1. The Lee-Enfield No.8 Rifle
BTS Skill at Arms
Lesson 05-06

2. The 8 safe handling of weapon rules.
Revision
The 8 safe handling of weapon rules.
1. A weapon must never be pointed at anyone in any circumstances.
2. A weapon must always be handled so that it points in such a direction that there is no danger if a round is accidentally fired.
3. Whenever a weapon is picked up, which has not been under an individual’s direct supervision it must be examined to make sure that it is not loaded. i.e. Normal Safety Precautions (NSP’s) must be carried out.
4. The muzzle of a weapon must never be rested against any part of the body.
5. Whenever a weapon is handed to someone else he/she must first be shown that it is unloaded (clear). When anyone else hands a weapon to him/her he/she must insist that the same action is taken.
6. A weapon must be in the unloaded state prior to travelling in a vehicle or during non-tactical moves on foot.
7. A cadet must never be allowed to fire a weapon unless he/she has been instructed and practised in its use under supervision. A period of revision should be conducted on the weapon prior to live firing.
8. When conducting training with weapons, cadets should, at all time, carry their DP or GP rifle or LSW with the sling fitted, except when undergoing formal parade ground drill.
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3. The Aims
To confirm that the cadet knows the regulations for the safe handling of the rifle and the rules of conduct in the miniature range.
To instruct him in the care and cleaning of the No. 8 (.22 inch) rifle and the safe handling of the ammunition.
To instruct him in sight setting and how to load and unload the rifle.
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4. History of the Weapon
The Lee-Enfield was, in various marks and models, the British Army's standard bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle for over 60 years
In its many versions, it was the standard army service rifle for the first half of the 20th century.
The Lee-Enfield was, in various marks and models, the British Army's standard bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle for over 60 years from (officially) 1895 until 1956, although it remained in British service well into the early 1960s and is still found in service in the armed forces of some Commonwealth nations. In its many versions, it was the standard army service rifle for the first half of the 20th century, and was adopted by Britain's colonies and Commonwealth allies, including India, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
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5. History of the Weapon
After WWI, numbers of rifles were converted to .22 caliber training rifles, in order to teach cadets and new recruits the various aspects of shooting, firearms safety, and marksmanship.
After WWI, numbers of rifles were converted to .22 caliber training rifles, in order to teach cadets and new recruits the various aspects of shooting, firearms safety, and marksmanship. These rifles were designated Rifle, No 2 Mk IV, and were generally single-shot affairs, although some were later modified with special adaptors to enable magazine loading. After World War II, the Rifle, No. 7, Rifle, No. 8 and Rifle, No. 9, all .22 rimfire trainers and/or target rifles, were adopted or in use with Cadet units and target shooters throughout the Commonwealth.
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6. Parts of the Weapon
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7. Parts of the Weapon
Questions?
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8. Abrasive materials are not to be used to clean this weapon
Cleaning the Weapon
Remove the bolt
Clean the Barrel (with bore brush and flannelette 50 x 30 mm)
Clean the bolt (with oiled rag)
Check the Sights are fitted correctly
Wipe down the woodwork with a clean dry cloth
Abrasive materials are not to be used to clean this weapon
To clean the barrel and breech:
Raise the backsight, push forward the safety catch and press down the bolt head catch. Lift the bolt lever and pull the bolt fully to the rear. Release the bolt head catch, raise the bolt head and withdraw the bolt from the rifle.
Attach the cleaning brush to the cleaning rod and lightly oil the brush.
Lay the rifle on a table, insert the cleaning rod from the breech end and clean the barrel and breech. Do not use undue pressure and avoid the rod scraping the wall of the barrel or breech.
Attach the cleaner to the cleaning rod and with a piece of flannelette 50 mm by 30 mm (2 inches by 11¼4 inches) dry out the barrel. To do this push the rod from the breech end fully through the bore and remove the flannelette.
Carefully remove the cleaning rod.
Examine the barrel and breech for cleanliness.
If firing is to follow leave the barrel and breech dry. If not, lightly oil and store.
