OK took my enfield No.1 MKlll to a gunsmith to have headspace checked.
He called me and said it is "10 thousanths out" with a field gauge.
What the heck does that mean - If you can close the bolt on a field guage, How would you know the dimension by which it is closed???!!

I have fired this rifle and posted a question on case stretch - many of you offered a great deal of help and info. I did not see any signs of pushed primers etc... but wanted to know if head space checked out.

I guess I need to go to another smith since I dont know any more now than when I brought it in.

If headspace is excessive - closes on a field or no-go guage, what can be done about it??

If I had a rifle in the shop that was "....010 out of the field gauge...." I would probably have checked it using a dial indicator at the back of the bolt. One would have to set it up so the bolt face was against the gauge in the chamber and then with the indicator touching the back of the bolt, I would slide the bolt back toward the indicatorand measure the amount of movement. From what you are telling us, this sounds like what was done. another way would be to put different pieces of shim stock between the bolt and gauge and determine how much excess it was by the amount of shim you used. This may or may not work depending on whether or not you have any lug setback, but that's another story. The only way to fix this excessive headspace is to set the barrel back enough and re-chamber it.

I am not familiar with the Enfield No.1 MKlll.

I am not sure if this is a collector�s piece, or you just wanted a shooter.

But... You could get your self a couple of bolts and see if you can find one that tightens up the head space issue.

This is just a thought, and my not be possible with your rifle, but it may not hurt to ask your smith either....

To much fun...

Just my .02 cents...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by shootinOK:

"I have fired this rifle and posted a question on case stretch - many of you offered a great deal of help and info. I did not see any signs of pushed primers etc" If this is .303 Brit I don't know if you have any problem. If you do not reload you are saying you can fire ammo and maybe your cases are streching??? I take it than that you do reload. No problem fireform and if you must, get your head space off the shoulder.Am I missing something here.

Bartsche - I do want to reload, thats a big part of my question.
.303 Brit does not head space off the shoulder, it is a rimmed cartridge and headspace is at the rim.. between the bolt face and the brass.

I want to know if I should not reload - or not even fire it at all.. atleast until I can figure out a fix.

I just didn't get a feeling of confidence this guy knew what he was talking about.

However, if you reload like it headspaces off the shoulder and only use once fired brass from factory loads you can be very successful. Done all the time.

See, what you do when you fire the first round is blow the shoulder forward. By not setting the shoulder back you begin to headspace on the shoulder INSTEAD of the rim. Contender shooters, particularly of certain wildcats like the .30 Herrett, do this all the time.

[ 11-19-2003, 04:48: Message edited by: Hobie ]

ShootinOK,
The gunsmith in question may have closed the bolt on a field guage and put a shim behind it to arrive at the .010 figure. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here!
Some who are not aware of the idiosyncrasies of the Enfields might not be aware that the locking lugs and seats are angled and be fooled by this.
Nonetheless, if the bolt closes fully on a field guage it is plenty sloppy!
There were bolt heads in different thicknesses available for the N01MkIIIs but it is rare to find the thick one.
If I were you I would first check the headspace myself. You can do this by putting scotch tape on the back of an empty case (unfired though. Pull the bullet)and adding tape until you feel resistance at the bottom of the bolt closure cycle. Remember, the Lee Enfield bolt must be fully closed to give a true reading. When you can feel the tape, remove the layers and measure the thickness. This will show more headspace than you would measure with a go gauge under the same circumstances since the rim of the case will be a little thinner than the gauge. I would consider anything under .006 to be dandy and from .006 to .010 to be not bad.
If it turns out the headspace is grossly excessive it can be fixed but at some expense. I have welded up a bolt head and recut it to give the proper headspace (zero) then case hardened the surface. This was on a pretty neat Lee Metford sporter which had developed too much headspace and which the owner didn't mind spending the money on.
If you do start loading for your Lee Enfield you should know that case stretching is a problem with heavy loads even if the headspace is zero. Keep the loads moderate and things are just fine. Regards, Bill.

Hobie!!! U got the message accross better than I. I'll have to work on my communication skills.
Well just like a drs. diagnosis if R friend takes the gun in for 1 or 2 more head space evaluations maybe he'll get the right answer.The cost of the rifle is well worth it.

If his gunsmith works like a doctor he'll be paying for that rifle for years without ever being able to use it!

Now doctors are a whole other topic...

THANK YOU - Thank you - Thank you....
You guys realy help,
sorry bartche - I just really didn't get it.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hobie:
[QB]"If his gunsmith works like a doctor he'll be paying for that rifle for years without ever being able to use it!" Golly it seems that U understand me just fine. over

"Now doctors are a whole other topic" Roger out