No 4 Mk 1* Bolt head
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Bolt Heads
FWIW: I've bought several stripped #0/ #1 N01Mk4 bolt bolt heads from NUMRICH, they looked to be brand new although were sold to me as "used".
FWIW: I've bought several stripped #0/ #1 N01Mk4 bolt bolt heads from NUMRICH, they looked to be brand new although were sold to me as "used".
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967 Posts
Funny you should ask that...I was wondering about the different numberd bolt heads myself. Did a little research and discovered that is how the headspace is adjusted on the No.4 Enfield.
A damn sight better than the No.1 where the armourer had to stone down the bolt face of each and every Enfield that came in to make the final head space adjustment prior fo it being issued...
Here is the link to where I found the information...scroll down to Headspace section
http://enfieldrifles.profusehost.net/ti3.htm
Just sticking my nose in here - rifle may be getting a bit worn but a .074" (Field Gauge) will tell you whether or not you really need a #1 bolthead. It is comforting to have the next larger size bolthead on hand but it may never, in your lifetime be needed. That being said, if your brass is showing the "incipient case head separation" or worse, then a Field Gauge will be helpful as well.
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967 Posts
Just curious, did all Enfields come out of the factory with a #0 or #1 bolt head? I have a 1942 Savage with a #3, so I'm wondering exactly how worn actually is? The bore is bright with distinct rifling and doesn't appear to have much wear at all.
TIA
TIA
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1,192 Posts
No4s came out of the factory with 0,1,2 or 3 boltheads.
Unless a new barrel is fitted, the original bolthead should last the life of the rifle.
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967 Posts
Perfect! That's the answer I was hoping for. So, if I understand correctly, to change a barrel, all one had to do is fit a new factory one, screw on one of 4 bolt heads that gave the correct spacing and you were done? None of the typical head space machining involved?
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1,192 Posts
Yes - the rifle was designed for both mass manufacture and easy repair.
The detail is a bit more complex, of course: barrels need to be hand-tight to a certain angle before they are torqued up/ boltheads should not rotate past the bolt rib by more than a few degrees. Armourers had plenty of both from which to select parts - civilian owners tend to buy single items by mail order and, as a result, often end up putting their rifle into worse spec than it was before....
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178 Posts
LANT,
I got the rifle when I was 13 it sat for a few year with no grease or oil and is a real pitted. Now I'm getting a lot of ruptured primers.
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178 Posts
The gauge would be great, I took the "lets rip the #1 bolt head of my roomates No1 Mk1/3 and have a go at it" course. She shot fine and fixed her right up.
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1,738 Posts
If jaybird1371 buys a No.1 bolt head he could end up with any of the following problems.
The military headspace settings can be loose and the reloading headspace settings will be tighter, both head space settings have the same starting point and that is .064.
American made .303 cases are designed for a maximum pressure of 43,000 CUP and the Enfield rifle was designed to shoot ammunition loaded to 46,000 CUP. American ammunition is downloaded because of the amount of older No.1 SMLEs still being used for shooting and hunting and the ammunition manufactures do not want any lawsuits.
In 1946 the Australian Champion shooter Jim Sweet who wrote “Competitive Rifle Shooting” tells you to set your headspace between .064 and .067, that was 62 years ago and some of us are still not listening.
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60 years later another Australian tells us to set our headspace to .003 over your case rim thickness and some of us still don’t listen.
All the information in the world is written in books and all you have to do is read.
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The only Australian I won’t listen to is Whiterider because he is a Pilot and I was just a lowly aircraft mechanic and had to fix the aircraft every time the pilots broke the aircraft.
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On the other hand my good Australian friend Dr. Beer is always giving me pointers on shooting and reloading the Enfield rifle.
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Our old New Zealand friend Beelzebub had a good gunsmith with a large selection of bolt heads to fix or repair Beelzebubs Enfield’s, and his gunsmith believed in tight headspace.
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- The new bolt head will under rotate and fall short of lining up with the right locking lug.
- The new bolt head will over rotate past the 20 degree maximum of rotation and be out of specifications.
- The bolt head fits properly but he ends up with MORE headspace than he had when he started.
- The bolt head timing or when the bolt head contacts the collar on the firing pin will not be within specifications.
- All of the above
The military headspace settings can be loose and the reloading headspace settings will be tighter, both head space settings have the same starting point and that is .064.
American made .303 cases are designed for a maximum pressure of 43,000 CUP and the Enfield rifle was designed to shoot ammunition loaded to 46,000 CUP. American ammunition is downloaded because of the amount of older No.1 SMLEs still being used for shooting and hunting and the ammunition manufactures do not want any lawsuits.
