.223 Lee Enfield???

MDR

MDR

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Is there such a beast in Canada? What would it cost to have one put together?
I know it is an odd request and YES it would be made from an already bubba'd rifle.

I spend my summers in an area that restricts caliber to .275 or less so my .303 is out of the question for plinking/coyotes and I'm a big fan of the LE so try and avoid saying "just get a different rifle made in .223" :)

Could I expect under 1k?

Cheers
Dave
 
A number of years ago, there was interest in making up No. 4 based rifles in 5.56/.223 for target shooting. The rifles shot well. They were single shot. The extractor has to be adapted.
In Australia, repeating versions have been made up. Bolthead is altered with a recess, magazines were fitted.
A take-off barrel could be retrofitted. Should be able to pick up a barrel in the EE for a very reasonable price. Fitting could cost $100 - $150.
For a plinking/coyote rifle, might be better to just buy a Stevens 200 or some such.
 
I'm in that same caliber restriction area.
Now , I'm all for seeing a LE in .223 but the cost would be pretty high
I use a Swede Mauser for those long range coyote.
The 6.5 mm is good to go
 
A friend used to make them up as single shot gopher guns. He used a 1 piece stock and a heavy truck axle barrel and re-worked the bolthead to handle the .223 Remington. They were butt ugly, but shot well. The No4 receiver looked pretty flimsy on a heavy barrel. He only used Long Branch or Savage actions to make them, claiming that these were stronger than any of the Brit production.
 
MDR said:
I spend my summers in an area that restricts caliber to .275 or less so my .303 is out of the question for plinking/coyotes
Click to expand...

Yes, there will be a caliber restriction for hunting, but for plinking there is no restriction. I'd say if you want to hunt coyote, go get a .223 hunting rifle, and keep the LE for plinking. You can easliy pick up a more than capable hunting rifle for sub $400.

A person hunting small game may not carry or use a rifle of greater calibre than a .275-calibre rifle, except a muzzle-loading gun, in the geograhic areas of Brant, Chatham-Kent, Durham, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Halton, Hamilton, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Northumberland, Oxford, Peel, Perth, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington or York.
Click to expand...
From http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@fw/documents/document/239852.pdf
 
yep id go het a sub .275" gunim looking at the swede mauser my self becaue my looking for the right bubbaed lee enfield is not going well if the action is good i will not touch them if the charger guide and rear sight base has been ground off i willmy plan was a .303 based wildcat .22/.303

id like something semi auto but the swede will fit the bill with a cast load
 
Aussies also have a real nice round called the .25/303: .303 brass necked to .25-cal bullet, trimmed.

Sudden death on 'roos.

If you are going .223, a single-shot would be relatively easy: new barrel or a liner, new chamber, mod the bolt-face, channel in the Bolt to handle the longer Ejector........ or just arrange the Extractor for a LOT of side-throw and use friction for ejection, same as the LE. Building as a repeater, you might even be able to get it to work with one of those old 40-round Sterling magazines....... if such exist anywhere outside the dreams of the most senile of us Old Farts. We seem to remember when these things were actually LEGAL. Of course, anything's legal in a Bolt Action...... or so we are told by Our Glorious Leaders.
 
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I am so old that I can remember back in Ontario when that .275 calibre law came in. As a Ground Hog hunter then, there were lots of .303 rifles available, and there were even more people who bought a .303 and used the cheap and plentiful full metal jacket ball ammunition all over the countryside. That was the reason for that law.

While the .223 conversion of a Lee Enfield is possible, economically it is not the best choice. For $350 you could buy a .223, or even better, a .22-250 Savage Axis package rifle, complete with a scope. For $425, Ruger makes the "American" model in .22-250 and .243, (which would give you a dual purpose coyote/deer rifle) and Remington has just come out with a new model in the same price range that looks like it might be promising. Within your $1000 outline, you could add a good scope and reloading equipment and still have enough to take the Wife out for Dinner at a good restaurant.

