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Author Topic: .30 Enfield  (Read 1015 times)

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Offline Double 30

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.30 Enfield
« on: December 31, 2006, 10:11:30 AM »
I have an idea...To me, one of the best deer-moose rounds is the ol' .303. Low pressured accurate and mild recoil which is great for me due to the side effects of a car accident.I have a No4MK2 that is superbly accurate but there will come a time when a new barrel will be necessary( I shoot alot).I thought about the .30-40 but they're throated long and the max OAL is too long for the L.E. magazine and the ballistics are good but not as good as the .303.To keep things simple I thought about getting a .311 barrel and just going with the .303 again.However, there is a tremendous selection of superb .308 caliber bullets so enter the .30 Enfield.Use .303 brass,.303 data and .30 cal bullets.The only changes necessary would be to reduce the neck/throat demensions for the smaller bullet and I think throat length roughly that of a .308WCF would be fine. This would require a custom reamer. What info do I need to provide to the manufacturer and who makes such things? Any help appreciated.  Happy New Year!
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Offline Reed1911

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Re: .30 Enfield
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2007, 05:30:43 AM »
Great idea, and I imagine the top names will likely have the reamer on the shelf. I'd give Clymer a call and ask them, if they don't they should be able to take the order on the phone with little to no problems.

clymer@clymertool.com
(248) 853-5555
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Offline Mikey

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Re: .30 Enfield
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2007, 05:10:00 AM »
Double 30:  Reed 1911 gives you excellent info.  Me however - I like the 303 Brit.  Got 3 of them.  Had one 308 and got rid of it.  I can tell you that the 303 Brit has won a few more Wimbelton trophies that the 308 may have.  I have a couple of No4 Mk1s in excellent shape.  I was thinking of having one rebarrelled but in the original 303 caliber with a nice tight .311 bore and use it for both target and hunting. 

With the 303 you can shoot varmit with the 123-125 gn slugs, whitetail and the like with the 150s, elk, moose, hogs  or medium size bear with with the 174-180 gn slugs and even heavier game with the 205s that Woodleight still makes (I believe).  With that selection you really don't need anything else (jmho).

I agree that a 303-30 would be a nice project, but I prefer the 303 all by its own self.  HTH  Mikey.
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Offline Double 30

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Re: .30 Enfield
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2007, 10:37:17 AM »
Thanks for the imput! I like the .303 but the lure of a better bullet selection is VERY tempting.I have been very impressed by the accuracy of my Enfield espicially since I finally took her to pieces and rooted out all the cosmo from the bedding.The result was an immediate improvement in both accuracy and consistency. Loads that formerly gave 3 inch groups with flyers about every other group, now shoot consistently into 1 1/2 inches, and sometimes under an inch, for 3 at 100 yards. She 's normally stocked up with 3 lbs pressure at the forend tip. Should I decide to stay with a stock .303 ( certainly NOT the worst fate) where would I find a commercial .303/.311 1-10 twist barrel ? BTW my No4MK2 easily outshoots the Swiss K-31 and Swede M-96 I used to have..Let me see now... 2 piece stock...rear locking action... Guess such things dont hurt accuracy too much after all.
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Offline Mikey

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Re: .30 Enfield
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2007, 01:56:32 AM »
Double D:  The Montana Rifleman will make you your barrel to your specs and install it on your SMLE.  They will re-barrel a SMLE to it's original caliber.  A barrel to your specs is no problem for them.  They have a website under their name and it's pretty informative.  HTH.  Mikey.
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Offline iiranger

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P14's...
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2007, 08:31:40 AM »
Friend of mine and I cast the bores on 4 or 5 P14 .303 Enfields by Winchester. Near as we could figure, odd number of grooves, the groove diameter was around .307 from the beginning for .311 or more bullets.

He is a military collector nut. So I have heard of the sloppy India production with bore/groove in the .314 range....

Mr. Ackley wrote at length about how a couple thousandths is not going to make any practical difference in pressures. .303 bullet will go down a .308 barrel, no problem--no "pressure problem", accuracy may be another question. PROBLEM arises when the load was too hot to start, or when the slight increase in pressure cracks the case and hot gas gets loose. Question arose from silly fools firing 8x57 mauser in '06's. After all, it was all army rifle ammo... Duh. It was the 8mm case splitting & releasing hot gases that caused danger. Not the .323 bullet going down the .308 barrel. Although accuracy was a joke, bad joke...

I would look for a gunsmith that could cut a .303 chamber with a "tight" neck for the .308 bullets. Put this in any .308 barrel and it should shoot great, unless you happened into some surplus 303 when the accuracy might "fall off" a tiny bit. I could not tell with iron sights, but I am not great shooter.

Friend, 3rd generation 'smith, gave me a set of .303 dies. Expander ball was for .308... .307 if I recall.  Little tight reloading .311 bullets but worked. and if you wanted to use a .308 bullet...

Nice Idea. Not new. If you are not visiting  303British.com, enjoy. luck/happy trails.
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