I was told this when I was learning. "Your great grandfather couldn't break it, your grandfather couldn't break it, your old man couldn't break it and you will not break it"

I am one of Britain's foremost experts on the Lee-Enfield No.4 rifle. The Lee-Enfield No.4 is the rifle I grew up on, from 13yrs 9mnths, in 1973, and I've been winning the British National Rifle Association's service rifle competitions with it ever since. Thank you, it is such a pleasure to have come across this comprehensive video which explains what so many of today's shooters are getting wrong. If you own a Lee-Enfield rifle, then THIS is THE video you need to watch. I totally agree with everything that is said in this video. I cringe when I hear, particularly American, shooters saying that the Lee-Enfield rifles have headspace issues or are inaccurate. Invariably, they are not holding the rifle correctly. My No.4 Mk2 is capable of 8 inches grouping accuracy at 1,000 yards, and that's shot off-hand with no sling nor any support. I have taken many poor shooting No.4s and adjusted their aging stocking up so they shoot 8 inches at 1,000 yards. Of course, this depends upon obtaining military specification Mk.7 •303 ammunition and correct Hold of the rifle. On jamming of the magazine, it's important to be aware that the Charger (sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "clip") was designed for topping-up of the 10 round magazine, and *never* for completely charging with 10 rounds, which should always be done 1 round at a time. (Idiots who prescribe competitions where you begin with an empty magazine, which must be charged with a full 10 rounds using 2x 5 rounds charger clips, do not know what they're talking about. NRA or Great Britain, take note!) The rear-locking action of the Lee-Enfield series of rifles is part of something called the "self compensating" accuracy capability of these rifles, where the whole of the action absorbs the recoil as a spring. This is impossible in a Mauser type (front locking) action and, together with the Lee-Enfield barrel's ability to move upwards at the muzzle, makes these rifles super accurate at longer ranges. Let's (briefly) look at the headspace issue, as there is a half-truth in here. When a Lee-Enfield rifle and its bolt are manufactured, they don't actually fit. What happens next is that the manufacturer fires a carefully-measured over-charged round through the rifle that is intended to stretch the metal of the rear-locking receiver, so that the receiver is stretched, but not beyond its point of elasticity. (Similar to the way your wheel-locking studs should be tightened to a specific torque, but never beyond, so that the springiness of the threaded studs holds the wheel nuts under tension.) The result is to permanently "mate" a Lee-Enfield rifle to its bolt. You must *never* swap bolts between Lee-Enfield rifles, even if they have the same size bolt head. Ok, so far so good. But along comes the British government who insist that all rifles sold to the UK public must be sent to a Proof House, where another so-called "proof round" is put through the rifle as, supposedly, "proof" that it is safe. This disregards that hundreds of thousands of Lee-Enfield rifles were manufactured and used in two world wars without a single recorded case of a failure! The problem arises in that this second "proof round" is not calibrated to the rifle's metallurgy. It over-stretches the springy metal in the receiver. In theory, this could take the metal to a point where the metal is stretched beyond its intended stretch, to a point where a fracture failure of the rear-locking action is possible. Fortunately, there have been no such failures, but it is annoying as it can affect the accuracy of a Lee-Enfield action that's been through this nonsensical second proofing process. And that's where one of the myths came from. Simply because it's sometimes necessary to fit a larger bolt head after this second proofing in order to correct the vandalism of the British government to the rifle's headspace. The other story owes its origins to a very small number of 7.62mm NATO Cadet Target Rifles that were based on the No.4 action. These rifles underwent a totally unnecessary, and flawed, hardening process. (Why would you harden metal that's intended to act as a spring?) The result was that, on inspection, it was found that the metal had been denatured and microscopic stress fractures were suspected. All of these rifles were condemned. It does not affect any other No.4 or Lee-Enfield action, but (as such stories are want to do) the inaccurate story of failures of the Lee-Enfield action went around the world, causing much nonsense to join the myths about these extremely strong rifles. Finally, there is one more thing to be aware of -- as this one has resulted in fatalities -- and that's that the Lee-Enfield action has a "half cocked" safety mechanism that will engage if you're squeezing the trigger at the same time as you're closing the bolt. It's something that rarely happens if you are doing rapid fire by twisting a fixed middle finger onto the trigger as you close the bolt with a twist of your wrist. What happens is that the firing mechanism locks at half-cock. This (seemingly) makes it impossible to either squeeze the trigger or open the bolt. It prevents the rifle firing on a half closed bolt, which could cause the unrestrained bolt to fly backwards, through your eye and through your head. You ARE protected from this, but you're not protected from your own stupidity. Some people have tried putting their booted foot onto the bolt handle in order to force it to open. The result has been a •303 bullet through the forehead. Corrective action for a Lee-Enfield that's at half cock is to keep the rifle pointing down range, grab the back of the bolt's cocking piece (which is conveniently ridged or has a button) and pull the firing pin back to full cock. You can now fire the rifle or open the bolt quite safely. Anyhow, congratulations on a superb myth-breaking video. Just one last point. For those who claim the Lee-Enfield's rear-locking action is a dangerous point of weakness, a recent request for British military records of failures returned the statement "insufficient data". In other words, in all of the British Empire's military records, they had no data. It hasn't happened. Rick Bear

This man is so Australian he pisses vegemite.

Listening to passionate experts talk about their area of expertise is always a learning experience, but when that area of expertise is bolt action rifle musketry, it’s downright therapeutic.

I actually really enjoy the more technical talk. Just like other historical appreciation channels, you feed the nerd in me. The channels of guys just shooting and blasting are fun, but I just as much enjoy people going over the technical details, digging up historical data, and just presenting that. I’d rather a one hour video with great detail than a 5 minute one that barely scratches the surface. I’m am not the TikTok generation. Keep it coming!

“Treat it rough it’s not your girlfriend.” Instant response from my wife: “some girls like it rough”

Speaking from a strictly American perspective, I would say that anyone who thinks Enfields are flawed has never: A) Fired one, or B) Been fired at by one. They certainly can’t be familiar with bolt guns.

"Which I'm not sure you want to do on a two-way range" - that is the most British understated way of describing a battlefield I have ever heard. Love it!

“.......their idea of rapid fire, doesn’t go much beyond 6 rounds in a minute.” *Lee Enfield falls over laughing*

Rowan needs his own channel

I am of firm belief that "myths" come about from guys with damn little shooting experience sitting around and talking about rifles then have never owned or fired.

When I was a member of the Irish army reserve back in the late seventies. We still used the No. 4. We were strictly taught to use finger and thumb to cock the rifle, never the palm and to keep it at the shoulder while doing so. We were told that if the bolt wasn't fully closed or loose when fired you would break your wrist if palming. Ever since I cringe when I see someone palming a bolt. We would also taught to be smooth when dry firing by placing a penny on top of the stock. We had excellent training on Lee Enfield but we soon moved onto the FN FAL. Even so many preferred the No. 4 for accuracy. We were taught the mad minute too. Ten lads on the range firing 'five rounds rapid fire' really did sound like machine gun fire.

Men, 75 minutes of sheer joy. I guess know one of the You Tube chaps who knocks the Lee-Enfield. The Wiki entry is also wrong in the rate of fire achievable in rapid fire. 54 years ago I learnt the SMLE as an Air Force cadet, "with a smart and forceful action" that any young teenager can achieve; so I find it hard that full grown men claim to have problems with the SMLE. (Later on SLR L1A1, F88 and finally the SOCOM M4 with its rabbit cartridge.) I love the 10 round magazine. The mags I had were steel and never dented: so I cannot understand the american complaints - maybe the jealousy with their 5-round sporting rifle. Thank you again from Greg in Thailand

You ever hear the joke about an anzac and a canuck in a trench. Everyone is happy cause your wingman is either an anzac or a canuck. Battle of Amiens FTW

Very interesting conversation the both of you had. Glad to hear headspace is an urban myth... for the 303 anyway. Having only owning my no4 mk2 for 24 months I am going to have to start practicing more on my accuracy. Been enjoying just shooting it rather than honing in on accuracy. Seeing Rowan going through the paces with the 303 at the end was awesome.

We need more of these videos with insanely detailed angry rants! This and the one with Ian are perfect!

*Meet The Sniper* "I'll be honest wif ya. My parents do NOT care for it." "Dad...Dad, I'm not a crazed gunman. I'm an Assassin. Well, the difference bein' one's a job and the other's mental sickness. Dad...Dad...just put Mum on the phone..."

Rowan is quickly becoming a legend! The bayonet charge is epic!!!!! Great conversation.

Thank you for having Rowan on the channel! He is incredibly knowledgeable, a good presenter, and can back up what he says with incredible runs.

Whew, second moment of area ... That made my engineer antennae perk up. Just bought a Lithgow SMLE. So, I'm geeking out on this stuff.

Rommel fought in both World wars and he said the Australians were the best fighting force he had every faced. True fact. Gramps was belting down rounds at Trobuk and they both had respect for each other’s fighting capabilities. Nice shooting Boss, from further down under 🇦🇺

"They're quite insistent that you not use violence." "Which is odd for the Germans." Shots fired, as it were.

My Lee Enfield is a Lithgow 1941/42 No. I Mk. III* I bought in the early 1990's and I have never had an issue with it. It was still in the cosmoline. I was told about rim jam in the early 1990's but as long as I loaded the chargers right I never had it happen with any ammo, mil sup or commercial.

Just got a No. 4 rifle recently and have been enjoying your videos until I can get out and try it myself. I am glad I made the jump to british engineering. Enjoyed learning more.

I was reading the forums from 2005-2009 and was amazed by the discrepancy in understand the Lee -Enfield. Brits, Canadians, and Aussies disagreed and Americans were often clueless. One gunsmith said the sporterized No. 4 MK1 was un shootable using ASME specs, while another would say, barring any obvious problems take it out in the woods and hold a way from face and shoot. They are built like a tank. Obviously, one would rely on the British Commonwealth for information!

Over an hour video that could’ve just been “most Americans are ignorant to anything that isn’t wholly American”

Just came across you channel. I've had my No 4 since 1993 and was the only rifle I had for sometime. You video was very educational and I learned a lot. I look forward to watching your past videos and thank you for making them.

There's a tube station in London that provides ample warning with respect to the taste of fosters.

Rowan is a dead set ledge

How to pronounce „M1 Garand“? Easy! Repeat after me: „US Rifle, Caliber 30, M1“. You‘ll get it correct every time!

Great clip, subject, and shooting! Some of the technical stuff was "over my head", but overall both of you have done a lot of research and have a lot of experience/knowledge, kind regards (from Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia).

as a kid I was all ways told of WW1 the Germans had the best hunting rifle, The Americans had the best target rifle and the English had the best battle rifle . Great vid by the way from a Yank .

Update 15.01.2019: Just this minute I happened upon a page with a couple of Lee-Enfield bolt failures of various types: dave2.freeshell.org/smle/smle236/smle236.htm For balance, here's this: www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1VFKB_enCH679CH679&biw=1536&bih=755&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=hwQ-XJq8OOz6qwGC563ADQ&q=mauser+kaboom&oq=mauser+kaboom&gs_l=img.3...11498.14555..14837...5.0..0.146.1364.10j4......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i24j35i39j0i67j0i5i30j0i30.SCE9Ykcsszk Also, a little addendum on the subject of rimjams. Fast forward to about 27 seconds in the video below. There's a naval type loading a No.4 with chargers. You can see that the top round of .303 Mk.VII has almost certainly gone in rim-behind the one below. Yet it doesn't put up any resistance to the bolt being closed. Funny that :D kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jLN6d6x_nNmolIU.html

The myths were promoted by the fans of other rifles trash talking their competition.

