.303 wildcats?

you will find some .25-.303 and .22-303 rifles thay where poplar in the 20's

the .22-303 go's by a few names .22 rocket and .22-4000

i my self im thinking about making one from a #4 mk1 action but .303 brass is getting pricey
 
I picked up a lot of Federal .303 brass on the range from guys who shoot factory. I bought a no 4 sporter a few moths ago and it's lots of fun. I"m toying with a 6.5/303 on a no 4 action and a Boyd's stock. Might be just another fantasy.
 
migrant hunter said:
I picked up a lot of Federal .303 brass on the range from guys who shoot factory. I bought a no 4 sporter a few moths ago and it's lots of fun. I"m toying with a 6.5/303 on a no 4 action and a Boyd's stock. Might be just another fantasy.
Click to expand...

yea dont pull a hole gun down though just buy a action i hate when bubba has his way with a millsurp just becuse its cheap
 
303EppsFan said:
It's an improved 303 British. Sharper shoulder, less body taper to improve powder capacity. Can be chambered on the existing action/barrel.
Click to expand...

Actually in speaking with Ellwood a couple decades ago he said the design was not to gain more capacity, but to let the walls grab the chamber more securely so there would be less case stretch. There is an improvement in velocity, but that was secondary to his primary reason. Epps store still does the conversion. Steve Redgewell has some really good books out on the 303 that are well worth the read.

Clymer still sells the reamers for the various wilcats so you do not have any problem with rechamber. Epps sells actions but I have not seen one, just seen them forr sale
 
migrant hunter said:
I picked up a lot of Federal .303 brass on the range from guys who shoot factory. I bought a no 4 sporter a few moths ago and it's lots of fun. I"m toying with a 6.5/303 on a no 4 action and a Boyd's stock. Might be just another fantasy.
Click to expand...

The last thing I would do is build a gun around the fact that I have federal brass available. Winchester, yes. Federal, no.
 
aletheuo said:
The last thing I would do is build a gun around the fact that I have federal brass available. Winchester, yes. Federal, no.
Click to expand...

brass is brass when its free right now at $60 for 100 brass and sometimes more

remington brass is like $40 for 50 brass wow

ive bought a gun just becuse i have brass for it alot of people do lol R:d:
 
Everyone has favourite breeds of brass, dogs or trucks. I like Federal because I have used it for years, simply because my .243 liked Federal factory years ago before I got into loading. I use Winchester in my .308 because that's what I have most of. Some guy shoots Federal factory on the range with a Garand and does'nt clean up after himself, so I had to buy a P17.
I FL size for the 1st time, then neck size all my range brass. I don't run them hard, and I bin anyting I don't like the look of(it's free, no point in taking chances)
Sometimes I swing by the range just to dive in the garbage cans.
Some people don't like Federal, some don't like Winchester and some don't like skinny chicks.
I have a bunch of .303 brass, Enfeild actions are cheap, and I need something in 6.5.
 
camerl2009 said:
yea dont pull a hole gun down though just buy a action i hate when bubba has his way with a millsurp just becuse its cheap
Click to expand...

Hundreds of former military actions have been converted over the years by reputable smiths, Ellwood Eps among them. That hardly makes him Bubba. If it's a rare collectable that's one thing, if it's run of the mill common then enjoy yourself.
 
I have a 22 303 on a high wall action, 6MM 303 on a martini action and a 6.5 303 on a Ross action. The 6 mm and 6.5 were built buy epps a long time ago
John
 
medic11210 said:
Actually in speaking with Ellwood a couple decades ago he said the design was not to gain more capacity, but to let the walls grab the chamber more securely so there would be less case stretch. There is an improvement in velocity, but that was secondary to his primary reason.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you had much the same conversation with him that I did.
 
303EppsFan said:
Hundreds of former military actions have been converted over the years by reputable smiths, Ellwood Eps among them. That hardly makes him Bubba. If it's a rare collectable that's one thing, if it's run of the mill common then enjoy yourself.
Click to expand...

yes true but its something that does not have to be done if you want something better buy a remington or savage dont destroy a piece of history
its not your rifle nor is it the guy's it was issued to it should be taken care of and handed down.

i have 2 both are no 4 mk 1's and one of them has not been shot since 1945 it was issued to my great grandfather and i have his shooter witch has had the barrel replaced by me becuse there was almost no rifling left in the barrel

theres lots of pulled down actions for sale dont buy a rifle to do this with unless its in real poor shape just dont do it
 
I saw a winchester model??? lever gun in what the old guy called a .338 epps.
It was in 38-55 and the chamber was reamed longer and 303 brit brass was shortened and formed. also had to trim the rim smaller. tried to buy it but did'nt have the scratch at the time damnit
 
camerl2009 said:
yes true but its something that does not have to be done if you want something better buy a remington or savage dont destroy a piece of history
its not your rifle nor is it the guy's it was issued to it should be taken care of and handed down.

i have 2 both are no 4 mk 1's and one of them has not been shot since 1945 it was issued to my great grandfather and i have his shooter witch has had the barrel replaced by me becuse there was almost no rifling left in the barrel

theres lots of pulled down actions for sale dont buy a rifle to do this with unless its in real poor shape just dont do it
Click to expand...

I agree as sporting actions are common place these days it may well be cheaper to convert one of these. At the time most military actions were converted they were cheap and readily available.
However not many commercial sporter actions are suitable for the rimmed .303 Brit.
I've seen P14 sporters going for as little as $150 bucks at a local gun show recently.
I admit I take issue sometimes with the term "Bubba" being applied to any gun that was modified in any wise, it hardly applies to skilled conversions.
 
migrant hunter said:
Everyone has favourite breeds of brass, dogs or trucks. I like Federal because I have used it for years, simply because my .243 liked Federal factory years ago before I got into loading. I use Winchester in my .308 because that's what I have most of. Some guy shoots Federal factory on the range with a Garand and does'nt clean up after himself, so I had to buy a P17.
I FL size for the 1st time, then neck size all my range brass. I don't run them hard, and I bin anyting I don't like the look of(it's free, no point in taking chances)
Sometimes I swing by the range just to dive in the garbage cans.
Some people don't like Federal, some don't like Winchester and some don't like skinny chicks.
I have a bunch of .303 brass, Enfeild actions are cheap, and I need something in 6.5.
Click to expand...

I have had some bad luck with Federal .303 brass. I experienced numerous comlpete case head separations with full lenght re-sized brass on the first reload with starting loads as per Lyman manual.
Solution was to
1. neck size only and
2. use brass that was fired only from the same gun.

Keep a close eye on things if you full length size your brass and especially if it was fired from a different rifle before you re-loaded it.
I ended up scrapping about 100 empty federal cases and started off with new factory stuff which only sees the chamber of my No4 Mk2. Expensive yes, but way less hassle than removing a stuck case with no rim from a chamber.

I usually get 3 or 4 reloadings per case, with neck sizing only, before I see more case head issues.
 
Building a 6.5 on a .303

migrant hunter said:
I picked up a lot of Federal .303 brass on the range from guys who shoot factory. I bought a no 4 sporter a few moths ago and it's lots of fun. I"m toying with a 6.5/303 on a no 4 action and a Boyd's stock. Might be just another fantasy.
Click to expand...

I have in fact just completed my design for a 6.5 on the .303.

There are so many good Lee Enfield Mk4s available now in my country as government has brought along their new gun laws and people are handing them in to be welded up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom