Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 14 of 14

Thread: enfield no4 mk1

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Levittown, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
    Posts
    9,636
    Rep Power
    21474860

    Default Re: enfield no4 mk1

    I have two British examples. Obtained in the 60s for $20 each. Both are Bubba's. I put one in a Fajan stock with a Timney trigger and mounted a scope on it. When young, it was my only rifle for a while. It took deer and is accurate....enough to woodchuck with. It got even better when I started reloading for it.

    The other is cut down in barrel length and length of pull for the wife. Haven't fired them for a while. Noticed the heart-breaking gun show prices on pretty skanky examples. Didn't realize ammo was shrinking, but I have plenty of brass.

    Back in the 60s-70s the knowing gun writers spoke poorly of rifles having two-piece stocks. I believed them, until I started popping chucks at 200 yards and better.

    I cut down one magazine to hold five and protrude less.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    (Dauphin County)
    Posts
    121
    Rep Power
    3797300

    Default Re: enfield no4 mk1

    I have a Savage No4 MkI* that I used in the NRA 100yd service rifle matches for a few years. I surely didn't win anything, but I learned a lot- mostly on how to reload the .303 British cartridge. If you are interested in shooting the .303 for a while, I would suggest getting a small lot of PPU and saving the casings. This will give you time to get everything you need to reload.

    I use a set of cheap Lee rifle dies, but add a neck sizing die in place of the Lee sizing die. You will save your brass significantly by only neck sizing. Since you only have one SMLE, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you had multiple rifles in this caliber, then neck sizing only is not the way to go. The SMLE's chamber is a little longer than the unfired cartridge, to allow for "field conditions". This stretches the brass greatly when fired, and full length resizing causes the brass to flow away from the base.

    If you reload (for full power rifle cartridges- 174gr and such) more than once like this, you will notice a bulge a little bit up from the bottom. This is where the brass is getting too thin and WILL split if you continue to FL resize. I hope you have a stuck case extractor in .303 (or the right size tap to grab the inside neck of the broken casing) in case this happens.

    Neck sizing helps keep the brass flow to a minimum and allows for a few more reloads from the same casing.

    A couple of other points to remember-

    .303 British uses .311 to .312 diameter FMJ bullets, and up to .314 diameter cast lead bullets. The open chambers of the SMLEs like larger diameter bullets. Luckily my Savage Mk4 NoI was fine with .311.

    Do not bother with boat tail bullets, the rifling (most likely only two groove) doesn't lend well for accurately shooting boat tail bullets. I learned the hard way with 4 MOA results AT BEST. Flat based FMJs are what the rifles were designed to shoot.

    Cast lead is even better over a load of Trail Boss powder for just getting some trigger time in. The results are really nice, soft shooting, and accurate as long as your rifle hasn't been messed with (more on that in the next line). Cast bullets are easy to get online, and when I run out of my current stock, I will likely try some of the new polymer coated cast lead to see if they are as clean from my rifle as they say they are.

    These rifles need their stocks fitted properly, and the bands tightened properly to distribute the load across the length of the barrel. If any of the card stock or linen cloth is removed, the rifle is not going to shoot to it's potential. Actually, it will shoot pretty awfully. I learned this the hard way from a Fazacurly No4 MkI* that I thought I was "restoring". The internets of things is your friend and there are all sorts of websites that have info on the SMLEs and how to accurize them.

    I hate boiled linseed oil and used tung oil and paste wax instead. The rifle looks phenomenal now, but still keeps the military appearance including the dings and scratches.

    I hope I haven't bored you too much with the details. I tried to keep it short, but there is so much more about these rifles. Maybe it's the history. Maybe it's neat that they were one of the first cartridges designed to use smokeless powder known then as gun cotton and later cordite.

    Not mine, but some really beautiful pictures-
    Anatomy-Rifle-LE-No4-MkI.jpg

    pov-lee-enfield-no4-mki-ranged.jpg

    Union-of-South-Africa-Lee-Enfield-No.4-MkI.jpg
    Last edited by gun-bunny; February 20th, 2016 at 09:34 PM. Reason: add diagrams

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    North Penn area, Pennsylvania
    Age
    64
    Posts
    4,664
    Rep Power
    21474854

    Default Re: enfield no4 mk1

    You can still find No.4Mk.I* made by Savage for lend~lease , marked US PROPERTY.

    I don't speak English , I talk American!

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Austin, Texas
    Age
    72
    Posts
    1,220
    Rep Power
    1417580

    Default Re: enfield no4 mk1

    Quote Originally Posted by *Klutch* View Post
    Yea sorry my auto correct changed the wording for me....smart phone +1
    Those damn phones think the know better than you what you need. As to the Enfield Oldguns.net has a military lookup table where you can get date of manufacture etc with serial number. Plus Mark has always been helpful on other questions, just e-mail him.

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Similar Threads

  1. Looking at an Enfield...
    By Last Resort in forum Rifles
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: May 26th, 2010, 11:25 AM
  2. 2 - Enfield No. 4's
    By jon'76 in forum General
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: March 28th, 2009, 11:43 AM
  3. Replies: 8
    Last Post: July 12th, 2007, 03:14 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •