New to the safe Lithgow No1 MKIII

[BigEyeBob]

http://www.ozgunsales.com/thumbs/small_trophyarms_web_pics_004_1444359622.jpg

http://www.ozgunsales.com/thumbs/small_trophyarms_web_pics_005_1444359605.jpg

Purchased this Lithgow No1MkIII today ,chambered in 303/25 , was a custom job from the Lithgow factory
was never issued for military service . Field side scope mount and a nice sporting stock .
Magazine is non existent but I'm sure I can find a couple in my spares box.
Three rifles in the same wildcat calibre must be breeding and attaching themselves to me.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

The 303 wildcats are very effective hunting cartridge against todays sporting magnums. This is my No. 4 303/270!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/SMLE270_A.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/SMLE270_A.jpg.html)

[BigEyeBob]

[QUOTE=Bad *** Wallace;3442438]The 303 wildcats are very effective hunting cartridge against todays sporting magnums. This is my No. 4 303/270!

I also have a 303/270 but it's a Mauser KAR98 , very comfortable to shoot and accurate ,I'm loading some crackers up for it at the moment
100GN Taipan Jwords ,when I'm out of them I have some Speer 160's to load up . Taipan Jwords are just about unobtainable these days
One of my 303/25's is a Mauser 96 , I can load it a bit stouter than my SMLE MkIII in the same calibre.
98 on the left , 96 to the right

[dromia]

6mm Musgrave is another fine 303 wildcat, now commercially made.

The Musgrave No1 conversions are fine rifles too, cracking deer rifle.

[HollowPoint]

Can you clarify for me; are these 270, 25 and 6mm 303's just necked down British 303 caliber cartridges or are they something else?

I necked my Enfield from the .311 to .308. I thought about necking down even further but, I already had rifles that shot smaller caliber bullets. I just didn't know how far down I could go.

HollowPoint

[dromia]

For the 6mm Musgrave I just neck down ordinary 303 cases I usually put them through a 7mm die first then onto the 6mm Musgrave die.

Depending on the make of brass the neck may or may not need reaming.

[BigEyeBob]

Can you clarify for me; are these 270, 25 and 6mm 303's just necked down British 303 caliber cartridges or are they something else?

I necked my Enfield from the .311 to .308. I thought about necking down even further but, I already had rifles that shot smaller caliber bullets. I just didn't know how far down I could go.

HollowPoint

Yes 303 necked down to 270, 25 and 6 mm , there was also a 243 /303 and two 22/303 one with a shortened case and the other with the standard 303 case length.(not sure if the 243 conversion was the Musgrave that Dromia is referring to ).Also a 303/375
The reason they were developed here in Oz is because when the Govt sold off the surplus SMLE's in a couple of states here military calibres were not allowed in civilian hands so these were developed to get around the stupid law.
The other reason is the rifles were cheap , imported firearms were expensive and mostly affordable so the alternative was to convert the surplus rifles .
the most popular was the 303/25 . There were a couple of 303/25 improved cartridges as well with a blown out shoulder .I believe 303/35 is becoming popular in NZ .Canadian fellow by the name of Epps was also into 303 conversions .
Be interested in finding out more regarding the commercial availability of the 6mm version . Most of the above cartridges are only hand loaded now by enthusiasts ,although one company here in OZ (Unique Munitions ) is loading some 303/270 and 303/25 cartridges for commercial sale .
I form all of my brass using PPU brass , its top quality and is closer in dimensions to the original British specs .
PPU makes the already formed 303/25 brass .

Forgot to mention the 7.7 x 54R , which was a shortened 303 case .
The barrel was removed from the action and 2 mm removed from the chamber end and shoulder , rim recess re-cut along with the extractor groove and re fitted to the action .The case is trimmed and the shoulder pushed back and the projectile replaced with a 140Gn
This was done to circumvent the NSW dumb assed law regarding military calibres in civilian hands.Standard 303 will not chamber .
303 load data is used for reloading .

Now it just so happens I have such a barrel chambered for this round and a Lithgow factoryNo1 MkIII sporter 303/25 with a badly eroded barrel which surprizingly still shoots ok (2 1/2 " group at 100yds ), but will wear this barrel soon. Just because I can

[PAT303]

The 303/22 was very popular when I was a kid,it was made in a shorter case called the wasp from memory and the full length case necked down,one design was the sprinter too if I can remember correctly.There has been a resurgence in 303's around my parts,I was asked for advice twice today about people wanting to own and shoot them which is good for me as I can get a competition started if I get enough numbers.I won't part with any of my 303's or my M17 actioned 303/25. Pat

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Our overseas brothers would probably be more familar with the 303 Epps Improved!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/epps-vi.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/epps-vi.jpg.html)

[HollowPoint]

That's interesting.

When I re-barreled mine I didn't get the improvement in accuracy that I'd hoped with the full length barrel. I chalked that up to my inexperience with re-barreling. I recently cut down that same barrel to 17.5" in order to use my suppressor without it being overly long.

Now, at 17.5" long; shooting 130 grain cast bullets it's surprisingly accurate. I can't explain why. I'm just happy it's shooting as good as it does.

I have another Lee Enfield receiver banging around in my junk-drawer that I've been thinking of re-barreling. The reason this thread has peaked my interest is because I've been wondering what I might be able to do with this extra receiver.

By the way; with all of these 303 caliber variants, how do you guys go about deciding on a safe load? With my gun, I used the minimum load listing for the 303 British and those loads were for next heaviest bullet weight. For example: If I were loading a 150 grain slug, I'd use the minimum charge weight of a 160 grain slug; mainly out of paranoia and just to be safe.

