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he!!o, new member with bolt issue

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DevinWelch View Drop Down
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    Posted: April 02 2020 at 6:41pm
Greetings!

A pleasure to find this forum. Since I am stuck at home on mandatory quarantine I figured I should work on my projects and one of them happens to be my 1916 Lee Enfield SHTLE III. 
I acquired the rifle last June as a birthday present to myself after years of admiring them and seeing them in films. 

So far I have taken it to the range one time and it shoots well but is having some issues cycling the bolt. 

I will attempt to describe the issue, forgive me if some of my terminology is inaccurate. When the bolt head passes to the rear behind the charger guide it doesn’t want to stay on track and will flip up a bit towards to the unlocked position for take down. Not always all the way, but enough that cycling the bolt forward the bolt head gets hung up on the charger guide. Also the little tab that guides the bolt head there flops fairly loosely and sometimes gets punched to the rear which of course makes it so the bolt head has no retention to stay on track. However even when that tab is in the proper place it doesn’t have enough purchase to keep the head from rotating. I assume this is a wear issue? 

If anyone has the time to reply I would be much obliged! I have a few videos and pictures I can send along as well. 

Thanks so much, Devin Welch 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Bear43 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 02 2020 at 6:49pm
It does sound like a wear issue. There is a piece at the back that should prevent the bolt head from rotating up, it's a bit of a spring with a nub on it. It should take some decent force to make the bolt head overcome it. Sounds like that piece could be worn down. Some pictures would help greatly. Pics of the right rear wear the bolt head would sit when rearward would be helpful.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote A square 10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 02 2020 at 7:01pm
welcome to our merry band , i think you will get all that you need - i see bear has already offered help , more will jump in as time goes by , 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote englishman_ca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 5:31am
Welcome Devin. Sometimes the spring, bolt head retaining, is very stiff and it can take a lot of effort and broken fingernails to pop the bolt head off it and up out of the track to be able to remove the bolt.

A common civilian owner work around for a stiff spring is to back off its attachment screw that is down below the wood line. Not a fix as it can cause other problems. The screw has a double purpose also acting as the pivot for the sear, so there is movement on the screw's extended body. The screw works loose a little more and the spring can flop about, as is described in your post.

Chances are that simply tightening up that screw will put the spring back into place and solve your issue. You will need to remove the fore stock to get at it. Tightening the screw might also improve the feel of your trigger.

There is a technique to pulling the action out of the wood to avoid damaging the bedding, so read up on disassembly.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote paddyofurniture Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 7:05am
Welcome from North Carolina in the States.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote SW28fan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 7:14am
Welcome From Texas
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Shamu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 8:48am
Sometimes theres a build up of dried cud under the spring, try a thorough deep cleaning & see if that helps.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Honkytonk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 8:51am
Welcome from Brandon, Manitoba, Canada!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DevinWelch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 10:26am
Thanks for the welcome and the info everyone! I will play around with it today and see if that spring tension is the issue and give it a deeper cleaning. I haven't removed the action from the stock before so I will look up how to do that properly. I'll keep you posted how it goes. Thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DevinWelch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 6:42pm
This afternoon I took the rifle down and indeed the spring screw had just backed out. Got it all back together and it seems to be cycling smoothly. It was a good opportunity to familiarize myself with the takedown procedure and do a little cleaning and oiling. All considered it wasn't too gunked up in there surprisingly. Anyhow, thanks again for all the advice. I look forward to perusing and participating more in this forum in the future. Next steps are sourcing an appropriate sling, bayonet, oiler bottle and chargers as I don't have any of those accessories. 

Attaching a picture here if you want to check it out. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DevinWelch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 7:12pm
One more pic:
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote A square 10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2020 at 8:20pm
in case noone else mentioned it , before you remove the buttstock aleways remove the forestock on the no 1 rifles or you will crack the forestock , 
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