enfield action

[mrbigtexan]

i was wondering, i have always heard that enfield actions are weak. in 303 british it is producing about 48,000 psi and a 308 is producing 50,000 psi. i would like to rechamber one into a 308 and would like all advice.

[351 power]

probably cheaper to buy a stevens 200. if you want to upgrade a .303 it would be better to ream it to .303 epps, an improved round.

[Stan in SC]

You can buy an Enfield 2A or 2A1 which is chambered for 7.62X51.Why rebarrel a .303 when what you want is already available?The .303British,by the way, will do anything the .308Winchester will do if loaded correctly.

Stan

[fastbike]

I'm with Stan. Funny how that Enfield action was so "weak", the Empire only used it for two world wars and other governments used it into the '90's.

You can buy an Enfield 2A or 2A1 which is chambered for 7.62X51.Why rebarrel a .303 when what you want is already available?The .303British,by the way, will do anything the .308Winchester will do if loaded correctly.

Stan

[iiranger]

The SMLE action is from the turn of the last century, 1900 or so. "Weak" is a bit strong. Back then standard pressures, like say the ..30/'06 were 45K CUP. The original .303 load was in black powder! As said, a modern gun, Mark IV on, well made, properly loaded is the equal of the .308/ 7.62X51mm  NATO. (.308 Works at 55K CUP.) I would be no happier trying to use a Mark I with modern cartridges than an early sprinfield with the crackable actions.

In US writings, gun magazines, the comment is often that the rear locking lugs let the bolt flex more, simple physics/mechanical engineering, and this reduces case life 'cause you have to resize more... Not a huge deal, but less of a problem with front bolt lugs like say the .03 Springfield or Mausers or??? Political spite a bit? I suspect... Not a big deal to the Commonwealth thru more than 2 wars/police actions, etc. but then they don't, as a rule, reload.

And, as said, why go to the great expense of making a .308 SMLE when you can buy them?... should be a whole lot cheaper... And the more modern steels should be well chosen to handle the higher working pressures... but if you must, surplus barrels are probably available... Not real common with the military use of auto and semi autos today, so a bit of a chore. LUCK.

[Catfish]

If I were going to re-barrel an action chambered in .303 I would go with the .405 Win. With the .405 you should not need any bolt work and the .405 was Teddy Roosevelt's`s favorite round so it can`t be to bad. 

[351 power]

truthfully, i wouldn't trade my .303 for a .308w. not worth the difference. is it hornady or federal that makes a light mag .303 round that equals the .308w velocity?

[mrbigtexan]

hey, i'm with ya on how good the .303 is, but i wanted to try something different and i really like my enfield rifle. it was only an idea because it only shoots 180 gr. well and was wanting more range on the foundation of the great rifle. but i have always heard that   "someday, your gonna eat that bolt". i will probably just stick with it as it stands because if it ain't broke, then don't fix it.

[Mikey]

There is nothing wrong or 'weak' about the SMLE actions, you just need to stick within the pressure ranges of the 303 British round.  I load my 303s with either the .312 174 gn Hornady round nose or the .311 180 gn Sierra spire point boat tail.  The .312s give me slightly better accuracy than the .311s but I think the difference is less than 1" at 100 yds. I have used both on Whitetail and they don't know the difference between the 303 and anything else. 

I load mine to the original book 2540'/sec.  There is a Norma loading for that as well as a VhitaVuory load to the same velocites.  This duplicates the mil-spec load that I have always used. 

I would neither bother with a rebarrelling to 308 or with getting a 308 version, the Mk2.  The 303 gives up nothing to the 308 except for those gun writers who would lead you to believe the 303 is outdated and ineffective and hence, the need for the incredible 308.  Actually, the 303 outshot the 308 at the Wimbleton matches and would regularly successfully compete with the 30-06 for the 1000 yd trophy (until they came out with the 190 gn slug for the 06). 

One problem the SMLEs suffer from is a loose chamber (mil-spec) and the military perspective on reloading spent cases - they don't do it, which means that from a military perspective having a loose chamber is a good thing considering battlefield conditions.  However, loose chambers and liberal headspacing make for a reloaders headache as most 303 brass won't last more than 3 reloads before case head separation.  Easy fix for this is with a proper bolt head.  They come in 4 sizes and are marked #s1-4.  If your cases are done for after 2 or 3 reloads, then determine the size of your bolt head (they unscrew and are marked) and get the next size up and that should help with the headspace problem. 

Actually, I am thinking of taking one of my Mk4s and sending it off for a nice new 303 Br. barrel in .311 diameter and shootin' some really good groups.  HTH.  Mikey.

[NFG]

The  MKIII 2A1 action will handle 308 pressures without breaking a sweat.  It is also the fastest cycling bolt action of all the WWI-WWII bolt actions and has been proven such many times.  Other than being rough and a bit on the yougly side there isn't any thing wrong with it's functioning or cartridge capabilities...except having a two piece stock that is slightly weaker a the joint than a single piece stock. but as long as you don't use it as a club it's OK.  Any bolt action or semi-auto can be busted through the mag cutout if you hit the butt hard enough while holding the barrel and at the right angle.

Those people who degrade the Enfield haven't really looked hard at the size or length of the bolt lug, it's rear support and the underneath bolt lug or really understand pressure or have calculated the amount of pressure the receiver/barrel shank will contain, nor have looked, I don't think, at the little hole on the right side of the receiver.  The problem and weakest area isn't the bolt lugs, it is how the bolt head is attached to the bolt.  The pressure containment capability is on the order of 3 times the pressure generated by a 308 round.  Naysayers alway seem to just repeat the information they don't quite understand about something they don't know a thing about.

As to the 405 Win in the Enfield action you will need a bit of mag work to get it to feed right plus using a pointed bullet.  It is a good round to think about...but...I would suggest a 375/444 and the simplest one to get working quickly.  That is the one I picked and 270 grain Hornady SP's.  Grinding and polishing the loading ramp will also help with the feed.  I'm just waiting for Midway to get their barrels in so I can get one ordered.  Been messing around with this project forever seems like.  At least I will have the cheek piece installed on the OEM stock, the rear sight installed and the feed correct by the time I get the barrel and only have to install the front sight to begin testing.

I tried a 303 mag with dummy 444 and 458 cases and just couldn't get it to work...going to the 308 mag helped but the blunt 444 bullets just wouldn't slide up the ramp...maybe the gummy bear Hornadys would but I don't have any to try.  I've ordered another mag to work on in case I want to do either a 405 Win, somethng on the Brenneke 64mm,  x65 R or x74 R cases, a 444M or 450 M barrel for a "switch barrel" setup.   Using one of the various cases will make the need for a single stack mag moot...I hope...and give me 44 or 45 cal bullet size capabilities.   An NO...the 45-70 case is just too much trouble in the magazine department or the need to cut an extractor groove and turn down the rim  for me to bother with, and there are plenty of cases with equal or larger CC that are much easier to get to feed.

[Troyboy]

Seems like navy arms had a 45/70 enfield conversion they were selling about 10 years ago. Gibbs rifle co or something. wonderfully smooth that enfield. Sounds like a really cool project NFG. IMO if i had to have a 308 I'd get the 2A. Nothing wrong with the 303.

                                               Troy