Mk II chargers .... I think

[Jack Stanley]

With my fooling around with the SMLE rifle I decided to dig out my little can of chargers and find a few that operate real smooth . I found a couple that maybe weren't as smooth as the others but they sure were different . So I tried google-fu to see if I could find an answer . Found a war relics forum and a guy from England showed a picture of several different ones . It appears these two are MkII chargers they may be different makes because the stiffening creases on the back are a little different and one looks like it has a "K" on it . The other is unmarked .

Nice little bits of history , the both of them .

Jack

[dualsport]

If some of you guys can would you kindly put up some pics of the various chargers? I'm curious and would like to know more about them. Thanks

[Frank46]

Jack, want those chargers to feed better?. Take some 400 grit silicon carbide paper and wrap it around a small flat file. Start inside the charger to smooth out the areas where the holes are gets out any burrs and evens up the surfaces, the finish up with 600 grit. the latter just polishes what you have already done. I've done this to a few and no more scratches on the cases. Frank

[Artful]

Also make sure you load 'em correctly
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h29/moosp/stripperclip.jpg

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=120&t=85733
WW1 SMLE Charger
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/SMLEMk3chargers.jpg
WW2 SMLE Charger
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/SMLEMk4chargers.jpg
good link for SMLE info
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/The_Rifle_Short_Magazine_Lee-Enfield.htm

[Jack Stanley]

Thanks for the tip Frank , I may polish up a couple for range use fun .

Artful , I just gotta ask . With the rims staggered like how is it they don't bind up in the magazine ?

One of my chargers is just like the top photo , the other has a the "crimps" not quite as wide .

Jack

[Four Fingers of Death]

How they don't jam up is one of the great mysteriesof the 20th century. I loaded a squillion clips with five squillion drill, blank and live rounds as a Cadet in the Aussie Army and they feed slicker than frog's snot. You can put them in the charger rim in front of previous rim, but they will only be able to be inserted one way. With the staggered rounds, it doesn't matter which way you feed the clip in, they will lead easily. You have to see it to believe it!

[Jack Stanley]

I'm thinking next time I'm at the range with old SMLE I'll have to try it that way and see . Perhaps today I'll go look at my HXP stash and see how the Greeks loaded the chargers .

Jack

[NuJudge]

Some years ago I bought several small 1937 cases of Greenwood & Bately .303 from Samco. They came with a mixture of Mk I, II and III chargers. I have pics someone else posted on another forum years ago of Mk I to IV, and I will try to post them.

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv96/NuJudge/303chagersbaseItoIV.jpg

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv96/NuJudge/303chargersItoIV.jpg

[Jack Stanley]

Thanks your Honor , seeing them side by side I'm sure I have the mkII and mkIV , I'll have to look in the pile but it might even have a MkIII .


I went out today with a couple chargers loaded per the instructions above . The last round in jumped ship and hooked itself up , the rest of them though fed just fine . My bullets are a bit on the long side and I think that is part of the problem . I'm thinking about a new mold for this rifle but maybe I can fix it .

Jack

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have a few plastic bags of these clips (relax, clips are liberally coated with oil and swimming around in the bags). I must dig them out and see what I have. I am pretty sure I don't have any with the straight slots though.

What clips does the Ross rifle take? I thought that they took the standard Brit clip, but tried one one day at the the range and it didn't work. I am the rifle captain and then got busy and forgot until now to follow that up. I might just have been doing it wrong.

[Jack Stanley]

I looked through the little pile of chargers I have . There are a couple MkII , maybe five of the MkIII and more than a dozen of the MkIV , hardly a proper collection of them . I will just have to console myself with whatever the rest of the chargers holding all that HXP 75 ammo might be .

Jack

[Jack Stanley]

A little more on this one . I've found the chargers that load easy tend to be a little more reliable in placing the rims in the right position . Also learned it is a bit more involved to try charging the rifle using the left hand . I have found a couple of MkIII chargers that tend to work pretty well in loading and discharging .

I doubt I will ever fire five squillion rounds through this old rifle though .

Jack

[Four Fingers of Death]

I doubt I will ever fire five squillion rounds through this old rifle though .

Jack

:D HaHa! When I was a Cadet in High School, those crusty Korean vets had us loading clips in our sleep. We practiced so much with them they got damaged and as I was a volunteer in the armoury (anything to be near the guns!), I spent one of my lunch hours every week panel beating clips and filing burrs, etc off drill ammo and maintaining other equipment. I also spent one or two days cleaning SMLE rifles. I loved it and the teaching brother who looked after the cadets was an Irishman and a WW2 vet, he had been with the Irish Guards and would be working alongside me. One of the cooks from the kitchen (the school was a boarding college, but I was a day pupil and lived around the corner) would bring in a huge tray of sandwiches, a big steaming pot of tea and two huge slices of fruit cake and a couple of pieces of fruit. He mostly would eat his lunch with me, tell me funny stories about growing up in Ireland and sometimes about the war in Europe and with the Aussie Army in Korea and after he finished lunch, would put his feet up on the desk and have a nap while I pottered happily.

He was a Roman Catholic Patrician Brother teacher and mostly wore his religious garb, but on Wednesday, he would dress in his uniform and he always wore a dagger in his gaiter. Nice guy, but he really looked like a hard assed soldier in uniform, heaps of medals, always smart and efficient, great guy.