Wanted: .303 Brit Stuck case extractor

[markyw]

Wondered if anyone had one (.303 Brit Stuck case extractor) sitting around that needed a new home before I go to market for one.

Have had a couple of case head separations in my SMLE and No 5, so thought having the correct tool for the job would be the right thing to do.

Regards

Mark

 

[Fosbery Holster]

There’s one on eBay, just looked, £30 plus postage, if it helps.

 

[Demetrius]

And I'd get the guns looked at as well......

D.

 

[Pedro]

And I'd get the guns looked at as well......

D.

Or are you reloading that brass too many times perhaps?

 

[303British]

My SMLE has a good stretch on the case from each firing so I anneal each load. Fatal lasts words but I have never had a separation.

Done it now.

PPU brass lasts really, S&B I have found is pants to reload.

You don't need to load too hot, then 10 plus firing fine.

Ebay for the extractor. Most people won't give them up when they manage to get one, mine was from an "estate"!

 

[Lever357]

.303" Clearing Plug, Or Split Case Extractor.

These are original issue .303" clearing plugs, also known as 'split case extractors', 'seperated case extractors' or 'in official terms 'Extractor Ruptured Cartridge, .303"'. They were found in the spare parts (or Section) wallet for the BREN gu

www.ds-solutions.co.uk

Excellent company to deal with for Enfield spares

 

[enfieldspares]

I have had case separations ONLY with Winchester commercial brass in a WW2 two groove No4 and, as others suggest, the cause was overstretching of the cases that had been too much sized. For the .303" is a rimmed case so if the shoulder is pushed back too far in sizing the cases thin at the case web about 1/4" in front of the rim.

OVER SETTING THE SHOULDER BACK WHEN SIZING FOR RELOADING IS WHY RIMMED CARTRIDGES HAVE HEAD SEPARATION AND ADDITIONALLY IN THE ENFIELD BECAUSE OF ITS DESIGN CAUSED BY THE BOLT HEAD CURRENTLY FITTED TO THE BOLT IS TOO SHORT.

I never needed a case extractor to remove the front half of the case and, indeed, the case extractor was used with the Bren LMG not the No4. A simple holding the rifle vertical and then tapping the butt on the ground removes the case OR a phosphor bronze bore brush (as used for cleaning the barrel) on the end of your usual cleaning rod. Or a thin blabed screwdriver pushe in from the side to "hook" into the inside wall of the separated case.

For the brush method push the phosphor bronze on its cleaning rod up the barrel from the breech (as if cleaning the gun as usual) and then pull it back out. The case will come out with it. For as it is brass it will have contracted back down after firing as normal. Try the above and I think you'll have saved yourself £30. Resize your cases less so that the shoulder isn't be pushed back as far and you'll solve the problem permanently.

If OTOH it does this with factory military ammunition 1) the bolt head is too short and/or 2) the chamber is out of specification and that likely happened during proof

The OP has two rifles. I'd suggest comparing a fired case from each and see if in fact he can set his sizing die so as to push the shoulder back ONLY 1mm below where the shoulder is on the case from the rifle that see it moved forward the most. Then if ammunition reloaded with the shoulder sized as suggested feeds in BOTH rifles his problem is sorted.

 

[markyw]

Thanks for all the replies. The SMLE was reloaded ammunition - S&B case 2x fired - happened twice from the same batch, so stopped shooting them and pulled when I got home. The No 5 was factory ammunition and just a single case.

The second one jammed in the SMLE and I cleared that with brush and rod later in the day. The first and the No 5 example fell out once cooled with a quick tap of the butt on the bench.

I'll have a good read of the advice above and give things a try for next time.

Regards

Mark

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I have read that the bolt head can be changed to adjust headspace back to spec in SMLEs but that was back in the day when the armed forces armourers had all the bits available to them.

 

[Digger686]

+1 for the phosphor bronze brush method above.

It’s a lot handier on the firing line if you screw the brush into a pistol cleaning rod, rather than faffing about with a full rifle-length rod. I use the yellow Parker Hale rod for both, so it’s a simple swap.