Feeding issue, bolt not catching cartridge head

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   he!!o, I looked a bit but didn't see recent conversations on this.
1965 Ishapore Enfield would NOT feed from the magazine. If I pushed the magazine in further and restrained the rifle, then it would feed. 

There was approximately a .060" (1.5mm) gap between the rear feed lips and receiver well that closed when I pushed the magazine in further. In other words, the magazine wasn't sitting far enough into the receiver.

Reading all that I could find online, I decided to weld a small bit onto the magazine. The release lever was claimed to be hardened, which made perfect sense, as the magazine is likely low carbon steel and undergoes brazing. The release lever would be easy to head treat en masse. I did not want to start deforming metal by bending feed lips. 

A small bead of steel was applied and ground down. I used a caliper measurement before welding in order to achieve accurately the approximate additional metal needed. I placed ceramic tile alongside the magazine catch to protect the magazine body sheetmetal from excessive weld.

A little light Dremel and jewelers file work and that sucker fits like a saddle on a sow!

Feeds perfectly.

Also, I wire brushed the inside of the magazine because it looked rather rough in there. I assume it was all the overspray paint that didn't level out and was a 'dry' spray. The follower is a LOT smoother sliding after that.

I hope this helps someone else who has the same issue.

As an aside: This rifle was given to me. It's a story of two dimwits. The previous owner believed someone else who told them you could not shoot a 7.62x51 in this rifle, it would blow up and all sorts of nasty things would happen.  'A fool and his Enfield are soon parted'.

Larry

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Weegee99 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: October 14 2022 Location: Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote Weegee99 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Feeding issue, bolt not catching cartridge head Posted: October 14 2022 at 2:58pm
	he!!o, I looked a bit but didn't see recent conversations on this. 1965 Ishapore Enfield would NOT feed from the magazine. If I pushed the magazine in further and restrained the rifle, then it would feed. There was approximately a .060" (1.5mm) gap between the rear feed lips and receiver well that closed when I pushed the magazine in further. In other words, the magazine wasn't sitting far enough into the receiver. Reading all that I could find online, I decided to weld a small bit onto the magazine. The release lever was claimed to be hardened, which made perfect sense, as the magazine is likely low carbon steel and undergoes brazing. The release lever would be easy to head treat en masse. I did not want to start deforming metal by bending feed lips. A small bead of steel was applied and ground down. I used a caliper measurement before welding in order to achieve accurately the approximate additional metal needed. I placed ceramic tile alongside the magazine catch to protect the magazine body sheetmetal from excessive weld. A little light Dremel and jewelers file work and that sucker fits like a saddle on a sow! Feeds perfectly. Also, I wire brushed the inside of the magazine because it looked rather rough in there. I assume it was all the overspray paint that didn't level out and was a 'dry' spray. The follower is a LOT smoother sliding after that. I hope this helps someone else who has the same issue. As an aside: This rifle was given to me. It's a story of two dimwits. The previous owner believed someone else who told them you could not shoot a 7.62x51 in this rifle, it would blow up and all sorts of nasty things would happen. 'A fool and his Enfield are soon parted'. Larry
	Larry