303 re-bbl

[runfiverun]

i seen a bubba'd 303 at the local shop.
and was thinking of a re-bbl to 30-30.
is this feasable? will the 303 bolt work with the 30-30 case head?
could i even find a bbl that will screw onto the frame?
or have some threads cut-off and re-chambered leaving the 31 whatever groove diameter bbl in place. [depending on how good the bbl is of course]
or would i be better off having the mauser i'm working on bbl'd for another type of long necked 30 cal case.
thinking 13 or 14 twist.
just working on a 1-300 yd target gun.
but with some speed.

[mpmarty]

If you're going to re-barrel I'd stay away from the SMLE 303 and opt for something with front locking lugs and a stiffer action. On a good cast cartridge for what you are looking for I'd go with a 30/40 Krag. Great cartridge with a nice long neck.

[Multigunner]

i seen a bubba'd 303 at the local shop.
and was thinking of a re-bbl to 30-30.
is this feasable? will the 303 bolt work with the 30-30 case head?
could i even find a bbl that will screw onto the frame?
or have some threads cut-off and re-chambered leaving the 31 whatever groove diameter bbl in place. [depending on how good the bbl is of course]
or would i be better off having the mauser i'm working on bbl'd for another type of long necked 30 cal case.
thinking 13 or 14 twist.
just working on a 1-300 yd target gun.
but with some speed.

Lithgow SMLE rifles have been rebarreled or shortened and rechambered to .30-30 and .30-40 many times.
The .30-40 should work fine in the Enfield action and magazine, cut down Krag cases were long used by handloaders when boxer primed .303 cases were hard to find and expensive. Much of the milsurp WW1 .303 manufactured in the US had problems with cracking at the shoulder so it wasn't much good for hand loading.
.30-40 Krag ammo was sold off dirt cheap to be broken down for components. Krag bullets were once a favorite for working up .30-06 loads for Moose and other very large game animals.

In Australia the .30-40 is an old time favorite as a target cartridge as well as for hunting. Some Jurisdictions had laws against owning a .303 rifle, and many old time hunters were forced to turn over any .303 rifles to the Government during WW2 and most never got theirs back. So despite the popularity of the .303 cartridge many hunters liked to have rifles in a caliber that the government couldn't confiscare in time of war.

I've considered converting an old Lithgow action to .30-30 or .32 Winchester Special, The extractor and ejection work fine, but some may find they have to alter the extractor to let it push the case over far enough to eject properly.

The rear of the mag may be blocked and a different spring and altered follower used, but I would think that soldering or riveting L cross section internal rails on each side of the mag box to limit rearwards movement of the cartridge would work better.

I've used salvaged .30-30 bullets in .303 handloads with good results. The bullets of the .30-30 seem to bump up well enough to seal.

The .30-40 is probably the best choice, unless you intend to use the rifle for punching paper only.
Then again the smaller capacity .30-03 case may be more efficient with light target loads.
I'd go for a new barrel unless the .303 bore slugged out on the tight end of the scale. I have a 1915 SMLE with true .311 bore, which is far from being common most bores being greatly over sized.
The Krag rifles could have bores as large as .310 and still pass inspection, so the bullets used for the cartridge generally bump up nicely.

There were a few Mausers built in .303 using a Rigby style extended floorplate to accomodate the rimmed case.
A family owned custom gun shop in England has made some very nice .30-30 rifles on a commercial Mauser type action. I've seen one and the workmanship is superb.

[Artful]

It's fun getting off the old 303 barrel unless it's a savage - you do have other choices -(thou 30-40 Krag is a good round), 7.62x39, 444 marlin, 44 mag, 45-70 even 7.62x54 for cheap ammo - I converted one to 45 ACP with a kit from SIA out of Nevada.

http://www.specialinterestarms.com/

If I hadn't already converted a small ring mauser to 7.62x39 I'd do a SMLE.

[hunter64]

I seen one once years ago that was converted to .410 shotgun. Wonder how that patterned.

[runfiverun]

after thinking about it a bit more, i guess what i am looking for is a case that is in the @40 grs of powder range capacity wise, but with a longer neck.
i have somewhere seen a longer necked 308 with the shoulder pushed back.
and that might be okay, but i am thinking on a narrower case with about that same capacity.
something like a mauser body. maybe something like the 6.5x55 necked up, and the shoulder pushed back some.
i am targeting 22-2300 fps, and considernig a filler with a 165 gr. boolit.

[Bullshop]

How about a 35 Win or a 405 Win? The bolt head is correct and I am pretty sure the mag length is sufficient.

[Trifocals]

Without a second thought, I would go with the .30-40 Krag. The .303 British and the .30-40 Krag cases are almost identical so you should not have a feed problem. Or....if the barrel on your Enfield is in very good condition have your gunsmith set it back a thread and rechamber with a TIGHT .303 reamer. The very generous chamber dimensions on combat Enfields were not conducive to the best accuracy. LOL

[mroliver77]

Why not stay with the 303? It dont get any better thn that.
I have read but never experimented with running 30-06 reamer in to 308ish depth for a long neck .308. There was some posts a year or two back on here about such things.Jay

[bruce drake]

I agree with the idea of a 30-40 Krag barrel to renew an Enfield. I've been bouncing the idea of a 35-303 around my head for a couple of years and Pac-Nor barrels has agreed in the past to cut a barrel in that caliber but I haven't dedicated the funds to get the barrel yet. And I mean yet...

[zuke]

A 303 chamber reamer dropped into a 308 barrel would be the nicest way to go.
Fit's the stock and you get to use all those 30 cal bullet's.

[shooter93]

Nothing wrong with a 303 Lamar. I do think I'm going to re-barrel mine with a 308 pipe and shoot .311 cast out of it. On the idea of using the Krag....another good round, I did a 35 krag and shoot 250 grain lead out of it, if you'd be interested in a 35 caliber. I did it years ago when it was little known. I alreay paid Redding for the dies so they have the cutters to make the dies which wouldn't be custom anymore and If you send the pipe to me I;ll have Teddy chamber it for you. I bought the reamer too.

[MT Gianni]

303 has been wildcatted in Australia and New Zealand from 22-4xx as best i know. There are a lot of possibilities.

[JeffinNZ]

For the US I could see real benefits in slapping a .30cal barrel on it and chambering .30-40 Krag as mentioned.

I have a .38-303 that shoots like a house on fire as my BPCR. Great shooter.

[runfiverun]

i know the 303's do fine, i have two already.
and three 30-30's, one is a bolt gun.
what i am looking at is a 300 yd cast boolit target type rifle.
we have a shoot down at the club on wednesdays where we shoot little 3x7 squirell cut outs at 300 yds,and sttel bowling pins that need to knocked off the table, crows at 200, and a little circle i can't see in my 24 power scope at 100.
i think i have figured out a case that will work for me quite well actually.
and all i need is the bbl and a gunsmith [okay the funds too]
it is simply taking the 308 and pushing it into the 300 savage sizing die.
it gives the sharp shoulder of the 300 and the neck of almoost the 30-30.
turning a 2.010 case into a 2.020 long case, and it should easily handle 40-45 grs of medium- slow rate powders.
this should also feed from a mauser fairly well, as i know the 300 will feed in an arisaka action.