When shooting a 25/303 or 6mm/303, how would you arrive at a safe load? Is there already a load listing for those 303 variations?

HollowPoint

[dromia]

You are looking for loads that don't exceed the max pressure of the 303 British.

I based my loads on 243 win loading and used Quickload as predictor.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

There are plenty of converted No.1 MK3's converted but as other posters have said, Mausers, Arisakas, P14 Enfields have been converted. Unlike the rear locking SMLE, these strong actions take the 303 wildcats into another world. My '25 is a P14 Remington and working loads are equal the 256 Roberts. The 303/22 is a full length case and built on a Winchester M17 with a Rem P14 bolt again loads match 22/250 with good accuracy and power!

[PAT303]

Our overseas brothers would probably be more familar with the 303 Epps Improved!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/epps-vi.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/epps-vi.jpg.html)I'm thinking of turning my No.4 into and Epps,I've heard the Gunsmiths at Sefton have a reamer. Pat

[PAT303]

That's interesting.

When I re-barreled mine I didn't get the improvement in accuracy that I'd hoped with the full length barrel. I chalked that up to my inexperience with re-barreling. I recently cut down that same barrel to 17.5" in order to use my suppressor without it being overly long.

Now, at 17.5" long; shooting 130 grain cast bullets it's surprisingly accurate. I can't explain why. I'm just happy it's shooting as good as it does.

I have another Lee Enfield receiver banging around in my junk-drawer that I've been thinking of re-barreling. The reason this thread has peaked my interest is because I've been wondering what I might be able to do with this extra receiver.

By the way; with all of these 303 caliber variants, how do you guys go about deciding on a safe load? With my gun, I used the minimum load listing for the 303 British and those loads were for next heaviest bullet weight. For example: If I were loading a 150 grain slug, I'd use the minimum charge weight of a 160 grain slug; mainly out of paranoia and just to be safe.

When shooting a 25/303 or 6mm/303, how would you arrive at a safe load? Is there already a load listing for those 303 variations?

HollowPoint I work out loads like normal,keep adding powder until I feel the extraction start to tighten up,drop back a grain and go shooting.The LE action isn't a time bomb. Pat

[BigEyeBob]

When shooting a 25/303 or 6mm/303, how would you arrive at a safe load? Is there already a load listing for those 303 variations?

HollowPoint[/QUOTE]

I have some old reloading data manuals , one by Nick Harvey, first edition has info on most of the 303 based variants , and the latest edition No9 has some of them with the ADI powder information.
ADI website has load data for them as well and a conversion chart for Hodgon and Winchester powders which are mostly made by ADI.

[HollowPoint]

When shooting a 25/303 or 6mm/303, how would you arrive at a safe load? Is there already a load listing for those 303 variations?

HollowPoint

I have some old reloading data manuals , one by Nick Harvey, first edition has info on most of the 303 based variants , and the latest edition No9 has some of them with the ADI powder information.
ADI website has load data for them as well and a conversion chart for Hodgon and Winchester powders which are mostly made by ADI.[/QUOTE]


This is the type of info I was hoping for. I have yet to decide what, if anything I'll do with my spare receiver. I'm wanting to pick something that isn't similar in performance to calibers I already have. I wish I would have known some of this stuff before re-chambering/re-barreling on my first go around. I may have very well gone the lighter-bullet route rather than going with .308 caliber bullets.

HollowPoint

[303Guy]

Just google 6mm Musgrave. The ADI website has load data for the 25 but it's a bit basic. I have some load data for the 25 - my own.

My initial load for my 25/303 using 87gr bullets and Varget produced stunning accuracy in my 25 inch slim barreled Lithgow.

In my opinion, the 25/303 is the optimum small bore wildcat for the Lee Enfield. It at least equals the 250 Savage.

[PAT303]

The limiting factor with the 25/303 is the twist,every one I've had in my hands was a 1-12 which is only good to 100grns. Pat

[Rustyleee]

It seems a 303 necked up to a .35 might be a good shooter like we have done here with the 30/06 up to a .35 or even a .400. Is that done much?

[303Guy]

There are/were a few 35/303's floating around. There used to be 375/303's too. The maker supplied dies that ironed out the case thickness where the neck used to be. That's an idea I like a lot.

My 25/303 has a 10" twist. I'll go check it again in case I got it wrong.

[PAT303]

It seems a 303 necked up to a .35 might be a good shooter like we have done here with the 30/06 up to a .35 or even a .400. Is that done much?
I've worked with one based on a large frame martini and a mate had a 358 on a rem 700 action and both were emphatic pig stoppers with 250grn RN cast out of AC 50/50 alloy. Pat

[PAT303]

There are/were a few 35/303's floating around. There used to be 375/303's too. The maker supplied dies that ironed out the case thickness where the neck used to be. That's an idea I like a lot.

My 25/303 has a 10" twist. I'll go check it again in case I got it wrong.
If it's got a 1-10 I can sell you a near new RCBS 120grn twin cavity mold for a good price. Pat

[303Guy]

If it's got a 1-10 I can sell you a near new RCBS 120grn twin cavity mold for a good price. PatThat is tempting, thanks! Unfortunately the bore looks rough and may not like cast boolits. I plan on range testing it with jwords soon. If it's a lemon I'll first try shortening the barrel bit by bit. If the bore cleans up then I'll get back to you.