Ensure that the cartridge platform, breech and ejector are clean.
With an oiled rag clean the face of the bolt and extractor, taking care not to damage the extractor. Should there be excessive grease on the face of the bolt which, when wiped, tends to gather in the firing pin hole, this can be
pushed out by turning the cocking piece anti-clockwise allowing the firing pin to protrude and push the grease out. Wipe the face of the bolt clean. Pull the cock-ing piece back and rotate clockwise until the bent is aligned with the locking lug on the underside of the bolt.
Abrasives such as emery cloth, sand paper or sand are not to be used for cleaning.
Check that the foresight is not loose or bent, and that the backsight is retained firmly in the vertical position when raised. Ensure that the backsight adjusting screw and slide work freely and that the aperture is clean.
With a clean dry cloth wipe over the woodwork.
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9. Sight Setting
The backsight consists of a leaf, adjusting screw and a slide
with aperture. The leaf is graduated in 25, 50 and 100 metres.
When the sight is folded down the battle sight presents
itself and could be used for all targets up to and including 300
metres. But this sight is not normally used on this rifle.
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10. Cleaning and Sight Setting
Questions?
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11. Loading
The No. 8 rifle requires each round to be hand fed into the chamber until resistance is felt. Failure to do this could result in the rim of the .22 inch cartridge being struck with sufficient force by the extractor as to cause a premature explosion and possible injury to the firer.
Loading
Loading the rifle will be carried out in the prone position.
On the command “Adopt the prone position — Down”:
(1) Get down, breaking the fall with the hands. Take command of the rifle by placing the left hand around the forestock and the right hand gripping the small of the butt. Ensure that the trigger finger is pointed forward and outside the trigger guard.
(2) The body should be relaxed and slightly angled to the line of fire. The left leg should be on the same line as the body, the leg muscles relaxed and toes turned outwards. The right leg is positioned to form a continuation of the line of fire, the right foot pointing outwards with the heel on the ground.
On the command “With one round load”:
(1) Push the safety catch fully forward with the thumb of the right hand
and open the breech by lifting up the bolt and pulling it to the rear using
the right hand.
(2) Hand feed the round into the chamber as previously explained and
close the breech. Apply the safety catch and return the right hand to the
small of the butt, forefinger pointed forward and outside the trigger guard.
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12. Unloading 0004SAA05-06PP Unloading On the command “Unload”:
(1) Push forward the safety catch.
(2) Tilt the rifle sharply to the right, open the breech and move the bolt slightly backwards and forwards without lowering the bolt lever until the round has been extracted.
(3) Look into the chamber and feel to check that it is empty.
(4) Close the breech, bring the rifle into the shoulder, aim at the target or bullet catcher, squeeze the trigger.
(5) Lower the backsight, open the breech, lay the rifle down on its left side. The rifle is now ready for inspection.
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13. Misfires
There may be occasions when, on squeezing the trigger, the round does not fire. This is called a misfire.
When this occurs, remain in the aiming position for five seconds and if it does not fire in this time, unload the misfired round and put it aside but separate from any other live rounds. Reload the next round to be fired and carry on shooting.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ROUNDS THAT HAVE MISFIRED BE LOADED IN AN ATTEMPT TO RE-FIRE THEM.
Misfires
There may be occasions when, on squeezing the trigger, the round does not fire. This is called a misfire. When this occurs, remain in the aiming position for five seconds and if it does not fire in this time, unload the misfired round and put it aside but separate from any other live rounds. Reload the next round to be fired and carry on shooting.
At the end of firing any misfired rounds will be handed in and dealt with separately.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ROUNDS THAT HAVE MISFIRED
BE LOADED IN AN ATTEMPT TO RE-FIRE THEM.
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14. The No. 8
Questions?
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15. Summary The No. 8 0004SAA05-06PP Summary. To include the following:
(1) The importance of safe handling.
(2) How to deal with misfired rounds.
(3) A forecast of the squad’s next lesson on this subject.
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16. The No. 8
End
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