Enfield questions (just bought my first No 4)

[lordviperscorpin]

Hey ! Finally got my hands on an Enfield. It's a Savage No 4 MkI made in 1943 in fair to good condition. I would have rather held out for a better condition Mk II but I NEVER find these here in CA and this one looked pretty good.

Anyways,

1. How do I go about checking headspace and seeing whether it's safe to shoot (without spending exorburant amounts of cash on a gunsmith) ?

2. Is there a source out there for replacement barrels ? Could I rebarrel the No 4 myself ?

3. Best online source for .303 ammo is... ?

4. What are the essential No. 4 items ? i.e. slings, scope mounts, reloaders, bayonets, ect.

[REDSTAR]

The #4's are great rifles, I have a Savage model myself. On your questions here's my input:

1) You should call different gunsmiths to see if they have .303 gauges. The customary rate to check headspacing is around $10-$20. Does your bolt match the rifle? If you want to do it yourself, you'd have to order the gauges which are in the area of about $15 each I think from Brownell's. I don't know if you'd need the go, no go and field, I think you can get away with two of the three. Shuetz is familiar with the gauges, I'll defer the answer to that to him.

2) Not sure but I don't think it would be very easy. I haven't seen a sourse for enfield barrels.

3) I get mine from SOG and Century.

4) Tapco has some Enfield accessories. I'm looking into a bayo myself. I can live without the sling and other stuff. Those bayos are wicked looking.

[lordviperscorpin]

Thanks for the info Redstar

The bolt and receiver don't match :(. I want to keep it as stock as possible rather than to dump a lot of money into it. But, if it doesn't shoot...:rolleyes:. Are there any aftermarket barrels for the #4 (regardless of caliber) ? I'm still researching everything on the net, I know there are a lot of conversions but I haven't run across any of the suppliers yet.

Also, magazine source ? are there any affordable, quality after market mags out there ? Just realized I only got one with the rifle :square:.

[Schuetzenman]

LordVS,
On chamber gauges a No go and Field are the two that are most useful. If it won't close on the NOGO then it's a Go chamber. If it closes on the NOGO you need the Field to determine if the chamber is beyond what is considered "Safe" for chamber dimensions. If the bolt closes on the FIELD gauge then the rifle is considered to have excessive headspace and should not be fired.

Enfields can have their headspace changed by screwing on a new bolt head. They came in about 3 or four different lengths to adjust headspace. Gunparts / Numerich in West Hurly NY or Springfield sporters of Penn Run PA should have these.

Slings and bayos should also be available from these two. Springfield Sporters also has action covers and extra magazines. Speaking of Magazines the Enfields were not issued with multiple magazines. Despite the removable nature of the design the Brits didn't change mags to reload. Instead they used "Chargers" that hold 5 rounds. We call them Stripper Clips. For the most part you can refill the mag with the Chargers as fast as trying to swap magazines in and out of the rifle. Bayonets might also be available from SOG in NY. All three advertise in Shot Gun News.

Can you rebarrel it yourself, nope. A lathe would be needed, A finishing chamber reamer would probably be needed too! Those go for $125 average up to $250.

A bayonet shouldn't cost you more than $20 bucks as a high and about $10 as a low. If it's more you might want to pass. The Spike type is correct for the No 4 Mk I or Mk II series.

Slings for the Brits are not the same as US slings. Only the US troops used the sling as an aid to shooting. Everybody else has a sling as a tool to carry the weapon only. So that's all you can do with an original Brit sling, carry the Enfield..

[TheRifleman]

While this may not be correct, I bought a field guage only in .303 Brit.

I also heard the Brit no-go and field guage are the same spec. but in any case, if the bolt does not close on the field guage, you're good to go. As far as a go guage, no need for that because you are not installing a barrel or setting headspace, just checking to see if it's safe to shoot headspace wise. If the bolt closes on a chambered round, then it's a go.

#4mk1 spike bayonet $4.99 at tapco

http://www.tapco.com/store/images/BAY2141.JPG

[romarana]

Originally posted by lordviperscorpion
Thanks for the info Redstar
Also, magazine source ? are there any affordable, quality after market mags out there ? Just realized I only got one with the rifle :square:.

Yes you can get mags from springfield sporters but enfields are not supposed to reload like that. They can swap mags but the guns are only supposed to reload with stripper clips.

[8dDUCE]

Maybe I am wrong... I have an Enfield#5 Jungle Carbine. The sling that came with it is adjustable, original and I use it to "wrap" the weapon in a secure firing postion. The sling that came with my weapon is a green adjustable "friction" lock sling. I made sure before purchasing this weapon that the sling was correct for this weapon. But then again there are many myths about the #5, like wandering zeros... I still can not figure that one out, after 600 plus rounds my battle site zero at 300 meters still holds! 8dDUCE.

[lordviperscorpin]

Cool, more info. I forgot about this post.

So, I should look into a field gauge, a sling, a spike bayo...and err, anyone have success with scope mounts ?

Here a better question (should probably make this a different post), of all the old C&R bolt actions, which one have you had the most success scoping ? This is excluding the swedish Mausers.

[Schuetzenman]

Well, I havent' scoped any of them as this would not be original configuation for most of them. I have a Remington 700 BDL in 06 for a scoped weapon or my flat top freefloated handguard equipped AR made on DPMS receivers.