No. 4 Mk I (T)

Well I got out the "T" today and went and pushed a .314 lead slug through the Barrel. Took the calipers to my wife for checking as I measured a whopping .3085-.309 ! ! ! She came up with the same thing ! ! !

Now I realize that the "normal" for a .303 is .311 +- on when/who made the barrel, but this is ridiculous ! I then ran another one down the bore and came up with the same thing.

So, I am going to get out the moulds and see what I have in something around .310-.311 and see what they will do.

Am I correct that I want to have something about +.002 larger than bore diamater with the LEAST amount of sizing??

I will be using 3031 and working up/down from something in my Lyman reloading manual to see what the rifle likes.

Thanks,

Chuck

Sounds to me like you're on the right track. .311 would be a good place to start.

Still do a pound cast of your chamber and size to throat diameter. This is the min. chamber.

Attachment 180170

How many grooves does the barrel have? Now, one of the best nose riders I use in my T's is a NOE 316299 202Gr . I started with a Lyman 312299. But the 316 is easier to squeeze down.

If there aint no pics, it didnt happen, just like UFOs

Is it still chambered in 303 British? Some were converted to 308 Win. or 7.62 Nato. I remember seeing ads in old magazines selling the parts needed to do the conversion also.

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Originally Posted by leadman

Is it still chambered in 303 British? Some were converted to 308 Win. or 7.62 Nato. I remember seeing ads in old magazines selling the parts needed to do the conversion also.

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That would be a L42A1 an so marked. If his cast was put in a V block and groves counted the size would be higher.

Correct, mine is the No.4 MkI (T) version.

I am not certain about a "pound cast" of the chamber. Are you refering to useing Cerro-safe to make a cast? I think I have a bar of it around and will look for it in the morning. Just have to find a way to melt it with out the "War Dept" finding me using her stove ! :-)

Chuck

Count the groves in case its a Savage six groove barrel or one of the post war long branch six groove replacement barrels. I've read that these were tighter but not by how much.

A tighter bore would contribute to accuracy when using milspec .303 ammo which often had under sized bullets.
British target shooters often used custom made tight bore barrels for their No.4 rifles for competition, till the UK NRA made new rules against it several years ago.
The tight bore barrels are especially useful when using boat tail ammunition.

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Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager

Sounds to me like you're on the right track. .311 would be a good place to start.

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For jacketed bullets, yes. For cast, not large enough. You will want a minimum .314 for best results or even .316 as suggested.

Sounds like the reamer was wore out when they made the barrel. What are the major and minor dimensions? Or Bore and groove? I would want mine to be 0.311" So many of these START at 0.314"+ and go up to 0.319".

I'm confused. You say you used calipers. Are there an even or odd number of lands and grooves? If a typical 5 groove then checking bore and groove diameters is not so easy. If even number then yes it is easy but still better to use a micrometer than caliper.

Also, the comments about checking throat diameter are what I would do (and did) with my .303's. I have one with a slightly tight chamber compared to the others but all like a 0.315" boolit which is just a hair under throat diameter.

And you want a boolit at least 0.001" and over GROOVE diameter not bore diameter.

Most Lee Enfields have generous chambers and barrel dimensions so it is worth rechecking as yours seems awfully tight for a .303 British.

If the groove diameter is actually 0.3085" - 0.3090" then yes, a 0.311" diameter boolit should be correct.

Longbow

No, a .311 bullet would be 0.002 UNDERSIZE to the throat even in a MINIMUM chamber! See chamber print above. Make a pound cast and measure the diameter of the unrifled portion ahead of the case mouth before the rifling starts. THAT is your desired bullet diameter -0.001/+0.000

While my No 4 (T) isn't yours, it does shoot the Lyman 314299 boolit sized to .314" very well. My normal powder is SR 4759, but 4895 works very well too, particularly with jacketed bullets.

As you know, most No 4 (T)s were selected from the most accurate of the No 4 production and then shipped to H&H for restocking, scope pad fitting and and zeroing with either three of the Mk 32 scope variations. The serial number of the scope is usually stamped on the stock's wrist.

Do you also have the fitted wooden luggage case that was issued with them?

By the way, the Mk 32 scope was originally designed for the BREN machine gun and is hell for stout... and heavy too. Several years ago, a friend gave me a No 4 (T) scope mount made for a 1" scope tube. I mounted a similar looking (Weaver) 1 to 3 power scope in it for day to day shooting just to save the Mk 32 scope from any possible age induced injury from shooting.

No 4 (T)s are the true gems of the Enfield series of rifles.

If you are 'iffy' about a chamber cast, measure the ID of a fired case and size boolits to fit THAT.