Savage and Longbranch No 4 question

[p246]

I bought my first Longbranch. In reading before I bought it I found a lot of information and the one negative that kept popping up was the way the bolt releases on the Savage and LB No 4's compared to the Brit No. 4's. In looking at mine I assume that the bolt head could accidently be rotated up during combat allowing the bolt to be pulled out. Is that what they are talking about or am I missing something else.

The other questions I have is about the FTR mark. If it has FTR but no year is that a war time referb. I only assume this because all the FTR's I've seen with years are all post war.

I do like the cleaner lines of the LB without all the English stampings in some regards. However I suppose those stamps help tell the story on the Brit guns. Both my BSA and this LB are in good shape. Both appear to shoot my surplus ammo about the same.

My LB is a 1944 model but it has the early grooved handguard. Not sure it matches the stock so who knows if it was orginal or maybe got changed in the F (FTR).

I guess I call this mine but it will be a present to my son. He turned 22 last week while in Ranger leadership school. I haven't got to talk to him in about 6 weeks. As long as he don't get hurt and passes the final missions he's done next Wednesday and gets his patch to go with his 1/75 scroll. Me and the wife will be making the 14 hour drive to Benning to hopefully see that graduation. I figure a nice milsurp would be a good present since I got him hooked on them to.

Thanks for the answers in advance.

[da gimp]

congrats on his earning his patch...........& thank you for making the long drive................. his heart will burst when he sees you both there. one of my brother in laws got his back in the 1970's.... orig 5thSF, then earned his tab............ then went on to Delta.................... retired now............as Jim says, Rangers lead the way............. & they HATE publicity.................. every time.............they get in, get it done & get out.............. with never a press release...................

[p246]

Thanks da gimp yeah I'm pretty proud of that boy. I suppose thats why in theater they never have any patches on their uniform. Keep em guessing. He's big for a ranger 6 foot 180 give or take. He wanted on a rifle team. I told him when he first went in, Uh they are going to put you on a 240B. A few weeks later he called and said damit I start as an AG on a 240B, how'd you know. I reminded him of all his escapades as a teenager when I always seemed to know:)

[JB White]

Congrats on your son, and feel free to pass it along that folks out here are proud of him for his service.

Regarding the bolt slot on the rail of the MkI*'s, it's not any type of problem so long as the bolt rail hasn't chipped away at the slot. If yours is good, check the groove in the bolt head to see if the leading edges have a slight chamfer. If not, then a couple of strokes with a fine triangular file and a light touch of smoothing will prevent the chipping from happening. It was SOP even while in-service.

Handguards....whatever came up next in the parts bin when it was being assembled. It was wartime and any and all parts were used. Contracted production parts varied slightly from maker to maker so long as they were within specs all was good.

[p246]

Thanks JB chipping makes sense now. I kept reading the design was not as good but no exact mention as to why.

[Sunray]

Chipping or otherwise damaged. Never once had either a No. 4 or No. 7 bolt head jump out in the 6 years I ran ranges in the CF.

[JB White]

Six years on one range with a single batch of rifles doesn't mean it never happens/happened. I had a single rifle that had it happen twice. The rail chips because the bolthead slot is being forced over it slightly out of position. It doesn't chip on its own for no reason. If you had chipped rails then it's a matter of time before someone experiences a problem...or someone already addressed the problem by increasing the size of the bevel on the bolthead slot.

By the way, it doesn't "jump out" per se. It merely comes out of position enough to interupt the cycle.

[Duckdude]

Have a great Savage 4....trigger pull gets a little spooky. Most of the time the sweet two stage....then once in awhile a crisp 4 lb. break, single stage with a tad of slack.
Safe, but it's a toss. I'm going to have it worked, but wonder how prevalent that is ? Sear engagement no? Anyone know of drop in aftermarket assemblies out there? This ol' rig with Sellier & Bellot shoots.

[Sunray]

"...doesn't mean it never happens..." Not at all. Especially if the slot is worn. Bolt heads coming out is one of the indicators of that too. The slot being worn of damages was my intention. Should have hit enter.
Haven ever seen nor heard of drop in anything for Lee-Enfields. Not enough market.