Hey all. Haven't stopped by for a bit, hope everyone had a safe and pleasant holidays.

I've been looking at Enfields lately and recalling the one I had back in the 80s that I let go back then as well. I freely admit that I know very little about the inner workings of most guns and knew nothing at all back then.

So all I remember about this rifle was that it didn't have a removable mag. I don't know if it was a SMLE or No4 that had been modified or a M1917.

What I DO remember is that store bought, brand new ammo would give me bulged cases with every shot. I also recall being cautioned about not shooting it much as it could result in a very bad day at some point.

Now the big question. What might be the cause(s) of bulged cases? Head space? Hosed chamber? Something else?

TIA
Tim

PS While looking on GB for LE No 4s and M1917s, I stumbled onto a nicely sported SA M1903 and snagged it for a very sweet price. Its gonna be a fun and noisy summer.

chamber was shot -once i had a m1 carbine that the cases had to be pounded out because they were egg shaped

Poor chamber, its over size or has an improper shape, The gun will need a new barrel..It will in most cases shoot ok, but everytime you reload it your over working the case shape back to specs and that overworks the brass to one degree or another...I would not mess with a bad chamber, I would just rebarrel the gun..sometimes you can recut the chamber but that requires cutting some of the chamber off and rethreading the barrel, then the barrel won't properly fit the inletting..

All of the military (and most of the commercial) Enfields I have shot had chambers much, much larger than factory ammo. My impression is that they were made that way intentionally for utter reliability in mud filled trenches and sand blown deserts. The large chambers made reloading for them problematical, but new ammo, both military and sporting, worked fine.

quote:

Originally posted by bpesteve:
All of the military (and most of the commercial) Enfields I have shot had chambers much, much larger than factory ammo. My impression is that they were made that way intentionally for utter reliability in mud filled trenches and sand blown deserts. The large chambers made reloading for them problematical, but new ammo, both military and sporting, worked fine.

Kinda wish I'd kept it now. Ah well. They're still out there, I'll find me a nice one or three someday.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen!

Tim

I suspect you are right, but I don't intend to nor have I ever treated my rifle in such a manor, so I'll pass on those big chambers, and they don't do much for accuracy..

I had a gunsmith friend re-barrel a .270 for me and the cases appeared slightly bulged to me. Eventually, one split and gave me a face full of very hot gas (glad I had eye protection). Another smith looked at the gun and some spent cases and said that the chamber had been cut too large. I won't be shooting that rifle again until it is re-re-barreled.

To large and lop sided chamber are barrels I toss..A smith that lets one leave his shop should be gilflurted and stringhaultered//

I haven't checked for a bit and thought this thread was done. lol

I've seen a couple vids recently with cracked cases at the shoulder near where mine were bulging, which iirc was just below the shoulder on the case wall proper.

To reiterate, I sold the gun along with a few others at a yard sale to (as I later discovered) a local FFL with a nice variety of used guns in his eclectic shop. I bought a nice Mossy 835 from him a couple years ago.

Hopefully I can find a nice No 4 in his shop this summer and turn a few groundhogs inside out with it. I did hit a few with the old one and even "flesh wounds" were enough to end their reign of turf terror in my back yard.

Tim

Headspace tends to grow on smle’s, if I recall correctly. Ask this question in the gunsmith section, and the answer will come quicker, I’m sure, but not knowing which rifle it was for sure will be problematic.

I would disagree with that analysis. Headspace does not grow.
BPE is the one who is right; British Enfields were designed to allow dirty and dented ammunition to chamber, fire, and extract reliably, which they do. They are not intended for civilians, nor for reloaders. Nor for people who do not understand how battle rifles are supposed to work. They were designed for one thing; reliability.
They are what they are. Other countries rifles are not designed that way; US, Germany, Russia, all have fairly normally sized chambers.
Of course, that has nothing to do with a custom barrel that has been installed incorrectly; different thing entirely.

DPCD.
I understand that headspace does not grow, or so Ive been told all my life..but I wonder sometimes as with old Winchesters, Ive seen when I purchased them that the primers just barely showed some extrusion, but the primers became looser to the point they fell out at ever shot in time...I read recently where Phil Shoemaker in a article he wrote referred to this happening in his old 30-30 mod 94. Mine was an old 25-35 M-94...That had to be growing head space I assume, as it happened over a very long time period and lots of shooting in both of our cases it seems..??? Mine dropped every primer and the kicked the action open,all I had to do was close it for the next shot, I thought that was cool, but my dad shot it once and slung it off the top of a mountain!! I slipped back and got it some days later smuggled it to town and traded it for an old bear trap bronc saddle that was as old as the gun..

Lug setback, as in in 09 Arg, is growing headspace. Wear on the locking block of Rays 94 is growing headspace. ... in at least the practical sense of the rifle, chamber and effect on the case.
Not intending to relaunch the headspace debate

Ok, in some situations, headspace does grow.