SMLE in 22 Hornet -anybody know who made this?

[pmatuk]

not sure if its the right spot for this but here I will put it
Dug out an old Lee project that was converted to 22Hornet
it has a cast aluminum mag adaptor that uses a savage 322 mag
I did some googling and all that came up that was mag fed was an Australian Lithgow -Slazenger 24 conversion that was done
this adaptor has a different mag release than the slazenger 24 and open in the front
Just wondering if anyone knows more about what this could be

 

[pmatuk]

What I was wondering if anybody knows of this conversion ,what I got is what is in the last picture
this how I received it
there is an ovaled hole in the LH side of receiver where mag recess ends and receiver is BSA&M.CO II dated 1893 -no provision for safety with bolt or receiver

the firing pin had been either cut or removed to the round area with the 2 holes that fits tool

the bolt face is recessed to to hold head of 22 hornet case and a slot cut to match hole in receiver for an extractor to ride in

the barrel is marked 22 lr and is 25 1/4 long and (rechambered) is chambered to 22 hornet flush with the face of chamber to have bolt head fit over and around case barrel

the cast aluminum mag adaptor replaces the floor plate ,goes into the mag well area and the trigger is hung from it and uses king screw and cross screw behind trigger to attach it .
The mag has a hole in the back side and the spring loaded spring that holds the mag in place is operated by the original mag release that is inside the trigger bow .When putting in the mag you have to hold the mag release or it will no go past the retaining pin that goes into the hole in back of mag
the adaptor has no markings and is painted ,and would say not a especially well fitting ,but fits

NOW what I done to it ,to get it to shoot
made a short spring loading firing pin to replace the missing tip, made an extractor as the face being recessed original type will not work ,put in a trigger and sear ,made up an ejector ,
would not feed from mag so mess around a bit ,modified front of mag now it feeds .Any way it now shoots and cycles as it should now

From google it is definitely not a Slazenger from Lithgow as they used the original floor plate to make up their system and they marked their barrel with their name /
I am guessing this is not a 1 off as the adaptor is cast .
I am going to guess that maybe a manufacturer made the adaptor and then the rifle would be finished by an end user (similar to a Rhineland kit )with instructions??

Any info would be appreciated on the maker of the adaptor as I am concluding this was not a factory conversion and put together with bunch of parts by an end user
Cheers Peter

 

[rempel429]

Sounds like at some point it was a 22 trainer made from an old lee metford to fill in in ww1 then the kit was put on and rechambered, pretty interesting conversion

 

[green]

FWIW International Montreal was selling similar arms c1970.

 

[tiriaq]

I remember those.

 

[points]

I saw my first one a few weeks ago. A guy brought it to the range and we all thought it was a bubbad .22 as that was how it was marked. Were surprised when a 22lr fell into the chamber. Some research showed they were converted post war in Australia and New Zealand for hunting rifles. It din't shoot worth a damn as the hornet is way to fast for the rifling.

 

[pmatuk]

not sure how the hornet is to fast for 1in 16 as my winchester 1885 hornet is also 1in 16 twist

 

[Buckmastr]

I've got one. But it's missing the magazine!

 

[bearhunter]

I saw my first one a few weeks ago. A guy brought it to the range and we all thought it was a bubbad .22 as that was how it was marked. Were surprised when a 22lr fell into the chamber. Some research showed they were converted post war in Australia and New Zealand for hunting rifles. It din't shoot worth a damn as the hornet is way to fast for the rifling.

That depends on the bullet weight, Those rifles really like bullets that weigh less than 40 grains or the bullets won't stabilize.

If you need or want to shoot heavier bullets, you need a tighter twist rate,

Some of those old rifles, just like some of the early Martini types were fitted with .220 bores and were stamped as such.

That is't anything to worry about, but in my experience jacketed bullets, unlike lead, don't do as well in slightly undersize bores

 

[woodchopper]

interesting.

I have something similar but built on a 1912 Royal Navy short .22 rifle Mk II trainer.

 

[anglia2]

I remember those.

So do I , the last one I saw would have been about 1980ish ........ gawd I'm old .

 

[tiriaq]

A 100+ year old soft steel liner for .22RF might not be the best choice for a jacketed bullet centerfire conversion...

 

[bearhunter]

A 100+ year old soft steel liner for .22RF might not be the best choice for a jacketed bullet centerfire conversion...

The conversion rifle I had was done with a rifle, which was fitted with a purpose built/chambered 220 bore for the 22LR.

It didn't have a provision for a magazine, such as that in the OP's pic.

That slot in the floor plate doesn't look long enough to accommodate a 22 Hornet mag.

Mine had a block glued in place, with a small groove on top to feed a cartridge from into the chamber. It was of course a single shot.

Supposedly the Australians liked these conversions to do Kangaroo culls.

 

[pmatuk]

yes enough room for mag and works great

 

[bearhunter]

yes enough room for mag and works great
View attachment 399825

Thanx for that. Nice rifle, you're a lucky man.

If it's the same as the rifle I had, the barrel wasn't sleeved. It was a purpose built 22LR with the same dimensions as a regular No1, bored for 303Brit.

I would have loved it to have a magazine. Being a single shot was the only reason I sold it.

Mine really liked 35 grain bullets and they were deadly on rabbits out to 150 yards

 

[pmatuk]

the barrel is an actual 22LR (no 220 stamped on it so a later barrel)dated either 43 or 46 and a rash of different numbers that don't match anything did forget to mention the receiver is DP marked
so the barrel is a purpose made 22 LR by an Enfield contractor with the SMLE contour and not a lined or sleeved 303 barrel

so in conclusion I would say this is a put together from parts and an unknown mag adaptor for the 22 hornet to be mag fed off a savage 322 hornet mag that did need mods to work .All in an interesting hornet in a SMLE configuration put together with bits and pieces and I now think I know who the smith that did this with near certainty (except for the ejector that I did )