Williams sighted Brit.

[brassrat]

Well, in the spirit of the holiday, I have been thinking of my mil. gun. 1917 SMLE I have had it forever and have given it a real Bubba job. All metal has matching #'s. Anyways I just bought dies etc. and am planning on Trailboss and boolits.

I just found a pierced primer that I may have fixed. Now will move to questions. I see a discoloration and/or a line down by the web. Is this normal in a factory round? The gun also pushes all primers out a bit or more.

Is it possible to change bolt ends in this gun? It does unscrew and I was wondering about a thin spacer to lesson headspace or would this mess up the bolt threads and closing. I also got a measurement of around .0007 difference in diameter from a factory round to fired, at the web area where the line is. Any tips? and thanks to all you Vets !

[shredder]

It sounds like you may have a headspace issue. The enfield rifles are known to have generous chamber dimensions to allow for battle field conditions like the Somme. If it were mine I would have a smith check it out before any further firing. The backed out primers and what sounds like a near case head seperation, means time for corrective action.
Yes, the bolt head can be changed to correct headspace. Google that and you will see it is not a really big deal as long as you can get the correct bold head.

[Multigunner]

Finding the best SMLE bolthead may not be easy, since these aren't numbered the way the bolt heads for the No.4 are.

Sometimes using different brand of brass can help. Remington and Winchester cases have thinner rims than the Privi Partizan cases. Theres up to .005 difference in rim thickness.

I'd say that from the appearance of your fired cases that using cases closer to military specs will be the best bet, thicker rims and thicker case walls near the base. From what I've heard the Privi case fits the bill better than that of any other widely available boxer primed ammo.

If you still have a problem then you might consider sending the rifle to an expert like Brian Dick ltd. He has a fair assortment of parts including bolt heads.
I bought a unissued BSA bolt body from Springfield sporters. these were made in the 1950's for rebuilding or repairing No.1 rifles.
If available bolt heads don't cure the problem you might look into replacing the bolt body as well.

When I got the replacement bolt body it was not to cure headspace, the threads of the old bolt body were badly wallowed out and allowed too much side play of the bolt head.

[curator]

The answer is to fire-form new brass to fit your chamber and original head-space. This is not difficult if you are already reloading. Simply fit a thin "O" ring over the case head down to the rim before firing with new brass. The case will fire-form forward as the "O" ring will hold the case head against the bolt face. Afterward only neck size your brass. Cases will last a long time particularly if you are shooting cast boolits. I have brass I bought in 1984 I am still shooting in my No4Mk2 rifle after 80+ reloadings* (* I lost a case to neck cracking on the last round) . I am using the Lee collet die and Lyman 314299 with 16 grains of Alliant 2400.

[brassrat]

I guess I will be getting a neck die instead of using the full length one I have. Gonna lay off the factory rounds too.