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Thread: Shot the SMLE today... It hits what i am aiming at but...

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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    Shot the SMLE today... It hits what i am aiming at but...

    Pretty sure the headspace is off a bit.


    Here are my spent cases. They are all sitting on a flat surface. Primers are not protruding. The case heads are actually cocked on an angle after firing and there is a noticeable ring about a quarter inch from the rim that when you rub your finger over is clearly bulged just as it looks in the pics.

    With the #1 i think its not so easy to fix as the #4. I will go back to the gun smith where i bought it. I am sure he has the solution.

    Last edited by rci2950; 01-25-2016 at 05:26 PM.
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    Those things had long chambers to allow for dirty or corroded ammo. I bed if you put an unfired case next to a fired case you will see that the shoulder is moved forward on the fired case.

    No clue about the case heads being off square.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Helen Keller's Avatar

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    any way you can take a picture of your chamber ??
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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Helen Keller View Post
    any way you can take a picture of your chamber ??
    yes i have an endoscope here somewhere. i will start digging
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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    Cord on the thing was coiled up and has retained a memory of the coils. Like wrestling with a retarded snake. I will see if i can get a mirror or something to use a regular camera. Here is what i got from the endoscope.


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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    if it matters i also noticed i cannot chamber my own empty cases from today even though they were fired in this rifle. I can get the bolt mostly shut if i use a good amount of strength. Then i need to force it back open.

    Also the cases are stretched a lot more then i remember the number 4 I use to have doing...

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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    was just on the phone with the smith that i bought it from and he says the issues i am having is what these rifles do. He said that you would only get a couple of reloads from the cases anyway and as long as the cases aren't splitting in the rifle then it is ok. My main concern is that everything goes out the muzzle and doesn't come back in my face. He assured me i am good to go. I hadn't really planned on reloading for this rifle anyway. There are mounds of cheap ammo around for it. There seems to be an endless supply of Dominion and Imperial brand stuff around from the 1970s. I will just keep seeking that out.
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    Senior Member Helen Keller's Avatar

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    I'd go rent a 303 chamber finish reamer.



    None of the No.1's I have do that to brass.
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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Helen Keller View Post
    I'd go rent a 303 chamber finish reamer.



    None of the No.1's I have do that to brass.
    I don't even know where to find one of those. I am going to clean the chamber really well and see what happens. The guy that provided the stock disk today has the set of head space gauges and a very impressive knowledge of the SMLE. He is a short drive from here. He invited me over to look at the rifle. Got my fingers crossed that i am just not use to rimmed cartridges and it is all ok. My Winchester 32 Spcl did that a few times with the cases but not close to that bad.
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    Update to this. I was sitting here fiddling one of the empty brass and i noticed the primer is punched right through but not cratered.

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    After i posted the last comment and picture i picked at the primer with a dentist pick and it is definitely punched through.
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    Senior Member Helen Keller's Avatar

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    being that bad off..


    take off the handguard and see if theres any codes stamped into the barrel.
    PRAISE KEK
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  13. #13
    Senior Member NAPOTS's Avatar

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    I am no expert but it looks like you are working on a case head separation due to excessive headspace. your shoulder is quite a bit forward.

    What do the unfired primers look like? that one looks like it has flattened quite a bit.

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    Moderator & Team Gunsnet Platinum 07/2011 O.S.O.K.'s Avatar

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    Man, I forgot about Parallax Bills - I wonder if my account is still active... man, been a while since I've been there. I was a forum mod there at one time.

    Anyhoo, the cases shown in the OP show excessive headspace even for a SMLE - IMHO. I've owned quite a few and none of them were that hard on the brass.

    You can fix this quite easily though by getting a slightly longer bolt head. They are available on egay and other parts stores like e-gunparts.com (Numrich). First determin what you've got right now and then get one higher. Like if you have a 2, get a 3. IIRC. You might measure yoru bolt head and then inquire as to the replacement's measurement to check for sure.

    Once you get that fixed, you can neck size once-fired brass and then get many loadings out of the brass by using that method. You may have to slightly set the neck back at some point.

    Further, if you shoot lower pressure cast bullet loads (which are still quite capable of taking game BTW) it will extend the life of the brass even further and by using .314" lead bullets, you'll get excellent accuracy.
    ~Nemo me impune lacessit~




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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    well. I fixed the headspacing issue. Was back over to my gunsmith for a visit today and found a matching bolt in a good round about way. The rifle now matches but it is now an ishapore instead of a London Small arms. but the headspace is a non issue and the barrel is as near perfect as i have seen on a Mk III Fired brass are coming out perfect. I developed another issue though. I broke the screw for my magazine cutoff. The screw is out and the magazine cut off is out but i need a new screw for it to get it back in.


