction with your own cartridge.
Omg I was checking my 303
With a 30/06 an it’s taking it to the case I did not know 303 was slightly larger than 30/06 I thought it was junk lol
bullet diameter very even in the same caliber .remington use .311 and federal use .312 so remington makes the barrel look warend out but realy its ok mine doesnt shhot remington very great federal and hornagy yes because tighter bullet but remington still good it still hits hard just a litle less accurate but it depends .u never know maybe some ones 303 is brand spankin new and shoots tight then remington is great round probably