My apprenticeship in learning from case separation to fixing a chambering problem
Thanks to all those provided helpful comments which really was the reason why I was able to solve my problem with my Lee Enfield's difficulty in chambering
it was a journey from first a problem with case separation and then I can't put a cartridge into the chamber.
once again, appreciate all those who are willing to share their experience so that I can shoot with this gun again.
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did you say 120 grit plumbers sandpaper in the chamber!?
You should be polishing...not grinding. The way you are grinding away at a single spot is likely to ruin the rifle's chamber concentricity.
Here is my polishing stick...notch in the end with a slip of emery paper in it...middle of paper in the notch. You can use two slips of emery paper back to back, then roll the rod on the table. This creates a gentle flapper. Put it in a drill and spin it in the chamber for GENTLE and EVEN polishing. Start with 400 grit or higher depending on how bad/rusted/chiseled your chamber is, and work your way up. Attachment 115699 https://www.amazon.com/LANHU-Sandpap.../dp/B0736S5TSD
A harsh lesson about sticking sharp tools into the chamber of any rifle. Once you score the chamber, you will have big time extraction problems. Anyone who reloads for the .303 British, please, please spend the $25 on a military broken case extractor for your tool box. It will make these type problems nonexistent.
I think we said it in time in the previous thread. I'm one of "those people" who insist on leaving things better than I find them...which I suppose includes threads like these.
please, please spend the $25 on a military broken case extractor for your tool box. It will make these type problems nonexistent.
I didn't have one, but ordered one shortly after OP's original thread, along with a neck sizing die and more brass...Until now I only had 40 cases I from the 2 boxes of ammo I bought with my first enfield about a year ago. Fired and full length sized 5 times with very mild loads. Still, these threads confirmed it's only a matter of time.
There was another expedient way to get the case out but frowned upon and that's to stove pipe a loaded round up there it wont eject the whole shebang but you can remove the bolt with all the bits hanging off the end. I carry 2 x 303 BCE's in my kit but could do up a dummy round with a heavy crimp to see it it worked if I ever suffer another H/S. The good old case inspections with the edge wire inside to feel the insipient crack developing or just a really close look at your cases after the first firing you'll get the gist of exactly how good your chamber is. I had a No1 MkIII that toasted shells at the first firing ditch that barrel and had a NOS put in by a WWII armourer not long afterwards we were robbed and lost that rifle and a Parker Hale 22/250 never recovered either of them.......
I believe you probably only made the problem worse. First off the barrel chamber was a bit oversized to begin with. which is typical for the Lee Enfield. This fact may have contributed to the rupture case to begin with. Marring the chamber while trying to take out the ruptured case probably made the barrel toast. I would probably use a .303 British chamber finishing reamer to lightly hit any "high" spots in the chamber wall. I would then braze a fired .303 British case to a piece of drill rod. I have use this setup with some jewelers rouge and cutting oil to lightly polish the chamber on a slow moving drill. The idea is to keep the chamber concentric otherwise you will increase the extraction problem. Worse yet if that does not work you will have to replace the barrel at greater cost. Some of the other members here can probably tell you what your cost will be. It would have been cheaper and a lot easier to buy a ruptured cartridge extractor.
I remember pushing a batch or brass one time too many in my youth. Every head popped off from a 50 round case guard box while at the public range in Volusia County, FL. I had an old timer, (me now!), come over to lecture about bad headspace and I bit my tongue and drove on ignoring him as best as I could extracting every broken case between shots. Fortunately, I had a military broken case extractor after reading up on the LE and all of it’s “supposed” problems so no damage was done.
Finding original No.4 barrels now in good shape is a real problem.
PM
Originally Posted by martins8589
