1917 Enfield 30-06 Question

[Peter Morton]

My uncle gave my son his old hunting rifle, a sporterized 1917 Enfield in 30-06. My son loves it and has taken quite a bit of game with it. He's twenty now and wants me to reload for it. We have another 30-06, a '77 Model 70. Both rifles shoot great, and I doubt I'll bother reloading for the M70 as it shoots about one MOA, as is, using cheap Norma Whitetail in 150G.

Anyway, the shoulder/headspace for a fired case in the Enfield measures 2.028" on the Hornady Comparator. The Model 70 is about 2.042". With a full-length resizer, I cannot get the cases fired in the M70 to the proper length for the Enfield. Factory cases are around the same length as the M70. The Enfield will chamber a longer case, but only with some force when camming the bolt over.

My question is whether this is normal for these old Enfields? And factory ammo or brass needs to be fire formed to work well in this rifle, I think. Does it need to be reamed to bring it more in line with 2024 brass and ammunition?

Also, why would it chamber at all with such a large discrepancy? And how is it making the headspace or shoulder shrink? I'm a little baffled and worried about whether this old rifle is safe...

 

[Bob Wright]

As far as chamber headspace you can buy/borrow a "go" headspace Guage and check it. Hard to tell if it was a change made in production100 years ago but could be a error.
A gunsmith can give you advice as well.

 

[jemo4570]

I do not have a Winchester, but have been given once fired 30-06 & 300wm Model 70 brass from friends and acquaintances over the years. From my experience with this brass, it seems Winchester chambers are larger or on the high side of saami specs compared to Remington and Ruger bolt guns.

 

[nwhunter]

The easy answer is only reload the brass fired in the Enfield for the Enfield. I have two 30-06 rifles I reload for; they like different loads and I religiously keep brass for both separate.
One is a 1952 model 70. The other is a 98 Mauser sporter.

 

[Peter Morton]

The easy answer is only reload the brass fired in the Enfield for the Enfield. I have two 30-06 rifles I reload for; they like different loads and I religiously keep brass for both separate.
One is a 1952 model 70. The other is a 98 Mauser sporter.

This is what I'm working on so far. I've culled about fifty and I'll reload them and see what it does for accuracy. In my previous range session, I found a powder and bullet combo that the Enfield likes, but the velocities were all over the place. Groups were good, especially with the abysmal trigger and a 100 year-old rifle. That range visit was with all good Norma brass, but they had been fired in both rifles. This next visit, I'll use the "fire-formed" stuff.

 

[ofbandg]

I have rebuilt a bunch of P17's and it should be noted that many were built in a hurry for the military in time of war by three different manufacturers. As a result the tolerances can vary, but most are still very strong and well made. Many were bought and converted to magnum calibers after the second war. If you don't like the trigger they are quite easy to work on and improve but Timmy also makes a relatively cheap drop in that works quite well. If you have the shop for it they are a fun action to alter and tinker with because so much can be done to modernize them, and the end product is a strong accurate hunting rifle. For what it's worth be careful if you ever have to remove the barrel because they have been on there a long time and those square threads really bind.

 

[comen]

This is what I'm working on so far. I've culled about fifty and I'll reload them and see what it does for accuracy. In my previous range session, I found a powder and bullet combo that the Enfield likes, but the velocities were all over the place. Groups were good, especially with the abysmal trigger and a 100 year-old rifle. That range visit was with all good Norma brass, but they had been fired in both rifles. This next visit, I'll use the "fire-formed" stuff.

I have 5 sporterized Model 17 Enfields (U.S. nomenclature) and one sporterized Pattern 14 Enfield (Great Britain Nomenclature) 1 of mine has a fantastic military 2 stage trigger. The rest are fitted with Dayton Traister triggers. One of the Daytons is a cock on open conversion, The rest remain cock on close, which I am quite fond of. The Dayton Traister is sold by track of the wolf, if I remember correctly. I really prefer the DT trigger as it requires far less wood removal from the stock. My lightest one is set at 28 oz
Two 22-6mms
405 win.
8x68S
8mm rem mag
338 Jarrett