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Author Topic: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?  (Read 1960 times)

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Offline lgm270

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Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« on: July 02, 2006, 07:00:31 PM »
Read about this where they converted a British Enfield to 7.62x54R Russian because inexpensive surplus ammo is more widely available in that caliber.

Does anybody have any opinions about this?

Also, locally NEW Enfield Mark 4's manufactured by Savage are available for $159.00.   Is this worth buying?

I have little experience with the .303.  Does anyone have any particular opinions or experiences with it?  How about with cast bullets?

WHat is the accuracy of this rifle like?
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Offline corbanzo

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Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2006, 08:54:12 PM »
.303's a good caliber, my old man carried one for his woods gun for years back in the day.  I wouldn't convert it though.  You can find M38's on sale for $75-$85 quite often in 7.62x54R, I would recommend just picking up one of those.
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Offline lgm270

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Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2006, 02:03:11 AM »
What is an M-38?
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Offline Mikey

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Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2006, 02:21:24 AM »
The M38 is one of the many varieties of older communist bloc Mosin Nagant bolt action rifles in 7.62x54R caliber.

Corbanzo has a good recommendation - if you want a 7.62x54R caliber rifle pick up one of the lesser expensive M38s and you should be happy with it.  

I love the 303s, but they weigh a ton.  The M38s are nice and light and easier to handle, from my perspective and those I have worked with show excellent accuracy.  HTH.  Mikey.
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Offline lgm270

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Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2006, 06:31:37 AM »
Thanks Mickey.

Here's the thread on that conversion.

http://www.jpfo.org/smle.htm
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Offline kevin.303

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2006, 08:20:50 PM »
I would say that the cost of the conversion is more then it would cost to buy a Mosin Nagant. IÂ’ve thought about this too, but it's not worth it in my opinion. The Lee Enfield is more accurate in .303 then a lot of M/N's are. Sure surplus ammo is cheap, but there is also a lot of surplus .303 around too, more so in the US then here in Canada. And a lot of surplus .303 is non corrosive (the Greek stuff is even reloadable!)

Also when it comes to factory sporting ammo, .303 British is a far better choice. All the domestic ammo company's offer at least one hunting load for the .303. Federal and Winchester offer 150 & 180 gr loads, Hornady a 150 gr light magnum, and Remington offers a 180 gr corelokt as well as a 174 gr FMJ load that is cheaper the SP ammo and duplicates the original Mk 7 military loading. When it comes to 7.62x54, only Winchester loads it, and it is a 148 gr FMJ. All the soft point stuff is foreign and some of it is corrosive and does not have a very well made bullet. ItÂ’s also not as widely available as .303 British I imagine. Here in Canada any department store, hardware store, general store that sells ammo will always have .303 British .30-30, .30-06, etc, etc, but you have to find a dedicated gun shop for some of the more different stuff.

My advice would be get a Lee Enfield, leave it in .303, and get a Finnish M1891 Mosin Nagant as well. They are both accurate well made rifles that you couldn't hurt if you drove a tiger tank over them.
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Offline 1911crazy

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #6 on: July 09, 2006, 12:36:07 AM »
kevin.303/guys;  The 7,62x54r ammo isn't so available here in the gun shops too like some of them have none.  If you want it, its better and cheaper to mailorder it because of the markup on all military surplus ammo over the internet prices, its even cheaper with the shipping cost too.  The bottomline is we still have to shop around for the best prices.
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Offline jh45gun

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2006, 02:13:59 PM »
You have to remember Kevin that the 303 brit to you guys is like our 3006 or 308. Most places carry the o6 or 308 in the states but not maybe the 303 unless a larger gun store.
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Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline kevin.303

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2006, 07:36:41 PM »
true enough, but what i meant is that that good quality factory .303 is still probably far more available then good 7.62x54R. or i assume so, anyone notice otherwise?
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Offline jh45gun

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2006, 08:22:11 PM »
No you would be right as lots of guys here used a 303 also for a hunting rifle in the past and I would guess today too. Its hard to put down a classic.
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Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline jh45gun

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2006, 08:24:39 PM »
That is not to say that guys are not hunting with the mosins today they are and the carbines make good woods guns I got a buddy who I had bought a Polish 44 for and it is a tack driver. It shoots better than any of the 4 mosins I had.

My two hunting milsurps are now my Swede and my Swiss K31.
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Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline kevin.303

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2006, 09:45:13 AM »
another thing to consider is pressure. a lot of the surplus 7.62x54R is pretty hot. the hungarian 174 gr yellow tip stuff is very common, but is actually made for use in machine guns, making for a sticky bolt opening in a Mosin. and then there's age of the rifle. some of them are starting to push 90 or 100 years old and aren't as strong as they used to be.this kind of conversion i wouldn't even attempt in a No.1, it should be safe in a No .4 or No.5, and for sure in a Pattern 14. and the Soviets did convert M1910 Ross's to 7.62x54 and won a lot of competitions with them as biathalon rifles. in theory the Martini-Enfield could handle it, but keep in mind these actions are all 120-130 years old, so in reality i don't think it would be a safe conversion.
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Offline rockbilly

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #12 on: July 20, 2006, 04:59:44 PM »
Why rechamber when the .303 is a proven cartridge?  The .303 has been used around the world not only as a military weapon, but also for target and hunting.  Think about the number of countries that had the Bridish flag flying over it, and the number of .303s that went to civilian use.  The .303 has been use to take every type of game from elephant down, likely, more big game has been killed with a .303 in Arfica than all other calibers coimbined.
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Offline kombi1976

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #13 on: July 23, 2006, 05:37:59 PM »
I think the first reaction to such a suggestion would be  "Are you on crack!" :o
.303 Brit is a superb hunting cartridge that in combination with an SMLE is excellent.
7.62 Russian is loaded to higher pressures and I'd hazard a guess that most .303 Brit chamber pressure is more in the realms of 44,000 psi, no the 45k to 48k the article speaks of.
And Kevin is right, there is a LOT of machine gun ammo that isn't great for the 91/30s, M38s and M44s, let alone a poor old SMLE. :(
If the throat goes on your SMLE you have 2 options:
  • 1. Take it to a smith and have him cut a little off the thread and run a .303 reamer through it.......or
  • 2.  Find another SMLE bbl and screw it on......most are inexpensive.
I might add that anyone silly enough to use ball ammo won't be able to exploit the possible accuracy of the SMLE.
A good set of dies, some reloading gear, decent projectiles and a bit of time experimenting could well see those groups close up and incidentally, 1.5" isn't bad for an old battle rifle.
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8)

Cheers & God Bless

.22lr ~ 22 Hornet ~ 25-20 ~ 303/25 ~ 7mm-08 ~ 303 British ~ 310 Cadet ~ 9.3x62 ~ 450/400 NE 3"

Offline bbqsnbeer

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Re: Rechamber .303 to 7.62x54R?
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2006, 06:19:15 PM »
Rechamber ?  :o ..or fixing something that ain't broke ?
The Lee Enfield has also knocked more big game down in Canada than any other rifle .
I hunt with my No4 every year . I tried a few different types of ammo and found Win.180gr CXP3's
work very well ...very , very well .  20 someodd deer and 1 cow moose ( just under 200yd ) fell to this rifle . This season I'm going to try using a 2.5x scope ....my eyes arn't getting any younger...lol
Never the less , rechambering is not an option for me .

 
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