by Member-Deleted » 29 Jul 2016, 9:03 pm
Depends on the model as well. On the no.4 lee Enfield, the bolt head comes in different sizes ( you mentioned 3) and is easily rectified by going up a number. A number 4 does exist but they are uncommon, and No4 Mk1 and Mk 2 bolts are slightly different again. If it is a nice Lithgow or BSA No 1 Mk3, chances are the headspace will be more than serviceable if she "scrapes by" on the field gauge. These rifles were built with some tolerance in the chamber as well, to account for battle use, which has been a source of conflict for and against since about 1895, although the trench warfare of 1914-18 should have settled it. Another angle is your choice of cases for reloading. Hornady has the thickest brass in my experience of reloading for the SMLE since about 1975, and in some of my Lee Enfields with dubious headspace I just measured the rim thickness on the cases and made different batches to suit i.e thicker rims for excessive headspace, thinner for tight etc. It is a time consuming but effective way around it.
A lot of pure BS has been published and spoken by people who should know better, but the accuracy potential for the Lee Enfield is just as achievable as it is with most quality firearms. The British army used them as a sniper rifle up until the mid 90's, and Bisley and Queens shoots scores speak for themselves. On the darker side, the Taliban still out-range US soldiers regularly enough to be problematic, and the Russians found that their AK74's were out classed in Afghanistan time and time again. If the bore is good, the trigger smoothed and stock properly tensioned and fitted, your already 3/4 of the way there. Find a handload it likes, try the proper size .312 diameter 150 gr soft points that Hornady makes instead of the poorer fitting .311's that are made by Speer and Sierra, and try both Ar2206 and 2208 to see what she prefers.
Headspace does play a part in accuracy of course, but you can substantially improve the rifles performance by some patient tweaking. I'm a great fan of these rifles so please feel free to PM me if you would like any help, cheers, Michael