One of my favourite KZfaq Videos of all time.

Im very new to the Lee Enfield, haven't had my no 4 mk 2 for all that long. Finding the bloke on the range videos super helpful...I am in Australia and the only ammo I can get where I live is PPU. I choose the 150 grain and it is surprisingly consistent. I have a black carbon reset target with a 12 inch disc and I shoot that at 300 meters when I am at the range..the fact that I hit it so consistently amazes me as I can barely see it depending on the light conditions. I do have a constant rim jam problem with these rounds, I load my clips staggered as suggested..first 5 go in perfect no rim jam on the the top round..however..the next 5 always go in with a rim jam on the top round..I have never tried forcing it to go by shoving the bolt foward...I will try that however. Learned just recently to stagger my rounds and be sure to mark the top of the clip. Working up to having some fun with a mad minute test...did not think I was ever going to be able to do that because of the rim jam problem, thought it was the rifle...but its probably the PPU rounds..so thanks to the videos from BOTR, I know what to do now..

Gday world. I'm actually drinking a beer right now watching this. Coopers if you care. I've got 2 303s because of our stupid gun laws.

Lee-Enfields are lovely rifles. Functional (Well for a bolt action anyway) AND beautiful. What could be better?

fascinating,i could not believe the photos of the exploded chamber at 58.26 to 58.36.good show!

As soon as this video is done playing, I will be leaving to pick up my Ishapore No. 1 Mk. III. I thoroughly enjoyed this video, gents, many thanks for your insights!

From what I've been told, most Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk 1* in service with the Canadian Rangers are worn out. They were well maintained and kept but used beyond their militia purpose as Inuits were authorized to used them for hunting as well. This being said, there is still a sizeable amount of Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk 1* that have been issued to Cadets for drill (without the firing mechanism). These should be the ones that should be look after as they have very little, if any, firing. Lastly, .303 mil spec brass ammo is very hard to find in Canada too. The Canadian Forces had a lot in inventory 25 years ago but I haven't heard they issued new contracts for that type of ammo ever since. Keep up your excellent work!

Mate on the Range (or if we are to go full Monty Python's Flying Circus, Bruce on the Range)?

What a video. That was an hour well spent watching this vid. Cheers guys!!

The only Enfield I've owned was a 1917 sporterized and rebarreled by Sears in the 60's under the Ted Williams brand it was excellent and shot under 2 moa. love your channel '

I'd still like to see Thales make a proper repro of the MkIV - even if it was a limited run each year. Same form, modern materials, right along with the Lithgow rifles. Maybe in 7.62 for fun as well.

Unbreakable and standard ten shots into three inches at one hundred yards and super slick bolt regardless of configuration if you ain’t Aussie kiwi Indian Canadian Pom or South African you just won’t understand the only rifle to have done everything everywhere

Thanks Blokes, a very interesting chat especially while locked down and not being able to shoot at Bisley.

Great video,ive never personally had a rimjam and have only ever seen it once on the range.I think the way us Aussies work our three oh's must be in the blood! Nobody ever showed me and I work mine the same(as does every other competent user i see at the range here down under,seen some mighty impressive middle finger work by older guys) it just feels right! I hadn't even had a lot of range time when i first took my mates bubbad no4 (before i acquired my own) to the range so i don't even think i could have picked it up from watching other people. Enfields are by far my favourite service rifle.

Canadian here, the rifles issued to the Rangers likely haven't seen an armourer in decades. About all they did was supply them with some ammunition once a year, or maybe send out the odd replacement part (if they had any). Everything else was up to whoever the rifle was issued to. I suspect the majority of them are in quite poor shape by now. They just got used up.

