Addley precision scope mount

[Johan412th]

So I have been mulling about scoping my 1942 savage-Stevens no4 mk1*. Haven't decided what mount yet, but I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction of a solid smithless scope. I saw the addley and it looks Rock solid, but they seem to have multiple mounts for the no4. Would I use the same one as a long branch or did they make a universal one?

Thanks in advance...

[JB White]

First I have heard of them. I did look at their web site. The mounts appear to sit as high as some others so I'm guessing you're going to need a cheek rest for a proper weld to the stock. Try asking this over on Gunboards. There are more shooters and more traffic there. Better chance of getting a decent review.
The other mount in that price range which has proven worth the effort is the S&K. The rest are either more expensive or total crap in the long haul.

[Johan412th]

Thanks JB. I've seen the S&K mounts before, so I'll look into them. Good to know they are approved around here to begin with.

[Merc]

I bought an Addley mount for my Savage-built 1944 Enfield No. 4 Mk1* about a year ago and it works very well. Once zeroed, the rifle is surprisingly accurate for an old war horse. I simply screwed the mount in place, mounted my new Bushnell scope and went to the range with a box of .303s. Call or email them if you have any questions about which one you need for your rifle.

Merc

[Johan412th]

Will do, thanks merc. Do you find the optics sit too high, or is it a good fit for the standard stock? Also, my savage needed the chamber significantly cleaned and polished to extract properly, how well does yours eat ammo?

[Merc]

Will do, thanks merc. Do you find the optics sit too high, or is it a good fit for the standard stock? Also, my savage needed the chamber significantly cleaned and polished to extract properly, how well does yours eat ammo?

The scope on my No. 4 sits at a comfortable height and works well with the original stock. There are tall and short rings available that can raise or lower the scope height.

The No. 4 has an overly spacious chamber which should allow easy loading and ejection. My No. 4 loads and ejects new ammo effortlessly. However, I found that reloaded ammo with neck sized cases requires some mild effort to load and eject due to the cases that have expanded to fit the chamber from previous firings.

Merc

[Johan412th]

Good to know. I'd hate to have to put a riser on my stock. My savage doesn't eject the surplus Greek stuff very well, but commercial seems to work fine... I wonder why that is?

[Merc]

The Greek surplus case walls could be thinner (and the cases are therefore lighter) and may be expanding more than the commercial cases after being fired. You could confirm this by comparing the weight of both cases with a digital scale and outside diameter of both cases with dial calipers or a micrometer. I prefer PPU ammo. It's often the cheapest ammo in the store but it shoots and ejects very well. The heavy cases are strong enough to allow multiple reloads.

Since we both own Savage No. 4s, I have a question for you: Do you have a bare .303 caliber bullet? No case, powder or primer, just the bullet. If yes, there's a very simple throat erosion test that will indicate how eroded the throat is on your rifle.

Merc

[Johan412th]

I can pull one of the bullets from some loaded ammo I have. What would work best, FMJ military, FMJ aftermarket or soft point?

[Merc]

I did this test on two old accurate shooting military rifles that I own with mixed results - the No. 4 and a Model 1917 Winchester. The test measures the gap or "jump" between a chambered bullet and the rifling in the bore. A fired bullet can become airborne for an instant if the gap is too long and may engage the rifling at odd angles which would affect accuracy. I measured a .25" gap on the No. 4 and no gap at all on the M1917 which is in near mint condition. I'm curious to know how the .25" gap on my No. 4. compares to other No. 4s that still shoot accurately.

Youll need a bare .303 bullet, a live .303 round ideally of the same type, a 1/4" X 36" dowel rod, a sharp pencil and a short length of aluminum cleaning rod.

Remove the bolt and don't reinstall it until after the test is complete and the live round has been removed.

