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No.4 Mk1* action bushing/loose forestock
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mattri View Drop Down
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Points: 61 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mattri Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 29 2024 at 6:58pm
Very informative thread- thanks! 
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Irish51 View Drop Down
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Gentlemen...I am guilty of not spending enough time here at Enfield Rifles .com. Life recently has not allowed me the luxury of much free time, as I'm fighting health issues. A couple, maybe 3 months ago, I came across an Enfield no. 4 Mk1 receiver and barrel, but the barrel had been cut to 18" and I wanted a new barrel installed in it. A few of you recommended I get in touch w/Brian d**k in South Carolina, which I did. Long story short, the man is amazing ! He went through my action, bolt completely, installed a new barrel for me and gave me an amazing amount of advice and info. As a result I have on excellent Enfield with dead accuracy and it's a pleasure to shoot. My grandson was putting 3 and 4 shots in the same hole at 100 yds.

I want to thank everybody who led me to Brian d**k. He built me an amazing bush rifle !

Quick question please. I have a 2nd Enfield No.4 Mk1 rifle in a new ATI stock, which I'm not too crazy about. The stock was on the rifle when I got it. I'm working on getting the barrel free floated. Am I correct in assuming I want the barrel touching the bottom forearm stock at the muzzle location ? The ATI stock did not come with a bushing in the front receiver screw lug. Should there be one there ? Years ago I was complaining about the groups I was getting with my 91/30 Mosin Nagant. An old time suggested I glue a small strip of  cork about 1/8" at the very end of the stock so the muzzle would rest on it while the rest of the barrel was free floated. My groups improved 100%, which is why now I am wondering if my 2nd Enfield, not touching the barrel just below the muzzle, should be touching at that point.

Any advice y'all can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.... Drew Boles, AKA Irish51.

I'd post a pic of the Enfield Brian d**k worked on for me if I could figure how to post a pic !! Not very computer smart.
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Front trigger guard screw collar may not be necessary for a glass reinforced polymer stock. Just don’t tighten it extremely tight. 

The No. 4 rifle forend should have 3 to 5 lbs of upward pressure on the barrel at the front of the forend. There should be a raised surface there. This dampens barrel vibrations and improves accuracy. 

You can experiment with adding cork shims. Barrel should be well clear of the forend between the chamber reinforce and muzzle bearing.  For full wood military stocks, this would probably result in the barrel contacting the front handguard, so that would have to be dealt with. 

Is the ADI stock a shortened sporter forend? You could also experiment with adding a cork shim to the front of the forend, 10 -15 lbs pressure would be ideal. 
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Irish51 View Drop Down
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Points: 18 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Irish51 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 20 2024 at 10:16am
Thank you britrifles...The ATI stock is a shortened sporter forend stock and at this point the barrel is anything but free floating. The barrel is making contact with the stock where the barrel leaves the forend. I'll add a cork shim at the end of the forend and then check to be sure the rest of the barrel is not making contact between the end of the forend and the chamber location. Thanks again for your advice.
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The ATI is another shortened sporter stock.[edited] Sorry, we posted over each other.Embarrassed

I'd start with JUST the bottom 1/3rd of the radius centered on BDC for about 1" directly in front of the action where the Knox Form (barrel flat) is on top. Everything else free floating. (this is "jungle carbine bedding").
If that's not good try adding shims under the tip of the forend as britrifles suggests. I test with strips cut from soda cans adding one at a time till I get the pressure I want, then measure total used & shim to that.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Irish51 View Drop Down
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Points: 18 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Irish51 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 20 2024 at 12:59pm
Thank you sir... I will try each method one at a time and hope one or both accomplishes what I'm hoping to do... my best, Irish51.
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britrifles View Drop Down
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If the forend is making hard contact along the barrel channel and the rifle won’t shoot, I would try as Shamu suggested. You will need to file, sand, or grind out the barrel channel to get at least .05 inch clearance all around, preferably more. Then with bedding compound, build up the barrel bearing at the chamber reinforce and front lower bearings on the action body (receiver) around the front trigger guard screw.  This would be a free floated barrel except to the bearing at the chamber reinforce.  See how that shoots.  

Then add packing (temporary) at the front of the forend. Try different thicknesses looking for smaller groups.  This would simulate a “center bedded” forend that was use in commonwealth No. 4 Service Rifle (b) competition.  Once you determine the thickness that works best, build up a barrel bearing with epoxy bedding. 
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Points: 18 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Irish51 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 21 2024 at 12:36pm
Britrifles... Thank you sir ! Your suggestion worked just fine. One slight, thin cork shim just behind the trigger guard front screw lug and the barrel is now completely free floated.
So, it's off to the range this coming weekend... Thanks again, Irish51
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Originally posted by Irish51 Irish51 wrote:

Britrifles... Thank you sir ! Your suggestion worked just fine. One slight, thin cork shim just behind the trigger guard front screw lug and the barrel is now completely free floated.
So, it's off to the range this coming weekend... Thanks again, Irish51
I think you have misunderstood.  You want barrelbto wood contact at the fat part of the barrel where it screws into the reciever and you also want barrel to wood contact at the muzzle end just behind the sight protector.
The two areas circled in black is where you need the barrel to make firm contact with...
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Points: 8404 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 21 2024 at 5:50pm
Yes, the chamber reinforce. Although, he has a sporterized polymer stock, so first try free floating forward of chamber reinforce, and if that’s not satisfactory, try adding a cork packing shim at the front of the forend which should be in the proximity of the sling swivel band on a full length forend. 

At this point, he should cut a small rectangular piece of cork about 3/4 inch wide x 1 inch long of the same thickness he used at the forward receiver bearing and place that under the barrel chamber reinforce butted up to the front of the receiver. 
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Goosic View Drop Down
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Points: 8842 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Goosic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 21 2024 at 6:23pm
From personal experience alone in regards to both my 7.62mm and. 303B Sporterized Enfields, "free floating" the barrel is counterintuitive to gaining any amount of accuracy.The 7.62mm Enfield pictured here has the barrel bedded from the reinforce to the end of the forend. I went from a 2 MOA 100 yard grouping with it free floated down to Sub MOA groups in its current condition..
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Points: 8404 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 21 2024 at 6:36pm
That’s what I always believed, until you posted sub- MOA results with free floated barrels and without any forend at all. That was several years ago though, so perhaps I’m remembering that wrong. 

Irish51 was not getting decent results with the forend contacting the barrel along its full length. 

One of my DCRA 7.62 conversions has the barrel fully bedded in the full length forend. Done by my Dad’s friend back in the 1960’s. One of these days I’ll get out and shoot that rifle again. 
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Points: 8404 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 21 2024 at 6:39pm
Irish51, I’m curious what barrel did Brian install for you? Was it NOS, or a new Criterion barrel, or something else? 
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No, you are not misremembering. I did achieve those results but, not for very long. My No4Mk2 with the BSA barrel is bedded at the reinforce and has a 1/2" square ⬛ pad that the barrel rests on at the end of the forend...
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For the Record.
I'm suggesting a progressive series of steps.
1: Bed like a No5, why? because it had a short "sporter style" stock, & it worked there
2: If that don't work try incremental, changes to the forend (Center type) bedding.

It sounds like the OP has a handle on the problem.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Shamu, that’s exactly what I was attempting to say, but fumbled it. 

If it were me, once I was satisfied, I would epoxy bed the action. The cork shims will compress somewhat over time. 
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