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How does Lee Enfield ejection actually work?

Bloke takes the ejector screw out of his Lee-Enfield No.4 to show that it’s not actually the ejector screw that deals with ejection of empty cases. In fact, it’s only necessary for ejecting live rounds, particularly when doing a pumping back-and-forth unload.

He explains how this can be so!

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PS: The Textbook of Small Arms 1928, p. 43 describes the action correctly: “The ejector is a small screw which projects slightly into the bolt-way on the left side. On drawing back the bolt the back edge of the rim of the cartridge case catches against the end of this screw and is thrown out of the rifle to the right. In practice this action only takes place in the case of a bulletted round, when the case is held on the bolt face until the bullet is clear of the breech. An empty case, being shorter and therefore being clear of the bareel sooner, is normally thrown out to the right by action of its rim frictioning against the sloping portion of the groove hollowed out in the left side of the body immediately behind the breech.”

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