Insert the bare bullet into the receiver nose first and gently push it into the bore using the short cleaning rod until it stops and engages the leading edge of the rifling. Hold the bare bullet in place with the cleaning rod and insert the wood dowel rod into the muzzle until it comes in contact with the point of the bullet. Mark the wood dowel rod at the edge of the muzzle with the pencil. Use the dowel rod to push the bare bullet out of the bore.

Next, insert the live .303 round into the receiver and gently hold it in place with the cleaning rod. Insert the dowel rod until it comes in contact with the point of the bullet. Mark the wood dowel rod at the edge of the muzzle with the pencil.

The distance between these two marks on the wood dowel rod represents the jump gap.

Merc

[Johan412th]

Well that's fairly simple, I'll have to pull a bullet out this weekend and try that. I wouldn't call my savage extremely accurate... My 1916 BSA no1 mk3 is like night and day in comparison, and it's been in service far longer and all over the globe. Either the savage wasn't manufactured as well as that hand-made BSA, or someone didn't take care of it.

[Merc]

I have a M1916 Spanish Mauser that looks great and has crisp rifling but shoots inconsistent patterns. I did the test and found a .435" gap which simply means that I shouldn't expect the rifle to be very accurate. Some reloaders will place the bullet further out in the case in an attempt to compensate for an eroded throat.

Judging from the general condition, I would guess that my No. 4 saw considerable service towards the end of the war and has moderate throat wear but it still shoots fairly accurately. Just curious to know what other No. 4 owners are experiencing with their rifles.

Merc

[Merc]

Well that's fairly simple, I'll have to pull a bullet out this weekend and try that. I wouldn't call my savage extremely accurate... My 1916 BSA no1 mk3 is like night and day in comparison, and it's been in service far longer and all over the globe. Either the savage wasn't manufactured as well as that hand-made BSA, or someone didn't take care of it.

The test will also tell you whether investing in a scope is warranted. Throat erosion is related to the number of rounds fired.

Merc

[Johan412th]

The test will also tell you whether investing in a scope is warranted. Throat erosion is related to the number of rounds fired.

Merc

Well that is certainly useful knowledge to have. The gentleman I got my no1 mk3 from still has some bullets that he never reloaded, so hopefully soon I can get my hands on them and test it. I do hope it's still in good enough shape to be worth scoping. He also explained to me that some of the grooves may be warn at the end of the barrel and that's all it could take to be throwing my rounds off.

[Merc]

That's known as muzzle erosion and one of the causes is abrasion from rubbing the muzzle area of the bore with cleaning rods. One of the easiest ways to avoid ME is to avoid making cleaning rod to barrel bore contact. I accomplish this with a cheap small plastic funnel shaped device known as an "electrical anti-short bushing" that can be found at Home Depot, etc. in the Electrical Supplies dept. The bushing fits around the cleaning rod, slides into the muzzle opening and centers the rod inside the barrel preventing rod to bore contact. A gunsmith should be able to tell you if your No. 4 has ME. I'd do the jump gap test for TE first since it's probably one of the more common problems in old military rifles that have seen heavy service. No. 4s that were fired many thousands of times and developed severe TE were often stenciled with the large letters "BLR" on the stock which stood for "Beyond Local Repair" and were sent back to the arsenal for repairs.

By the way, my No. 4 was marked BLR when I bought it a few years ago at an estate sale. I first had to determine what BLR meant and then I had the rifle inspected by 2 gunsmiths who couldn't find anything that would prevent safe shooting. The lands and grooves are crisp and headspace is within specs. I learned the jump gap measurement technique but only after I scoped it and found it to be an accurate shooter in spite of the quarter inch jump gap.

It's interesting to compare the excellent accuracy of both the M1917 with no measurable jump gap and the No. 4 with a quarter inch jump gap to the below average accuracy of my Spanish Mauser with a nearly half inch jump gap.

Merc

[Johan412th]

I guess there definition of "beyond local repair" was a bit overstated, eh? Well that's definitely a good bit of information, thank you. I have a feeling this wear and tear was caused after it was decommissioned.