Head space issue or normal Enfield fired brass
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Printed Date: March 26 2026 at 2:51pm
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Topic: Head space issue or normal Enfield fired brass
Posted By: mrbieler
Subject: Head space issue or normal Enfield fired brass
Date Posted: December 11 2025 at 5:51pm
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1944 No4 Mk1 Long Branch. Shooting Greek HTP. Extraction is sticky. Takes more than a fair bit of effort. Bolt is over 1/4 short of closing on Forster .070 Field Gauge. Two fired cases on the left. Unfired on the right. Is this normal or do I have a head space issue? What else to look at or fix on the extraction issue?
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Replies:
Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: December 11 2025 at 7:24pm
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No headspace issue if the bolt does not close on a 0.070 gage. The line between the shiny brass and the “dull” area forward of this is normal. The shiny section is the solid case head that does not expand to fill the chamber. I’ve found by chrono measurements, some of the HXP is a bit on the hot side, velocities over 2500 fps, some have complained about sticky bolt lift.
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Posted By: mrbieler
Date Posted: December 11 2025 at 8:12pm
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Thank you. I assumed I was OK headspace wise, but assumptions being what they are… The brass isn’t showing any bizarre scratches or markings. I did see some comments online about folks knocking down the sharp edge of the extractor, but I don’t know enough about that solution to know if that’s where I need to go.
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Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: December 11 2025 at 10:42pm
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I suggest trying the rifle with some PPU ammunition to compare. Also, as Geoff suggested, try and chronograph the rounds. ------------- It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice! |
Posted By: Sauron
Date Posted: December 12 2025 at 3:44am
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My No1 MK3 DOES close on the Forster .070 gauge, but NOT on the .074 gauge. Fired brass on mine looks similar to yours and others opined here that it looked normal. I'm using Sellier&Bellot 150gr softpoints. I'm not having any extraction issues though. Best, |
Posted By: Sapper740
Date Posted: December 12 2025 at 3:59am
| As Geoff said, the Greek HXP MkVIIz ammo that was recently released is giving approximately 75 to 100 fps more than the standard MkVII. Further, the first spam can I recently opened found the cases to feel tacky to the touch....not verdigris but perhaps some sort of treatment to prevent it? Anyway, I now buff all my HXP ammo with brass wool and that helps somewhat with the sticky extraction. I'll be reloading a bunch of the HXP once-fired brass in the New Year and I'll see how it performs then. |
Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: December 12 2025 at 4:16am
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Also, would not hurt to give the chamber a good clean with a chamber brush if you don’t regularly do this. I use a chamber cleaning rod (Dewey) with a fixed handle that does not turn like a regular cleaning rod. That way you can rotate the brush in the chamber. Wrap a patch around the brush and apply your favorite bore solvent. Good suggestions by Derek and Shaun. I’ve only fired 20 rounds of this recent batch of HXP coming out. Mine was HXP-71 Lot 26. Max of the 20 rounds was 2559 fps, MV was 2537 and 2533 fps. I don’t recall encountering stiff bolt lift but others have. |
Posted By: mrbieler
Date Posted: December 12 2025 at 6:18pm
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The ammo above was 75 dated HXP. Today we shot 70 and 71 dated HXP with mixed results on extraction. Some FN ammo from the 80's as well as a bunch of 1940's Kynoch Mk7 ammo all went though it fine. A couple of clips of MEN ammo was also a bit sticky.
On a side note, the semi-auto Vickers we were shooting loved the old Egyptian ammo.
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