303-375 (375/303) who shoots one?

[303Guy]

Building and hunting with a 303-375 (375/303) Lee Enfield carbine has been on my mind for a while now. Who loads for and hunts with one? With paper patch boolits? (That is my intention).

[PAT303]

A mate has a 35/303 on a large martini action.Shoots like a house on fire. Pat

[Bullshop]

I once had a 375/30/40Kraig on a siamese mauser. It got right up there close to origonal 375 H&H velocities. Not too shabby. Its possible I may still have some load data for it somwhere.
Someone else wanted it perty bad so off it went. The fella that built it made another one on a Hepburn but I never was able to get that one from him.
BIC/BS

[303Guy]

The 375/30/40Krag would be the 37 Rimmed if it had a tiny shoulder. I do believe the Krag would be a better case for the project with its longer neck. Mine would have no shoulder at all - keeping the case body unchanged - so as to work in the Lee Enfield magazine.

The 35/303 would make a good choice too! My idea was to increase the expansion ratio as much as possible so as to utilize the cartridge in a shorter barrel. But if a 35 barrel came my way ... - there's nothing wrong with the 35/303! If I do get around to building a barrel re-boring and rifling machine, I might make the 35 my first stop in case I botch it then I have another chance at 375. Anyway, the 375 is bigger which makes machining easier!

A problem I foresee with necking up 303 Brit cases is the 'dough-nut' it leaves. I intend to use the 'dough-nut' as a seating stop so that would limit seating depth. I would have prefered being able to seat the boolit deeper for the sake of protecting the paper patch.

[runfiverun]

you ould use an inside cutter/case reamer to take out the donut after outside sizing.

[rollingblock]

I have a BPCR built on an original low wall with a Tony Hawkins barrel in 375-303. I've not been doing much BP lately but its definately a good CB cal to consider. I would not think you would get sufficient velocity to really require PP though. Shot a couple of deer with it but with BP velocities there was not a lot of expansion. Tony must have made this barrel the morning after the night before as the bore is quite off center but it still shoots real well.

[rollingblock]

Its been a bit of a safe queen lately but its much too good a rifle for that.

[303Guy]

Beauty! You know, single shots have always appealed to me! I think when I do finally get or build one it's going to be BP and a fairly large cased cartridge. (Mind you, a 45-90 fits on a Lee Enfield action!)

I could turn the dough-nut off but I would rather leave it there as a seating stop. (Much simpler to form cases - lazy maybe!) A problem I foresee is the residual shape irregularity which will result in a thinner section of the case after turning.

I formed a 35/303 case today and that would solve the dough-nut problem just fine. I'm sure it would be plenty gun and would suite a shorter barrel just fine too. Any bullet weight over 250 grs is going to be overkill anyway (which is what I want. Overkilled critters don't seem to go far, for some reason!)

[rollingblock]

38-303 case with lyman 250gr and the off center barrel

[Euan]

Building and hunting with a 303-375 (375/303) Lee Enfield carbine has been on my mind for a while now. Who loads for and hunts with one? With paper patch boolits? (That is my intention).

Giday 303 Guy, If picture works, From left Loaded 375/303 Rounds. CBE 376 300 grain Gas Check of WW, then a CBE 376 265 With GC Heel paper Patched soft lead weighs 315 grains, 3rd lyman 375- 449 gas Check of WW, Last .369 CBE ajustable length mold 270 grain PP of soft lead. These are loaded to 1850 to 1950 fps. I would not use them in Rollin Blocks Low Wall. I have used them in My Win HiWall 85, my 95 Win, Martini. & even on a No 4 with no problems. case life is excellent. We have shot 100s of head of game over the years with them. Red deer, Fallow deer, White Tail deer, pigs, goats, chamois, even rabbits & hares.
I don't think that I would ever be without a 375/303. cheap to feed with cast boolits easy to shoot without excessive recoil, Kills well, have had no complaints from any of their prey.
Cheer Euan.

[303Guy]

Thanks, Euan & Rollingblock.

It's sure good to see my hypothetical 'creation' is actually a sound working cartridge, tried and tested. Now to build mine! I have to start with a barrel re-boring tool .... Building the rifling machine will be fun!

What is accuracy do you folks achieve with the 375/303?

[docone31]

Heck .303Guy, building a rifleing machine is a simple task.
Get a table, get a large wood beam, about 4" in length. Make a collar. Take the beam, and with a string, wrap the string to the twist. Spray paint it. Remove the spray paint. Route out the channel.
Take the collar, and put a tab in the end. Make it so it indexes on the points needed.
On the end of the beam, put a wood dowel, less than the finished diameter of the bore. At the end of that, put a small file. Shim the file with paper to get the heights.
Now, push the file in, and out of the bore. By pushing on the beam, and haveing it travel the length of the barrel to be rifled, the collar which is stationary, turns the beam, which turns the file.
With a little experimentation, you should have a rifleing machine.
In all reality, it might be simpler to just get a barrel, but imagine how it will feel to have done it completely.
They do that with muzzle loaders, on large twists, you would just tighten up the twist for smokeless.