There are some pretty good cartridges based on the .303 case, as mentioned. I once had a P-14 made by Crandall in the .22 Crandall Varmint-R, a cartridge that was similar dimensioned to a .22-250, (with a rim) and it was deadly. I also made up a 6.5-303 rifle. I was given a 6.5 barrel, and I had an old Lyman resizing die for the 6.5 Japanese. This die used a vise to resize cases, and a .303 would be sized down with one operation. Then it was trimmed slightly and loaded with standard 6.5 Japanese reloading dies. Really was an accurate cartridge.

Good luck, whichever way you decide.
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marstar has a bunch of old stock, never fired or assembled actions for sale instead of moddifying a sporter if you prefer.

Im sure you could have someone re-barrel it for you, there's a thread where someone is moddifying them for 45 ACP, and I have an enfield thats re-barreled for 45-70.
 
buffdog said:
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I am so old that I can remember back in Ontario when that .275 calibre law came in. As a Ground Hog hunter then, there were lots of .303 rifles available, and there were even more people who bought a .303 and used the cheap and plentiful full metal jacket ball ammunition all over the countryside. That was the reason for that law.
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Click to expand...

not really there is no rule saying ou need a expanding bullet here the .275" cal law is in southern ont for the most part were cities/towns tend to be close up north i can legaly use a surplus round on deer,moose,bear,ect no that i would although i have seen what a .303 mk 7 ball does to a deer
 
The point was not that the ball ammunition was not intended to expand - it was that a lot of .303s had been sold off surplus, and some folks were popping off shots all over southern Ontario farmland, shooting at woodchucks, etc. The .275 regulation is flawed, but the object was to encourage the use of bullets that would break up, instead of continuing on and on.
 
Yes, that old military FMJ ammo had a lot of range and a lot of penetration. We had a case just a few miles from here, about 40 years ago, half-cut city hunter saw a house about a mile away and wondered if he could hit it. Bullet went through the wall, bounced off the fridge and killed a 4-year-old boy. In half an hour there were 200 guys out in the bush, looking for the guy; they caught him, turned him over to the RCMP. Trial (manslaughter) was held in Winnipeg because NO chance of getting a lenient jury around here.

"The Lord looks after fools and drunks", we are told. Must be true because there seems to be a never-ending supply of both.

Six-five fifty-five is a WONDERFUL cartridge, though. Load with a 120 for Antelope, 140 for Deer, 160 for Elk and Moose.

Soft-points, PLEASE.
 
A lot of rural land is a lot more settled now than it was when I was young. I could go hunting on my bicycle, and I lived in a city of 45,000. It is sad seeing the posts from people living in large cities now, surrounded by rural agricultural land, asking where they can go to shoot.
A centrefire rifle is loud. A lot of people will hear shots. Good chance that some will call the police. Anyway, converting a LE to .223 can be done, but unless you have a cheap barrel, and do the work yourself, it is not cost effective.
 
In the summers I am fortunate enough to have a good amount of bush/farmland available to shoot without houses nearby, not concerned with neighbours calling cops as I'm usually out shooting with my neighbours :)
So the verdict is I can use my .303 in WMU73 for targets and plinking just not for hunting?

Budget firearms have their place, I'm interested in the .223 Enfield for the same reason that the people with their .45acp Enfields are, cheap to shoot and its an enfield :)

So the question is, how much is it to have a barrel threaded and a bolt modified (if the UK seller does not respond to my message)?

Cheers
 
smellie said:
Aussies also have a real nice round called the .25/303: .303 brass necked to .25-cal bullet, trimmed.

Sudden death on 'roos.

If you are going .223, a single-shot would be relatively easy: new barrel or a liner, new chamber, mod the bolt-face, channel in the Bolt to handle the longer Ejector........ or just arrange the Extractor for a LOT of side-throw and use friction for ejection, same as the LE. Building as a repeater, you might even be able to get it to work with one of those old 40-round Sterling magazines....... if such exist anywhere outside the dreams of the most senile of us Old Farts. We seem to remember when these things were actually LEGAL. Of course, anything's legal in a Bolt Action...... or so we are told by Our Glorious Leaders.
Click to expand...

Yes and no-if your bolt action uses a magazine intended for a S/A-it is limited to 5 rounds-UNLESS there is a recognized pistol that uses the same mag-10 rds
 
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