When you're looking for information and advice, always listen to the guy who is obsessed with the subject. I think this guy is obsessed, I'm listening!!! Lol

Great video. I just got around to watching it in its entirety. Talking about "palming" a bolt action, the only bolt rifle I have that I have to palm slap is my Mosin. As it heats up that bolt becomes quite sticky. My Ishapore, 1903A3 and 1917 do not ever require that amount of effort.

Rowan is very adept with that smle! I taught my nephew to use his gramps lefty in very similar fashion... the ol guys face was priceless when the boy ran 50 rounds out in a few minutes. He was 12. I'm building a 1942 action into a 7x57r carbine just because I wanted a mate to the mk1 we did in 6.5x53r. Very good dependable pieces. I'd enjoy watching more of his shooting footage.

A few of you have asked about coaching in how to shoot the Lee-Enfield No.4 rifle. I had intended to create a KZfaq channel to pass on some of the skills and the knowledge that I've been fortunate enough to have been taught myself. But, sadly, I was persuaded that there is too much Trolling on KZfaq websites. So that won't be happening. However, once we get this Covid-19 Pandemic under control, then I'm more than happy to drive to Bisley (in the UK) to give one-on-one or group coaching in some of the things I've been privileged enough to be taught. "Passing it on" as it was generously passed on to me. Things like setting up your rifle. All sorts of techniques: such as where to rest your aim during an agony snaps competition (it's not in the centre of your frontage). And how to deal with mirage when your target appears to be moving by several minutes of windage on a very hot day. This latter requires you really know your sight adjustments so you can aim at something closer; something that's not so affected by mirage; where you adjust your sight and aim-off to bring you into the bull ring of your target. It'll be sometime later in 2021, but happy to share so you too can enjoy what I've had the privilege to learn. Meanwhile, stay safe and enjoy your Lee-Enfield rifles. Rick

Straight bolt handles are essential for lefties to have a fighting chance. I can work Finnish mosins left handed without leaving the shoulder!

47:42 -- The timing of the No. 4 falling over is perfect. It's as though it cannot believe what you just said about the K31. :)

I trained as a rifle marksman/sniper in the 1960s, using the SMLE .303. I never experienced any of the mythical "problems" with any of my rifles. I later "graduated" to the L1A1, but switched back to the .303. My ex-wife stole my "Skill at Arms, Rifle" shoulder flash, with the gold "R" and "S", the so-and-so.

Awesome video, well worth the hour.

Great video enjoy Rowan, had to rewatch the end of Zulu because of your reference gotta have that directed rank fire

Great video, answered all of my questions. I'd like to get a No. 4 in .303 British, but will probably go with a .308 version as that's more available in my area.

"You're being too rough." IT'S A BATTLE RIFLE, SLAP IT!!

"The Machine that goes Ping"😆😆😆🤣😂🤣😂 Oh the bloody Yanks will love that!😗😂🤣😆😂🤣

That was an excellent video. For much of my life, I heard that Lee Enfields "sucked" because the rear-locking action was weak and springy, because the magazines were fragile, because no rifle with a two-piece stock can be accurate......... But I wound up getting myself a sporterized Long Branch No.4 Mk1* that was supposedly made into a hunting rifle by Elwood Epps in Ontario, Canada. I paid $90.00 for it even though it looked like a brand-new rifle. It was a marvelous wild pig gun. It still is. When my son was old enough for a centerfire rifle, he said he wanted my Enfield. He has no interest in any other full-power rifle. "Everything else is second class" according to him. He's probably the biggest Enfield fan-boy outside of the Commonwealth!

Bloody good run on those stages Rowan.

Love the information. Thank you for the discussion

Great to see the QMRC shirt mate!!

Geeky but intensely interesting. Learned a lot.

