SMLE Breechbolt head keeps coming off the rail

[HALODIN]

Hello,

I've got a problem where the breechbolt head keeps coming off the rail on my SMLE. Does anyone know how I can fix it?

Cheers,

Craig.

[Tower75]

Does it happen randomly, or at the same point everytime? The only thing that keeps the bolt head on the rails is a flat spring at the rear of the rails. If this is broken it may cause the bolt head to flick off the rails. Or, if the bolt's head is damaged this could cause it to jump off the rails, too.

[HALODIN]

It doesn't happen everytime, but I'd say it happens once every 15 shots.

I'll have to have a look when I finish work, but it's a new build (unissued parts) from Chris at C&G, so I would guess nothing's broken or damaged, just something needs adjusting...

[ovenpaa]

Take it back and ask Chris to take a look. I must admit I have never had this problem with my SMLE's in the past.

[HALODIN]

I didn't get a chance to look at it tonight, but I'll have a good look at it over the weekend and see if I think there's something I can do, otherwise I guess you're right, it's back to Chris.

[Alpha1]

Don't even look at it I have smle,s that are older than me I have had lots of Lee Enfield's over the years they just work. Take it back were you got it from.

[HALODIN]

I'll take a look out of curiosity, but I doubt I'd be able to do anything anyway TBH.

[Rearlugs]

If the bolt head comes off the rail, its an indication that the receiver has excessive wear in the boltway, or that the receiver is distorted. Both of these are common symptoms of a worn-out receiver. In military service, the receiver would have failed gauging and would have been scrapped.

Depending upon the severity, the rifle can sometimes be rescued by fitting a new bolt body and bolt head where a slight dimensional variation is enough to prevent the bolt head jumping. A common "don't let the owner see" gunsmith fix used to be to drive a cold chisel down through the magazine well, bending the right receiver wall out far enough to give a better fit to the bolt head.

The rifle is unfit for use, and should not have been offered for sale in that condition. Rebuilt No1s in particular need to be test-fired for about 20 rounds by the RFD just to detect this particular issue, as it often doesn't show up in the one or two proof shots.

Unfortunately, people are often rebuilding vintage rifles out of parts for which they lack the correct gauges or knowledge to use those gauges. Also, a lot of the loose SMLE receivers knocking around have come out of closed-down gunsmiths, where those receivers were loose and unused for a reason...

[HALODIN]

Thanks Rearlugs and wise words. I had a look at it and the breechbolt head can only come off the rail for the first 1.5 inches of the rail and only if when you retract the bolt, you pull it slightly to the left, so the front of the breechbolt head sits more on the right hand side of the boltway, as it moves through the extraction. Looking at this a little closer, the breechbolt head and the breechbolt threads seem very loose (not precise threads) and I'm not sure if this slack is having an impact. I'm not sure if this slack is normal or not, it's just an observation.

The receiver is almost entirely unmarked, it's just stamped BSA, so I presume this means it is genuinely unissued and so it's unlikely due to wear and tear.

I'll take it back to the RFD and see what he has to say.

Thanks for your help!

Cheers,

Craig.

[Rearlugs]

There are no "unissued" SMLE receivers around. If the receiver is only marked "BSA&Co", then it is a commercial BSA receiver, not a military item. BSA stopped making No1 actions in about 1938, and WW2 saw all of their commercial stock being used for Dispersal rifles. Hence your receiver will have had a previous life as a complete rifle at least once. Probably it was someone's target rifle for twenty years or so, before being scrapped or sporterised at some point.

Post-WW2, BSA dismantled and refurbished thousands of military and commercial rifles, as did the other commercial gunsmiths such as Parker Hale, AJ Parker, Stensbys, etc. All of those gunsmiths eventually closed, leaving stocks of parts which have since been dispersed through what remains of the gun trade. Most of the loose No1 receivers left over from those days are loose because they were worn out, or were due for refinishing (eg removal of DP stamps from military receivers).