Help on #4 Enfield rebarrel please

[FrankG]

This morning I finally went out and rebarreled my #4 . I had a take off barrel Ive had for some time that had a relief cut for removal from action . I evened up the relief to make a new shoulder after measuring shank length then measured finish length . I then turned a breeching washer that thickness which was .045" . I snugged it up good and tight and extractor lines up nice . No front sight for it yet , will have to drill and tap for a ramp type off of a Remy.

The bore is really nice and shiny and the throat looks real good on it.

I dont have any headspce guages for a 303 but have several different cartridge cases of various manufacture . I can close the bolt on all cases with .005" brass shimstock settin on the case base. Now when I put .010" shim stock on the base the bolt will almost close .

My question , is this within range ot the headspacing for a .303 ??

[Bloodman14]

Don't sweat headspacing; full length size your brass, load a fireform load, then necksize thereafter. Alot of fuss has been kicked up about Lee Enfields and headspacing, none of it necessary. If it will make you feel better, Springfield Sporters should have bolt heads for different headspace measurements.

[FrankG]

Thanks for reply ! That was my plan to just partial full length resize and leave shoulder undisturbed after firing .
I did some more searching on net as I couldnt find anything in my books . I did finally find the numbers I was looking for . Saami specs are.070" max field and military specs are .074" max field . so I am still within range and with partial full length resizing it will work fine

[Just1Mor]

I did the same thing with my #4 and i was putting to much into thinking about headspace. So i just took some old 30-40 krag brass that i had trimmed and fire formed them and i just neck resize and have 0 issues.

[Multigunner]

Rims of .303 cases vary greatly in thickness according to manufacturer and years of manufacture.
Historical sources of WW1 state that overly thick rims were very common among US manufacture .303, so much so that US .303 was deemed useful in Vickers Guns only for practice and not to be used in Aircraft guns due to jamming.
In recent years its just the opposite, with US manufacture .303 being noted for having thin rims.

The Maximum Rim thickness of both .303 and .30-40 is supposed to be .064. The British military headspace maximum of .074 is okay for thick rimmed Milspec ammo that was not intended to be reloadable, but is pretty loose when the commercial rims mike at .059.

Krag military Specs call for a nominal .060 rim thickness, commercial specs give a .084 max figure. Actual measurement in the late 1960's of commonly available Krag cartridge rim thickness showed variations of up to .068.
Use of Krag cases trimmed and fire formed to the .303 chamber was fairly common before boxer primmed .303 ammo became commonly available. When cases with the thicker rims were used this reduced case stretching.
Now days Recent manufacture Krag cases usually have the same .059 thickness as commercial .303 cases.

According to gun publications of pre WW2 the commercial headspace specifications for the .303 were .064 minimum and .068 maximum. The British Military max headsapce would then be .012 over the maximum commercial specification.

If you can find a longer bolt head this can take up the slack.
After obtaining a new condition replacement bolt body and #3 Bolthead My headgap is less than .004 with a .062 rimmed milspec case. I've not lost a case to stretching or cracking since tightening the headspace.

PS
If you find your barrel is overclocked and the front sight when mounted doesn't set level, you can file one side of the mounting lugs and shim the other side to level it out. So long as the extractor has sufficient clearance that should do the trick.

[FrankG]

Thanks for information . My bolt is wearing a #2 bolthead and I will keep eyes open for a # 3 bolthead for tightening it up a tad .

[TRX]

You can back off your sizing dies a bit at a time until the bolt is slightly snug closing on the bolt. You're then headspacing on the shoulder. Most .303 chambers are also oversize or oddly shaped, but all you have to do is neck size after the first firing.

[camerl2009]

lee enfield have numbered bolt heads

so all you have to do is change out the barrel
and see if it will work with a go,field,no go

and if it closes on the no go with bolt head on your bolt just change it out
till you get one that works

ive done it i have one i got my bolt head in a kit type thing
it had about one of each of the common sizes

[44magLeo]

I was just reading about head space issues on the 303's. One fellow uses a rubber oring on the case by the rim. This holds the head firmly against the bolt while fire forming his brass. This helps prevent the head separation some get. He then just neck sizes his brass.
I think this is a clever solution to the problem. I also think that when you neck size, size just 1/2 to 2/3rd's of the neck will help.

[nicholst55]

I was just reading about head space issues on the 303's. One fellow uses a rubber oring on the case by the rim. This holds the head firmly against the bolt while fire forming his brass. This helps prevent the head separation some get. He then just neck sizes his brass.
I think this is a clever solution to the problem. I also think that when you neck size, size just 1/2 to 2/3rd's of the neck will help.

I think the intended purpose is actually to keep the case centered in the chamber, so that it doesn't bulge on one side.

I adjust my FL .303 sizer to not set the shoulder back more than .001-.002", and I neck size with a Lee collet die 90% of the time. This way you have essentially converted the case to headspace on the shoulder, rather than the rim, and effectively eliminated excessive (cartridge) headspace.

Also, be aware that No. 4 Lee Enfield bolt heads are fitted to the individual rifle. Thus, a used #2 bolt head may actually be shorter than a new #1 bolt head, etc. Brian Dick, at BDL, Ltd used to have some new #3 bolt heads at one time. It would be worth a phone call to see if he still does.