... got taught the 'middle finger trigger' technique way back in 1966 during my 'School Cadet Unit' days on the classification range .... fond memories ...

Fantastic guys, just a great discussion and watching Rowan gives me something to aspire to. All your videos are great Bloke! I was happy to become a Patreon as your channel is the one I watch the most and also learn the most from. Couple of questions, please. First, is he using an aftermarket magazine? Next, what kind/brand of a bag is he carrying his chargers in. Thanks again!

Rumour is the Canadian government is going to dispose of the rangers' Lee-Enfields as opposed to surplusing/selling them off :(

I'm an American. I cannot ever remember having a rim jam in any short Lee-Enfield I ever fired, and I've fired quite a few: English and Indian makes from the Mk. I* up to the L42A1 (which, of course, can't rimlock). I've seen them happen in the charger-converted long Lees - C&Rsenal has one on video - but that conversion was a bit of a kludge. I can't even recall reading about it being an issue back in the pre-Internet days, when American gun magazines established so many of the myths that persist today. I'll grant that I was shooting Commonwealth surplus ammunition, since at the time American production .303 was insanely overpriced.

Proud Brit here. I have yet to watch this "epic", but with over 100 comments it must worth a good watch or two! I usualy check out the comments to see if a long video is worth my time watching, this one qualifies in spades. May well comment after the second or third watch!!

thanks for posting this guys, I appreciate it. Hi from north Idaho!

Nice to see one K98 fan popped by long enough to down vote... Used a No 4 since I was 12, never knew there was a thing called rim jam till I found the interweb.

I'll be frank (shirley not), and mention I have owned around 197 Lee Enfields (plus a Lee Metford or five) in the past 30 years collecting them. Not a single failure of ANY nature. Not a single wood split (not even the "infamous" coachwood explosion, that again, RARELY happens except in 'Murica). Not a single rim jam (and I still have around 700 rounds of MF Mk VII - no, it is not for sale!). ONCE had a magazine that misfed, but I simply rebent the lips ever so slightly in the field and it worked again. One headspace issue on a No5, but that was because the prior owner had dicked with it (no one can tell if the bolt head is original to the rifle anyway). I am not saying the Lee Enfield is prime, but it darned near is. I had 2 Springfield HIGH NUMBER receivers crack (sent the data to the relevant researchers - John Beard in particular) in the USA. One was Rock Island, once was Springfield. I am NOT a fan of the 03 or 03A3 as a result. I also found they don't shoot as well as a Swede M96 either. And having shot M1 Garands before they became Firearm non grata here , I feel those too are severly over-sensationalised, requiring tinkering with triggerguard lockup and so on to get accurate. I think Rowan will need to do future vids on such axiomatic myths as exploding coachwood foreends (foreends without copper blocks), serialised magazines (Australian service rifle SMLEs NEVER had serialised magazines, be they Lithgow or Brit), Australian heavy barrel conversions of the SMLE (SMLE III* HT snipers, SMLE III* H Marksman rifles, SMLE club heavy rifles including the Long Tom Range patterns and so on) and possibly even the multitude of range sights used in Australia (Mues, Central, Rawson, Parker Hale and so on). Oh, and we still need to insist on the pronunciation of Lithgow. It is NOT - repeat NOT - Lith-GOW as 99.9% of American's pronounce it, it is Lith-GO. The W is most assuredly NOT pronounced at all.