[303Guy]

I am thinking of a lathe bed mounted device with a gear drive connecting the spindle to the cutting attachment that has a slight differential rotational speed as it is driven by the feed screw. My lathe is small so the rifling length will be limited. Failing that, I know someone with a barrel rifling machine. He has won competitions using barrels he has made for himself.

[docone31]

I figuired you would know someone.
Those machines are pretty scarce here.
I would go for the friends machine.
Sounds like a serious rifle.

[windrider919]

Hi 303Guy

I know you are equipped through the British military sys surpluss so 303 is what you might tend to work with but there is actually a very good 375 cartridge you might consider. I used to shoot 375H&H but it was just too overbore with lighter bullets and the rifles bigger than I liked. So once when I got a 375 barrel and had a Remington 700 regular action I built a 375-06. Actually a 375 Whelen with the 40 degree Ackley shoulder for better headspace. A super shooter and exceedingly accurate it was very versitle with both bullets and powders. And I could form the brass easily, usually only loosing one or two per 50.

Do a search for .375-06 or to see a picture of a regular shoulder 375-06 see:
http://www.ammo-one.com/375-06JDJ.html

so unless you just have to have a rimed case you might look at this one.

Note: I do not like the 375JDJ because of the short neck but it is the only picture I could find.

[Buckshot]

The JDJ version looks like a Rocky Gibbs conversion. Blow the case out almost straight an put a minimal neck length on it. Heck, just convert the SMLE to 444 Marlin or 45-90.

...............Buckshot

[Frank46]

303GUY, had some thoughts along the same lines. Just neck up the 303 case and seat a lyman 375 gas checked bullet. Had some good discussions on the assra web site sometime back. Another cartridge you may want to consider is the 375 2.5 nitro express. If I remember correctly pushes a 300gr jacketed bullet at about 1900 feet per second. Think Bertram makes brass for this one and was once chambered in the lee speed rifles. If brass isn't available you could trim down 405 winchester cases to 2.5" and have pacific tool and guage cut you a finishing reamer. Make up a ring die to size just about 3/8 of the case. And you should be good to go. Even went so far as to cut down a #4 MKI* junk receiver by removeing the charger bridge and lowering the left wall with files and then spent some long hours cleaning the entire receiver up. but since I have a champange taste and a beer pocket book decided to finally get an origional high wall action barrelled to 38-55 and go from there. Had a winchester 70 in 375 H&H many years ago, two boxes of cartridges later was more fun than I could take. So that one went down the road for something else. Frank

[Euan]

Thanks, Euan & Rollingblock.

It's sure good to see my hypothetical 'creation' is actually a sound working cartridge, tried and tested. Now to build mine! I have to start with a barrel re-boring tool .... Building the rifling machine will be fun!

What is accuracy do you folks achieve with the 375/303?

303 Guy; Acurracy is pretty good. The target was shot at 100 yards off a bench with my Win Hi Wall 30'' barrel, 1 in 12'' twist, Lyman 375-449 GC 285 grain of WW @ 1950 fps. the High 3 were getting a zero. The I ajusted the tang down a little and fired 5 shots that went pretty good, but I duffed the last shot. But still not bad For a huntin rifle. It just shows you dont look after shot 4 to see how ya going.
The next picture is the 85 High wall, sorry about the quality of pic. She is just about my favourate rifle.
Cheers Euan.

[303Guy]

Thanks for all the input guys!

Euan, there's nothing wrong with your rifle! Hunting with a singhle shot must be very satisfying! (I have the beginnings of a single shot in the form of a shotgun which is destined to get a barrel insert to make it a rifle. It will get a suppressor and scope - I'm a scope person).

The reason for wanting a 375/303 is standardization on the Lee Enfield action and a desire for a ten shot magazine. The rifle is intended as a short barreled bush carbine. Our bush conditions can be quite challenging! Muddy, steep, irregular and heavy undergrouth. The gun butt is likely to be used as a 'mud pick' to keep from slipping down a slippery slope. The gun would be fitted with one of my own suppressor/break creations which will also serve to keep mud and debtis out of the muzzle.

I have considered the 444 and 45-70 or 45-90 but magazine capacity would be lost and there would be some action mods required.

A 41/303 was my first consideration. I could theoretically creat a 375/444 or even a 41/444. Another contender is the 9.5x45 - made by cutting the 303 Brit case off at the shoulder/body juntion leaving a case length of 45mm. Or 10x45 (41cal).

In the end, what I want is a cartridge that holds the patched boolit within its body like a 45-70 would - that's to keep the boolit protected and the catridge to a manageable length (I don't want too much power and recoil).

Another 303 based wildcat I have in the waiting is a 303-22 also for a Lee Enfield. That is basically a rimmed 220 Swift (pressure would be kept to Lee Enfield levels of course which would make is just shade behind the 22-250 - starting load levels, basically. I have a 1-in-14 twist barrel).

[JeffinNZ]

Peter, I have a Hawkins .38-303 on a MLE action. Shoots like a house on fire!!!! Mainly shoot BP in it but a full case of W748 under a 300gr soft cast bullet shoots WAY better than it has any right to.