SMLE Charger question

[Bwana John]

Hello,
I am trying to figure out how to load and use SMLE chargers (stripper clips)
When I load a SMLE one round at a time through the action I make sure I avoid rimlock by keeping the round I am loading in front of the previously loaded cartridge in the magazine.

When I load SMLE chargers I have been doing the same, HOWEVER... this means the charger only works correctly in one orientation, if it is loaded upside down it will cause hangups.

Now I am told that 5 round chargers should be loaded... rim under, rim over, rim under, rim over, rim under. This would be symmetrical with the same cartridge orientation regardless of which side of the charger is inserted, but could cause rimlock(?)

In practice with u\o/u\o/u it seems to work without rimlock, my question is why. If I loaded it that way one at a time I get rimlock, but with the charger it seems (so far) to work.

What am I missing? why does work with chargers but not hand loading the magazine?

 

[Robert]

It should be, round 2 and 4 sitting on top of the rim of 1,3, and 5. I haven't run mine with chargers enough, but everything I've found says to do it that way. Here is a good video I found:

 

[JohnB-40]

Also the blued chargers are the business,the parkerized ones not so good.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Mike at Bloke on the Range did a couple of interesting videos about Lee Enfield chargers and rim jams:

 

[Bwana John]

Thank You! The second video answered most of my questions.

 

[AlexanderA]

Also the blued chargers are the business,the parkerized ones not so good.

Also be careful about what design of chargers you are using. A lot of chargers that you find on ebay are new-condition, postwar Italian made. (The Italian navy, in particular, was armed with surplus British Enfield rifles after WW2.) Anyway, for some reason, the Italians picked the obsolete Mark III charger to reproduce. Because of the hole arrangement, this is stiffer on the ends than the Mark IV, which the British had adopted. Use only Mark IV chargers.

 

[GBExpat]

 

[AlexanderA]

Although that's the correct way to load the rounds in the charger, the charger itself is a long-obsolete early Mark. The one you want (the Mark IV) will have four staggered round holes in the bottom, and three round holes and an elongated hole in each side.

 

[lysanderxiii]

Although that's the correct way to load the rounds in the charger, the charger itself is a long-obsolete early Mark. The one you want (the Mark IV) will have four staggered round holes in the bottom, and three round holes and an elongated hole in each side.

Whether the retaining clip hole is circular or elongated depends on when and who made the charger. Both are Mk3 chargers.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Dang it!
Now I’ve got to drag out the “Smelly” and take it to the range and ChooTIT !!!

It’s easily my favorite MilSurp to carry and shoot.
It’s a 1943 Fazerkerly that was refurbished after the war. New barrel and stocks, and a F marked vernier rear sight. I’ve replaced the front blade and trimmed to hit +3” at 100yds, yeilding roughly a 300yd zero, or more specifically, a dead center hit at 200yds on a NRA SR2 target. I’ve shot a couple of Vintage matches with it at CMP Talladega.

My favorite load is the 160gr Lee .311” PtGC over 16gr of #2400. With Vernier set to 400yds, it hits POA/POA.
MUCH FUN to recreate the Mad minute!

 

[AlexanderA]

Whether the retaining clip hole is circular or elongated depends on when and who made the charger. Both are Mk3 chargers.

The one on the right clearly looks like a late-type Mark IV. The markings could be wrong. (There was also a transitional type that had 4 circular holes.)

The problem with the Mark 3's is that they are too stiff to feed easily. This is compounded by the fact that the common Mark 3's (the postwar Italian ones) have a rough Parkerized finish.

 

[lysanderxiii]

The one on the right clearly looks like a late-type Mark IV. The markings could be wrong. (There was also a transitional type that had 4 circular holes.)

The problem with the Mark 3's is that they are too stiff to feed easily. This is compounded by the fact that the common Mark 3's (the postwar Italian ones) have a rough Parkerized finish.

You're probably correct. I meant both are marked Mk 4 (or IV)

 

[Bcwitt]

I have lots of them. I have never once seen it work the way it is supposed to. I just stack one over the next like a styer.

 

[tmd16556]

Good to see. I just loaded a bunch of old loose 303 onto old clips because having both around seemed disorderly. I figured it was made fairly conscript-proof.

 

[AlexanderA]

A while back, Cheaper Than Dirt (yeah I know) had a blowout deal on Greek .303, manufactured in the mid-1970's. This was on stripper clips. Interestingly, although the Greeks made the ammo, they didn't make the clips. They used Mark IV clips, mostly manufactured by FN, with some BP (British Pens) mixed in. Looks like they stayed far away from the Italian Mark III clips.