.303 British

[JJ Visser]

Hi

I just found this site, i am looking for info on the following conversions that can be done on the .303, I can get my hands on a good P14 rifle, i am considering changing it to .303 EPPS, most shooting will be done on long ranges but also short range in bushy areas.

What is a .338-303British??  338 case necked down, or a .303 case necked up?? How does it shoot???

Any help/Info on the Epps and the .338-303 would be welcome.

I live in South Africa.

JJ

[S.S.]

I have one of the P-14s Myself and they are very nice rifles.
Extremely accurate,robust and reliable. I would not try to improve it.

[Mikey]

There is an Epps website you can go to that should help.  The 338-303 Epps is a 303 necked up.  All the Epps cartridges were based on the 303.  The Epps cartridges are similar in concept and design to the Ackley cartridges - blown out shoulders and all. 

As for the 303 and long range shooting - the 303 Brit held the Wimbleton Cup trophies for years, competing against the 30-06 and the 308.  If I recall correctly, and I may not, the 303 took that trophy away from the 06 for many years until they designed the 190 gn match slug for the 30 calibers.  For quite a while, the 308 was not seen as a good competitor at Wimbleton.  Things may have changed in favor of the 308 over the years but that does not diminish the capabilities of the 303 Brit, either at the range or in the field. 

My most accurate loadings for the Brit use fullcharges of either Norma Powder or Vitha Vuorhy (? dang spelling) which both claim 2540'/sec.  And none of the game animals I have harvested over the years know the difference between a 303, a 308 or the 06 (or for that matter the 6.5 Swede or the 8mm Mauser).  Mikey.

[iiranger]

303british.com -- Mr. R has a web site focused on the .303 and Imp 303 and with link to the Epps gun shop still operated by the offsprings of Elwood Epps. Mr. Epps did conversions from .22/303 to .338/303, both factory case necked up or down and "improved" case with shoulder enlarged for more powder capacity. Loads for P14 can be much more "robust" than for the SMLE rifles. Reportedly, factory .303 case can be loaded to equal .308 WCF easily. BUT NOT in SMLE rifles... NOT!

Mr. Ackley, US gunsmith, did a 2 volume set of books on cartridges from his multi decade career and many known fellow gunsmiths,-- factory, Improved, and wildcat. I think the bulk of the Epps rounds are in vol 2. AND Mr. Epps also did a conversion of the p14 to ".303 Canadian magnum." He used the .300 H&H mag case necked up for .303 bullets (from the British--.311 actual diameter, I think) and enlarged it to have a shoulder, not unlike the .300 weatherby Mag for .308 bullets in the M17 Enfield (US .30/'06 version of the P14 Enfield). Books are available thru eabco.com, sinclair International, ebay sometimes... (search P.O. Ackley and ignore the nurses stuff. guess there was a nurse named "ackley"...)

Since gunsmithing is basically "machinist" work, I suspect you would be best served by buying the reamer and having your work done locally. No idea what the laws are like in SA. In USA, a gunsmith is a machinist with an FFL (Federal Firearms License). Your bucks. luck

[iiranger]

Where was the P14 made?

US lore surrounding the M17, same gun, different caliber... Winchester are very good. Remingtons are very good. Eddystones are "iffy." Eddystone's were made by Remington at Baldwin Locamotive works in Eddystone Pennsylvania. Steel then was not as high quality as today. Guns that have been rebarrelled have been known to crack in the receiver ring from the torque forces unscrewing the barrel or screwing in the new barrel-???-. Not worth repairing. WALL HANGER! Almost never heard of a gun in .30/'06 still with this problem. Standard cure is to machine a groove in the old barrel just ahead of the receiver ring before unscrewing the barrel to relieve pressures. AND you want to have the receiver ring (with or without the barrel) "magna fluxed" -- a process done in the automotive world to check used engine blocks for cracks. Several processes. Any auto machine shop will know about them.

Cracks = Wall hanger.

So research the pedigree of the gun before spending any money IMHO... luck.

303british.com -- Mr. R has a web site focused on the .303 and Imp 303 and with link to the Epps gun shop still operated by the offsprings of Elwood Epps. Mr. Epps did conversions from .22/303 to .338/303, both factory case necked up or down and "improved" case with shoulder enlarged for more powder capacity. Loads for P14 can be much more "robust" than for the SMLE rifles. Reportedly, factory .303 case can be loaded to equal .308 WCF easily. BUT NOT in SMLE rifles... NOT!

Mr. Ackley, US gunsmith, did a 2 volume set of books on cartridges from his multi decade career and many known fellow gunsmiths,-- factory, Improved, and wildcat. I think the bulk of the Epps rounds are in vol 2. AND Mr. Epps also did a conversion of the p14 to ".303 Canadian magnum." He used the .300 H&H mag case necked up for .303 bullets (from the British--.311 actual diameter, I think) and enlarged it to have a shoulder, not unlike the .300 weatherby Mag for .308 bullets in the M17 Enfield (US .30/'06 version of the P14 Enfield). Books are available thru eabco.com, sinclair International, ebay sometimes... (search P.O. Ackley and ignore the nurses stuff. guess there was a nurse named "ackley"...)

Since gunsmithing is basically "machinist" work, I suspect you would be best served by buying the reamer and having your work done locally. No idea what the laws are like in SA. In USA, a gunsmith is a machinist with an FFL (Federal Firearms License). Your bucks. luck

[S.S.]

I have heard the stories about the weak steel in the 1917 receivers, but I have never encountered one that was cracked?