    On another issue I also put a whole box of American Eagle 9mm through my Glock. Today is the first time i fired it and the brass are hitting me in the forehead. Another issue for another day i guess.
    Last edited by rci2950; 02-04-2016 at 06:15 PM.
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    Member Hummer's Avatar

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    In taking a close look at he pics I think I know what the problem is. If you will look in the upper half of the case body it appears there was rust in the chamber either now or in the past which left it pitted. Either condition would grip the case on firing holding it forward while the bottom had no rust/or pitting and was free to move erratically.

    Depending this might generate hard opening or it may not with all the stretching that went on.

    I suggest you get a 35 cal bore brush, wrap it with emery cloth and after soaking the chamber with something like diesel fuel and letting it soak a bit get in there and rotate the cleaning rod and the emery paper on the front half of the brush.

    I got a No4 with a bad bore and I made it a 30/303 as follows. I sent a 303 Reamer to Manson Precision Reamers and had him change the throat to be like a 30.06 and changed the dimension of the base to prevent massive swelling. I have redesigned several cases based on the 303 Brit and had them made up in different calibers. 6.5MM Confederate Sabre, 7MM Confederate Sabre, 306 Confederate Sabre and 30/303 redesigned for min dimensions.

    I have seen similar about a year ago a brother firefighter called me and said he had a problem with a 700 Rem Varmint in 308. He said the could chamber a round and open the bolt and everything was fine but if he chambered a round and fired it the bolt did not want to open and he had to beat it open. I told him to bring it down and I would borescope it and found massive rust in front end of chamber and then I got the rest of the story. He had been out hunting in a heavy rain, came home and wiped outside of rifle down and put rifle in case with loaded round in chamber.

    The round he put in rifle was wet when he loaded it at the start of the hunt.

    I cleaned the rust out and chamber was badly pitted at the neck/shoulder area and I proposed something that might just save him the expense of getting a new barrel. I unscrewed it, cut off three threads on the back of barrel, moved the shoulder forward and located the threads and threaded it for full contact. I used one of my match reamers with min body and tight neck so only the front end was cut.

    I got it head-spaced like I prefer to do it and took another looksee with bore scope and the shoulder cleaned up but still a little pitting in neck. I also recrowned it and we put it back on and test fired it and the bolt opened easily. He took it home and went out to re-zero it and called me and said it shot better than it did as new.
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  18. #18
    Rci2950 are you in the roofing industry ?

  19. #19
    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by tr6r View Post
    Rci2950 are you in the roofing industry ?
    no why
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    Team GunsNetwork PLATINUM 10/2012 rci2950's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hummer View Post
    In taking a close look at he pics I think I know what the problem is. If you will look in the upper half of the case body it appears there was rust in the chamber either now or in the past which left it pitted. Either condition would grip the case on firing holding it forward while the bottom had no rust/or pitting and was free to move erratically.

    Depending this might generate hard opening or it may not with all the stretching that went on.

    I suggest you get a 35 cal bore brush, wrap it with emery cloth and after soaking the chamber with something like diesel fuel and letting it soak a bit get in there and rotate the cleaning rod and the emery paper on the front half of the brush.

    I got a No4 with a bad bore and I made it a 30/303 as follows. I sent a 303 Reamer to Manson Precision Reamers and had him change the throat to be like a 30.06 and changed the dimension of the base to prevent massive swelling. I have redesigned several cases based on the 303 Brit and had them made up in different calibers. 6.5MM Confederate Sabre, 7MM Confederate Sabre, 306 Confederate Sabre and 30/303 redesigned for min dimensions.

    I have seen similar about a year ago a brother firefighter called me and said he had a problem with a 700 Rem Varmint in 308. He said the could chamber a round and open the bolt and everything was fine but if he chambered a round and fired it the bolt did not want to open and he had to beat it open. I told him to bring it down and I would borescope it and found massive rust in front end of chamber and then I got the rest of the story. He had been out hunting in a heavy rain, came home and wiped outside of rifle down and put rifle in case with loaded round in chamber.

    The round he put in rifle was wet when he loaded it at the start of the hunt.

    I cleaned the rust out and chamber was badly pitted at the neck/shoulder area and I proposed something that might just save him the expense of getting a new barrel. I unscrewed it, cut off three threads on the back of barrel, moved the shoulder forward and located the threads and threaded it for full contact. I used one of my match reamers with min body and tight neck so only the front end was cut.

    I got it head-spaced like I prefer to do it and took another looksee with bore scope and the shoulder cleaned up but still a little pitting in neck. I also recrowned it and we put it back on and test fired it and the bolt opened easily. He took it home and went out to re-zero it and called me and said it shot better than it did as new.
    I have read about 22/303 and other modified calibers in this rifle. They all look interesting.

    sounds pretty good but now i have it resolved with a new barrelled action. The barrel, receiver and bolt are new to me and near perfect. The rest is the parts off my old rifle.
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