Great video... have just re-barrelled an old Lee Enfield action with a better tube (used)... it had been 'sporterised' so I am trying to make something useful of it. The new barrel is quite reasonable, whereas the old one was decidedly rough (corrosive ammo by the look of it), and I started with just the barreled action with no sights. It now has an aperture rear (windage adjustable) and ramp foresight (elevation adj) and I have made it a stock. I've put as much upward pressure on the barrel as I can, but the short forend limits this a bit. The action is dated 1899 (Victoria cartouche) so the old girl is 121 years old this year. I was lucky in that on fitting the new barrel the headspace was perfect, a bit better than the old barrel actually that had had a shim fitted, I think at the factory as it was the original barrel I am pretty sure..... took a bit of unscrewing too .....so I didn't have to juggle bolt heads..... it's nice when Murphy keeps his nose out of the workshop. Just have to refit the front sight to the new barrel and we will see how she shoots....should be a useful rifle.... :-) Lee Enfields rock...... Now I have an action with no barrel.....and a lot of 5.45 x 30 ammo I now have no rifle for..... hmmmmmmmm

I have a 7>62>51 NATO 25” barrel added a flash/M/ brake, enjoy shooting this rifle has a Simmons Pro50 Scoop, B-Square made the mount for it. Thank you for this video on the Enfield. Great Rifles. / San Diego Ca

Weatherby used rear locking Schultz and Larsen actions for a time in with their 378 Weatherby Magnums.

After watching this, I have a few thoughts. First off, I am indeed a Lee shooter in the U.S., not in any sort of competitive sense, just recreational, but a #5 'jungle carbine' was the first full powered rifle I ever fired. I had never so much as heard of a rim jam until I got into Mosins and even then I've only ever had one or two rim jam incidents with one of the roughly dozen Mosins I have (a mix of Russian refurbs and Finn creations). I don't baby any of my bolt action rifles and I can operate most of them fairly fast. It's funny, but with a bit of lithium grease on the cocking cam and a brisk stroke on the bolt handle, I find there to be virtually no difference in smoothness between my Mosins and my Lees, the 'sticky bolt' problem ceased to be an issue for me after doing that. Interestingly, I am one of those guys you talked about that prefers a straight bolt handle, but I at least usually run them from the shoulder. I don't claim to be as fast as either of you and definitely not as accurate, but comparing myself against myself, I am usually faster with the straight bolts than the bent bolts. Honestly I think the difference comes down to what I'm used to rather than any benefit from the design. What you practice with matters, and it just so happens that these days it's easier to get to my Mosins than it is my Lees (basically the stuff that has been in the collection longer ended up at the back). I am still pretty good with a Lee, but stuff like the 1903 Springfield or my M48 I just have a harder time being fast with. Of course being an American, if I really want to be fast, I spring for a lever action which outruns all of my bolt actions, right up until I have to reload ;). Also, while I'm not as obsessed with headspace as most seem to be, I do at least have a few field gauges in the 'at home' toolkit, just in case. Funnily enough, one of them is that piece of junk SAAMI .303 field gauge that I have since discontinued the use of. It turns out my 7.62x54r field gauge is exactly the same size as the proper British .303 field gauge, so I use it instead. Never had anything, Mosin or Lee, fail that gauge. Mostly I was more concerned with some of my Mosins and their condition/mismatched parts from who knows how many rifles from 3 or 4 differing manufacturing standards from each of the different countries (Russia, Finland, U.S., and maybe some French). True, Finland never made whole rifles, but they did make some replacement parts from time to time. Heck, one of my Finns has a relined 1905 Tula barrel on a 1917 Ishevsk receiver, must have one heck of a story behind it.

When I was in during the 1970s, Canada still used a converted version of the Lee Enfield as a sniper rifle, as well as .22 long conversion. The only time I heard the head space issue come up was with the .22 version. Story was the front part of the bolt was too loose and it tended the spin too much when you took it apart for storage. Now all that happen if you didn't get it spaced properly was it would fail to fire. Somehow I don't see the mighty .22 posing much threat to what was otherwise a .303 action.

Excellent and informative video I really enjoyed it! 😀

OMG Belmont Range, not expecting to see that

The only problem with .303 Enfield is very corrosive ammunition. I’ve never experienced any other problems with my dozen or so .303 rifles and carbines. Even the charger clips work as designed, and work very well.I did have a real problem with my Indian cal 7.62 NATO No 3. My rifle had a mismatched magazine. They eject off of a projection of the magazine edge. My British 7.62 NATO target rifle has no negatives at all. The Enfield rifles are generally excellent reliable rifles. My Australian heavy barrel No3 is one of the most accurate rifles I own.

