Need some help for parts

[Mike0904]

I picked up a No4 and got to shoot it last weekend with some cast loads. Well
it looks like it has a headspace problem and need to know if replacing the bolt head would solve it......does anyone know what the difference is between a size "0" and the size "1" bolt heads ?

[Bloodman14]

Approx. .003". Check out Springfield Sporters, or a local gun show.

[smlekid]

are you sure it has a headspace problem? if you were using light loads with cast it is common to have the primers backout
if you can find some the Prvi Partisan (spelling) is the closest to proper rim thickness of the modern ammunition if that was to be fired and it looked good I'd be happy with that
you can find headspace gauges easy enough if you really want to know
I'd get a spare 1 and 2 bolthead just to have on hand they can usually be found with the extractor and spring fitted so you end up with some spare parts as well
303's have a habit of multiplying in gun safes so spare bits are a good idea

[Mike0904]

Thanks for the info..yes just backed out primers with light cast loads...it didnt worry me much but I
do want to make sure its right. Prices arent bad at SS's and I see other items wanted.

[Echo]

Maybe try this - put a small piece of Scotch Tape on the base of a case, and try to chamber. If it does, put a second piece. Keep it up until the case won't chamber. Pull the tape off and use mikes to measure. A smith will have to take it from here...

[Mike0904]

I had things to do this evening but I was going to use some shim material I have
but I like the tape idea better, maybe in the mornin. thanks Echo

[KCSO]

Remember the nominal rim diameter is .068 and allowable is 074 and war time issue can run over .078 (Check this is from memory) so excess headspace is pretty much built in. If you can't find a proper bolt head you can silver solder a spacer disk on a regular bolt head and it will work. I have on converted this way for me in 1972 and it is still going strong.

[zuke]

Try a couple higher pressure load's in it first.
I had one I knew was good but when I tried reduced load's the primer's backed out.
Not enough back pressure to push the base properly against the bolt face.

[Mike0904]

OK I checked what I have with the tape method, tape is .008 thick per piece it took 3 (.024) to get resistance so I figure about .020 of headspace. My cases (new remington) have a rim width of .058
So it would seem that the new cases are the problem. Anyone want to trade thick rimmed cases for 80 new unfired and 20 once fired Remington .303's ?
Thinking of that fix from KCSO......I like it fairly cheap and I have to shoot it.....its in the safe !!!

[Storydude]

SOunds about typical for an Enfield chamber. You know the saying...You could chamber a dead cat with a 303 round in an enfield and the bolt would close.

[Mike0904]

You are story'in me dude........;) never heard that one but it doesnt sound as bad as some I have...LoL!
Been busy with too much to get it out of the safe lately. Range day saturday gonna group on paper the way it is at 50yds.
All replys appreciated

[skeet1]

There is another way I have heard of but have never tried. This method uses an rubber "O" ring that is slid up against the rim of the cartridge on the first firing. This holds the case to the rear when the "O" ring is squeezed when the bolt is closed. Then from that point forward you head space on the shoulder and neck size.

Skeet1

[Multigunner]

SOunds about typical for an Enfield chamber. You know the saying...You could chamber a dead cat with a 303 round in an enfield and the bolt would close.

I've read that someone once found a handwritten comment in the margin of a manual that said "there should be enough space to store a spare pair of socks" or words to that effect.

If headspace exceeds .068 its in line to look to a longer bolt head. Australian civilian headspace specs call for .068 as optimal for the Lithgow, though in wartime and using the thicker walled infantry ball cartridge they'd allow up to .074 before replacing the bolt head or bolt body.
In wartime emergency conditions even a .080 or .084 might be considered usable, but skirting the limits of even the stoutest military spec cartridge case.

If the cases used only once with light cast loads do not show signs of a stretched annular ring inside then they are at least minimally fire formed to the chamber.
But if the primers backed out noticably then the load was insufficient to fully fire form the case, so its still not suited to firing full power loads and expect very much in the way of case life.

