303 Enfield/goes off when saftey moved????

[Willyp]

What has broken? Can it be fixed,[by myself] if so,where to gets parts?
This gun has been used for deer hunting foever! It was lent out for a couple of years and now has the problem of fireing when the safety is released!!!!!
Thanks for the help?

[elk hunter]

Enfields, both SMLE's and P-14's, retract the firing pin a short distance when you put the safety on. Apparently the sear isn't catching the pin when the safety is let off. Perhaps someone tried to improve the trigger pull or something is worn, in which case you will need to identify the offending part and replace it. A second possibility is that there is an accumulation of dirt that is keeping the sear from properly engaging the cocking piece.

You need to remove the action from the wood and look closely to see what the exact problem is.

If you can't see what the problem is, a visit to your local gun mechanic is in order.

These folks should have the parts if you need any.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/

[Larry Gibson]

Concur with elk hunter, good advise.

Larry Gibson

[Multigunner]

If the sear is badly worn you'd do best to obtain a new sear.
Stoning a worn Enfield sear can leave the point of engagement too far forwards for the cam of the safety to engage the opening of its mating cut out in the cocking piece.

I've filed the opening on one cocking piece a bit to allow the safety to engage after too much material was removed in truing up the sear and the front of the cocking piece. The parts were already badly banged up by years of rough handling.
The Enfield action can be cycled very quickly, the Mad minute, but the sear legs and cocking piece don't always hold up too well to the stress.