Accurate Enfield

[murphy]

Recently I bought a battered old SMLE for 150 dollars Australian, when I say battered I mean the stock was battered from an aweful lot of use probably by a pig shooter as thats what they are used for around here. The metal work however was not neglected at all and the bore looked like new. I fitted a walnut sporter stock, a 4.5 to 14x40 Burris scope,and did my own bedding job. Accuracy in my opinion is better than it has any right to be for a 1945 produced barrel that has done a bit of work. After initial sighting in at 50yds, moved to 100yds and first 3 shot group went 1.3", second group with a slightly different seating depth went 1". Changed to a different primer and upped the load one grain and in second shooting session off a clean cold barrel they went .701" for 3 shots at 100yds. Has any one out there had any experience with Enfields and if so do you think I am on the right track. Will try to send photos in next post as I have run out of room here.

 

[murphy]

Accurate Enfield Attachment.

Here is the last group fired from my 1942 Lithgow Enfield.

 

[Gumby]

Looks like you have a great shooting Enfield.

My own No. 4 Mk I/2 Enfield is very rough. The bore on mine is not in very good shape. I have mounted a Burris 6x compact scope with a B-Square mount. I am happy to get 3 1/2" groups at 100 yards. Haven't done any load development, just shoot Remington 180 grain RN Corelock bullets with H335 powder.

Shot my first deer with it a few years back. One shot at 35 yards, and the deer only took a couple of steps.

Mike Ohlsen

 

[murphy]

To Stephen

The distance was100yds, If you click on the attatchment the details are on there. Tried some cast bullets as well ,180g gas checks out of a Lee mould. The best load went sub 1/2" for 3 shots at 50yds,haven't tried the gas check load at 100yds yet but if they prove to be consistent at 50yds will give them a try at 100. They are really motoring for cast bullets, cronographed the load in a different rifle a few years back and it was in excess of 2000fps.

 

[Boyd Allen]

I have an old Enfield that a friend gave me, that is super ugly, with a home made scope mount, and a shiny bore. I spent some time on it, working up loads, and I discovered that one of the problems is the brass. It is thin, and gets moved around a lot with a typical FL die. If you can devise a method of keeping your loads relatively concentric, it greatly benefits accuracy. If I remember correctly, with my best loads, and some creativity as to how it was rested, I was able to get five shots under an inch. With more typical ammunition, it is more like an inch and three quarters, at best.

 

[Big Al]

I can see 3 dead guys out there. Never had one but if the US Army issued them how could they be had. Actually I have had my hands on several, I considered them a custom military action. What distance were you shooting.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

Where did you find that the SMLE was ever issued by the U.S. government?

I think the SMLE was one of the best, most accurate bolt rifles ever issued to any government for war and peace time service. I also remember how fast that bolt can be shot by and experience shooter. Records at Wimbledon, England prove it's long range capability.

 

[murphy]

To Boyd Allen

Am using Remington Peters brass and it seems to be quite strong. The cases were inherited from my other SMLE and have been reloaded about 5 times but never full length sized and don't need it yet as they are a good fit in the new rifle. It's a bit of a sad story but but what happened was my father, who never spoke of world war 2, told me of the respect he had for his service rifle just befere he died,would you believe it he still remembred the serial number. Before that I thought they were garbage, so I went out and bought a couple to find out the truth. Sorry guys but I think I am about to have a bit of a bawl.

 

[mysticplayer]

Enfields

Living in Canada, Lee's are very common and used for hunting big game alot.

A No 1MK4 was my first centerfire rifle and the first of several I played with to see what they would do. Most have been No4 MK1's.

These rifles can shoot surprisingly well.

I found Hornady 150gr SP to shoot very well and also deadly on deer. The key to keeping the brass alive is using a Lee collet neck sizing die AND milspec brass.

There is obviously brass from WWII which, if in good shape, is very durable. Other brands include Herter/Gavelot. Otherwise, US manf brass is not that durable.

I used H335 and CCI BR2 primers and had no issue getting MOAish accuracy at 200yds with my scope equiped hunting rifles.

I never spent too much time with other powders or bullets. Today, I would shoot Benchmark and give the Sierra MK's a serious look. So much depends on the bore diameter and there are some serious variations. The hornady happens to be the largest diameter and works more often then not.

One of my rifles was able to duplicate 308 Savage performance (150gr at 2700fps). Not bad for a Cordite/black powder based action. Some No4's were converted to shoot 308Win and I had the pleasure of shooting a rifle that was supposed to have competed at Bisley. Shot GREAT!

If you find Savage produced No4's, they should be stamped US GOVT PROPERTY.

Fun rifles that are easy to tune and can shoot great.

Jerry

 

[murphy]

To Jerry

Thanks for the information on your Enfields, Clocked my accuracy load recently and it is doing 2580fps. That seems plenty fast enough to me and my cases look like they will last for ever. Bought some 215g Woodleighs yesterday and can hardly wait to give them a try, they look like a nice pill but at 1 dollar Australian each you wouldn't want to spend much time on load development. Reguards Murphy

 

[Big Al]

Thanks for the information on your Enfields, Clocked my accuracy load recently and it is doing 2580fps. That seems plenty fast enough to me and my cases look like they will last for ever. Bought some 215g Woodleighs yesterday and can hardly wait to give them a try, they look like a nice pill but at 1 dollar Australian each you wouldn't want to spend much time on load development. Reguards Murphy

You can't go directly to Geoff and get a better price, kick a few tires while you are at his place. Get to know the Man and his son? He is one of the most knowledgeable bullet makers I ever meant. He knows what it takes to make accurate hunting bullets. I have nothing but respect for the Man!

 

[murphy]

To Big Al

The Woodlys address is on the side of the bullet packet and if they shoot well Iwill certainly give them some feed back. I once tried some of their 240g in a 300 Win Mag and they shot brilliantly, around 1/2" for 3 shots at 100yds. If I had kept the rifle, don't think I would use anything else. They are still an unknown quantity in the 303 but in the next few days I will do some serious tests with the .311 variety. Will keep you all posted