If your rifle has a no. 0 bolthead a no.1 bolthead will reduce head gap, perhaps more than you might think, since bolt head faces were often polished back if the headspace was originally too tight on assembly, and worn or previously polished bolt heads got swapped around during repairs.
They kept part worn bolt heads handy since these might cure excessive headspace of another rifle as easily as fitting a new one.

This practice unfortunately might result in a heavily used bolt head from a worn out or damaged rifle being used on an otherwise lightly used rifle.
A member of another forum told of a fresh from the mummy wrap FTR'ed No.4 suffering a shattered bolt head on his first shot. Luckily he had taken the precaution of firing all newly aquired rifles remotely before firing from the shoulder.
Something I recomended whenever a rifle you haven't fired before is aquired, or after any work is done on bolts or bolt heads, especially when replacing either bolt body or head.

I had replaced the very worn no.1 bolthead of my No.4 rifle with a no.3 bolthead, then found the bolt body itself was also badly worn. I obtained a new condition bolt body and together the new parts resulted in a less than .004 headgap when using S&B cases with .062 rim. Since then I've been using Remington cases only and have had no stretching of cases and not a single case lost to seperations.

A gap that tight may be too tight for many brands of .303 cases. One Australian shooter posted that he used cases with rims that miked .068 for match shooting. He'd apparently seperated these from a case of ammo that had a wide variation in rim thickness.

While US commercial .303 cases generally have thinner rims than milspec cases, this was not always the case.
In a manual entry on RAF MGs of WW1 use of US manufacture .303 ammo was forbidden due to the rims being thicker than the specs called for.

At one time .30-40 Krag cases were trimmed and fire formed for use in .303 rifles, due to those having a much thicker rim than available boxer primed .303 cases.
The specs of each case give .064 as the maximum rim thickness.
Modern .30-40 Krag cases generally have the same rim thickness as the commercial .303 at .058-.059, but a Krag case in my collection has a rim of .062+ (nearly .063).
Years ago ( mid 1960's) I ran across a survey of .30-40 Krag rim thicknesses by manufacturer and these ran from .062 to .068.
The Krag rules for management give rim thickness as .060, but this obviously was wishful thinking.
I suspect thicker rims of commercial cases were meant to allow for reloading, and better target shooting performance by reducing head gap.

A collector of British double rifles once told me that military spec .303 cases would not fit in some .303 double rifles, that sporting .303 ammo of the 19th and early 20th century often had much thinner rims, and often of smaller dia as well.
His antique double rifle would not close on a mil spec .303 rim.

Once a case has been fired, using a full power load, in a rifle with excessive headspace the damage has been done. It might hold up to one or two reloads, but the stretched annular ring is work hardened and embrittled, so it will crack sooner rather than later.

If no replacement parts were available I'd go along with the O-ring practice to fire form cases, but thats not really a fix. Its best to reduce headgap as much as possible even if you can't bring it down to minimum.

The boltheads were never numbered to the rifles, and were changed whenever the armorer thought it necessary. So replacing a bolt head does nothing to reduce the value or originality of the rifle.
I have found that wear to the bolt or action body is the more probable cause of headspace issues rather than wear of the bolthead.
Fitting a new bolt body is not rocket science, but its also not for the amatuer.
A slightly worn bolt that still seats its lugs evenly will allow better accuracy than a newly fitted bolt with unequal bearing.
The bolt lugs were stoned to give an equal bearing then the seats and lugs mated under pressure by the oiled proof test cartridge to give as near perfect bearing as possible.
A rifle with new bolt body really should be reproofed.

A rifle with headspace no worse than the one under discussion probably doesn't need a new bolt body.

[nicholst55]

Very useful information, Multigunner! Going into my reference file.

Most people with only casual knowledge of Lee Enfield rifles think that a new (new to them, anyway) bolt head is the automatic cure for excessive headspace. Most folks don't know that bolt heads were stoned down to fit them to the specific needs of that particular rifle, and that a used #1 may actually be shorter than a new #0 bolt head!