spitfire_er said:
model 12 toby said:
Anyone here got one? I'm buying one today for 100 bucks. What can u tell me about it?
what model enfield? there are several.
Exactly!
When you guys on the West side of the Atlantic say 'Enfield', that's often what we call a P'14 or its US M1917 variant. When we say 'Enfield' in the UK, we mean Lee-Enfield of which the two most common variants are the SMLE or Rifle No.1 Mk III*, the WW1 era model, and the Number 4 Mk 1 or Mk1* Rifle, the WW2 introduced development of the action with a heavier receiver and barrel.
SMLEs were made in the UK at RSAF Enfield Lock, or by BSA in Birmingham under contract. Rarer older Pre-WW1 models could also have been made by LSA (London Small Arms). They were also manufactured in India (Ishapore) and Australia (Lithgow), both factories making them until after WW2 and never adopting the later Number 4 Rifle design. In fact, Ishapore made them until the 1960s including a stronger special steels receiver 7.62X51mm calibre version.
Number 4s were made in a small number of British factories set up during WW2, BSA Shirley, RSAF Fazakerly, RSAF Maltby, but equally large numbers were made in the USA (Savage at Chicopee Falls who made over 1 million) and Canada (Long Branch near Ottowa). Nearly all Brit made rifles were rebuilt after the war with new timber (often light-colour beech), better barrels and the 'proper' adjustable rearsights. Many Savage and Long Branch rifles are still found with 2-groove wartime barrels and crude wartime quality sights, the simplest being a two-range flip-over model.
The Mauser-system P'14 / M1917 'Enfield' actions are front-locking and very strong if heavy. The old Lee models are rear locking with relatively weak receivers, especially the SMLE. It's of marginal strength for modern cartridges like the .308 Win, but like the similar US Krag is fine with its original cartridge, the old rimmed .303 loaded to around 45,000 psi. The Number 4 is stronger and just handles standard pressure .308 Win loads where it's been rebarrelled to that cartridge. Even so, case life is short with 'warm' 303 loads and almost any normal 308 pressure load, incipient separations appearing at the base of the case body, curving irregularly around the case (as the bolt flexes to one side ahead of the rear lugs so the case is allowed to bend in the chamber).
.303 is not a difficult cartridge to load. Most SMLE / No. 4 rifle chambers are (deliberately) over-length for the case-body which is fine as they headspace on the rim not the shoulder, but it does mean that full-length sizing will usually push the shoulder back a lot after each firing / sizing. The answer is neck-sizing or to FL size keeping an eye on shoulder position and only bumping it a little. Otherwise, cases separate after as little as four or five loadings, less with hot loads.
Use a good quality .303 cal bullet (0.310-312" dia.), the 174gn Sierra MK is excellent but some rifles will shoot the 0.310" Hornady 174gn FMJBT well. Powders like Viht N140 or N150, IMR or H4895, Varget, Alliant Reloder 15 all work well. Charges are in the 36-41gn range depending on the exact powder and check with loading manuals or what the powder manufacturer says. Start low and stop raising charges as soon as you get a load that works well to preserve case and barrel life. In practice, the cartridge is very powder tolerant and works with anything between IMR-3031 and 4350 burning rates.
The British service .303 Mk VII ball round which was used from 1910 to when the cartridge was replaced by the 7.62 NATO in 1957 was nominally 2,440 fps MV with a 174gn FMJ flat-base bullet. This is achievable with handloads if the barrel isn't too worn, but it's better to go for less performance - 2,200 to 2,300 fps with a 174-180gn bullet.
Don't expect tack driving accuracy. A Lee that's had all the various bedding tricks done to it and is in perfect condition can shoot very well, tuned cast-lead bullet loads running at 1-MOA or even a little less, but most surplus military rifles struggle to shoot three-inch groups at 100 yards with jacketed bullets. If it betters four or five inches, don't complain. There are few if any .303 Lee-Enfields that will match the accuracy of a good 6.5X55mm or 7X57mm military Mauser, but they're great fun to shoot and a wonderful piece of history.
Heavy barrel 7.62mm sniper, target, and police conversions or builds using the Number 4 Rifle action were very good shooters in their day (the 1960/70s) but have been far overtaken by more modern designs, so although there are still lots of them (target models) around in the UK, they're generally very cheap and mostly shot out as they're rarely worth rebarrelling. They provide a cheap way into mid-range shooting / club 'Target Rifle' here. 7.62mm sniper rifles and similar are a different kettle of fish and are rare / often valuable.