Hi im a yank. Live in Pennsylvania. I dont have a SMLE, but i do have a n4 mk1. And i love it.what an awsome rifle. Mine is a 1943. 😊😊

That was fascinating :). The Lee Enfield has always been the rifle I wanted to shoot, so I was pleased as punch when I got my chance the other year on an open day at one of our local rifle clubs. I channelled the spirit of my grandfather that day :chuckles:. Whilst it is hardly anything to brag about in these circles, they ran a competition between all we novice shooters and me and my missus placed joint second; it's certainly a hobby I'd love to pursue but the government seemingly does it's darnedest to dissuade anyone from doing so :(.

As a fellow Queenslander, I approve.

Dropping the stock seems to be an American thing because they have never been trained to run a bolt action, since 1942. I see it all the time.

Outstanding video mate. Keep it up!

I also used to shoot with Trevor Cook back in the mid 90s up in Bowen. He was certainly a gentleman and I took on board any advice he could give. He was in his early 80s at the time and either had Parkinsons disease or just very shaky hands from advanced age. I was always amazed when he shuffled to the line with hands shaking terribly yet as soon as he raised his rifle it became rock steady and he shot excellent scores.

I tell my students that "the firearm you have is designed to contain a series of explosions that you could not possibly come close to replicating. Operate it with absolute authority and it will obey."

A little addendum on the subject of rimjams. Fast forward to about 27 seconds in the video below. There's a naval type loading a No.4 with chargers. You can see that the top round of .303 Mk.VII has almost certainly gone in rim-behind the one below. Yet it doesn't put up any resistance to the bolt being closed. Funny that! :D kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jLN6d6x_nNmolIU.html

Fantastic Examination Bloke! Next time devote an hour long episode to dispelling the many multitude of myths surrounding this Ishapore 2a1 (which did not blow or seize up once during this 2 Gun match🦊)

Not an American gun publication, but Lt. Col John Weeks, of the Parachute Regiment and third generation of his family to serve in the infantry, discussed the No. 1 MK. III and its rimmed rounds in his book, “Infantry Weapons,” and stated, “one irritating feature was that some care had to be taken in filling the chargers with which the magazine was usually loaded, as jams could easily be induced if the rims were not in the right order. There were times when this could be embarrassing, to say the least.”

"It's not your girlfriend!" Jeez, that is word for word what I was told. And then I was told to be rougher with girls too. :P

Enfield were used in some pretty desperate fighting in defence from Dunkirk and North Africa to Arnhem. I've never read a single account of troops disliking or not trusting the Enfield. That's goes from well trained troops to fairly new conscripts.

We had these in the Marine Cadets (1970s) for drill (they had been deactivated). Holding one in your hands connected you to Empire soldiers going back to the Boar War.

Excellent video. Learnt a lot about Enfields.

interestingly i've never actually seen S&B 303 ammo in stores in my area, it's usually remington or PPU

Hi Bloke, it's worse than you stated... the semiauto fullbore rifle ban came into law in 1988! The handgun ban (unless it's blackpowder cap & ball) came into law in the 1990's... That's why you're living in Switzerland😀

In the late 70's when I was an Armourer in the NZ Army there were still No 4 T Sniper rifles in service. For these we bedded the metal to wood at the knoxs bulge, the front end of the woodwork and a portion of the magazine housing then finally we inserted and fitted a block about the mid stock point. The means was basic fitting using bearing blue and lots of patience and learned skill. And, we were trained not to palm the bolt because finger gripping has better control. It was also said that palming the bolt risked nerve damage in the hand. Not sure that is true but that is what I was taught.

‘Two way range’ - love it.