In 1946 the Australian Champion shooter Jim Sweet who wrote “Competitive Rifle Shooting” tells you to set your headspace between .064 and .067, that was 62 years ago and some of us are still not listening.
60 years later another Australian tells us to set our headspace to .003 over your case rim thickness and some of us still don’t listen.
All the information in the world is written in books and all you have to do is read.
The only Australian I won’t listen to is Whiterider because he is a Pilot and I was just a lowly aircraft mechanic and had to fix the aircraft every time the pilots broke the aircraft.
On the other hand my good Australian friend Dr. Beer is always giving me pointers on shooting and reloading the Enfield rifle.
Our old New Zealand friend Beelzebub had a good gunsmith with a large selection of bolt heads to fix or repair Beelzebubs Enfield’s, and his gunsmith believed in tight headspace.
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1,738 Posts
Jaybird1371
Your reason for replacing the bolt head has not been explained to us and sounds a little unknowingly vague or simply put what makes you think you need to replace the bolt head?
If you do not reload and your cases look undamaged or do not appear to be ready to separate at the base after firing them then your headspace is just fine.
Headspace has more to do with the type cases you are shooting and is more important if you reload or plan to reload and this deals simply with case longevity and not with headspace figures written in a manual for ammunition that is fired once and tossed away.
You are your Enfield’s best friend and armourer and only you know your mechanical ability, I would not take it to a gunsmith at this stage, I would just read the manual below and inspect your Enfield yourself and then ask more questions if you think something is actually wrong.
No.4 Enfield Maintenance Instructions dated June 28 1991
http://home.comcast.net/~ehorton/No4Mk1maint.pdf
No.4 Enfield Operating Instructions dated July 15 1991
http://home.comcast.net/~ehorton/No4Mk1oper.pdf
Below are photos of factory Winchester ammunition that has been fired once in an Enfield with the headspace set at .067, the factory round thinned in the web or base area approximately .009 (nine thousandths) and might survive 1 or 2 reloadings.
This is perfectly normal and is not a problem at all if you do not plan to reload your cases.
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Your reason for replacing the bolt head has not been explained to us and sounds a little unknowingly vague or simply put what makes you think you need to replace the bolt head?
If you do not reload and your cases look undamaged or do not appear to be ready to separate at the base after firing them then your headspace is just fine.
Headspace has more to do with the type cases you are shooting and is more important if you reload or plan to reload and this deals simply with case longevity and not with headspace figures written in a manual for ammunition that is fired once and tossed away.
You are your Enfield’s best friend and armourer and only you know your mechanical ability, I would not take it to a gunsmith at this stage, I would just read the manual below and inspect your Enfield yourself and then ask more questions if you think something is actually wrong.
No.4 Enfield Maintenance Instructions dated June 28 1991
http://home.comcast.net/~ehorton/No4Mk1maint.pdf
No.4 Enfield Operating Instructions dated July 15 1991
http://home.comcast.net/~ehorton/No4Mk1oper.pdf
Below are photos of factory Winchester ammunition that has been fired once in an Enfield with the headspace set at .067, the factory round thinned in the web or base area approximately .009 (nine thousandths) and might survive 1 or 2 reloadings.
This is perfectly normal and is not a problem at all if you do not plan to reload your cases.
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178 Posts
Ok here is the story,
I got this rifle when I was 13 or 14 and Dad and I were going to start collecting. Not knowing anything I started striping the finish of and was going to reblue it my bathroom sink with Navel jelly and crapy pera blue from wallmart. Then I found the joys of being a teenager and got it taken away in the middle of it. Mom nad Dad took it from me and I didnt see it untill I came home frome the Marines 7 years later. Long story short I destroyed a beautifull Longbranch. Here is a pick of the bolt head. Oh yeh all the primers are backing out, that is if the firing pin does not rupture them.
J
I got this rifle when I was 13 or 14 and Dad and I were going to start collecting. Not knowing anything I started striping the finish of and was going to reblue it my bathroom sink with Navel jelly and crapy pera blue from wallmart. Then I found the joys of being a teenager and got it taken away in the middle of it. Mom nad Dad took it from me and I didnt see it untill I came home frome the Marines 7 years later. Long story short I destroyed a beautifull Longbranch. Here is a pick of the bolt head. Oh yeh all the primers are backing out, that is if the firing pin does not rupture them.
J
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2,742 Posts
I see whole sets of of 3-5 bolt heads for a reasonable price once in awhile too. Maybe it's time to get a spare for my No.1 MkIII* just in case I need one later...You can also find them on eBay. As the numbers go up, so does the price.
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