Convert 303 to 308?

308 bolt head is a 303 bolt head with a different extractor to work with the rimless 308 case
and ok set it back two turns to get new 308 chamber cut.


Good info in that last post. Thanks for posting. Got me thinking a bit.
 
Evanguy said:
Your cheapest option since you have a no4 is to, buy a complete 308 bolt head and a 308 mag.
set the barrel back a turn and rechamber in 308. Then fire factory 308 ammo, or relaod 308 brass with 303 projectiles.

Ive seen/read of 308 projectiles in 303br brass in lee enfields still shooting nice groups. Useing a flat base bullets. Since there are soooooo many more options of .308 projectiles then .312.


Ive also converted two no1mk3's to 410. That was easy going. They are smooth bore .410 barrel. I just drilled out two rusty bore 303 barrels and polished the bored they ended up at .414". No chokes but they are good for upto 15 meters for shooting squirrls. There is a but of extra head space going on since the 303 and 410 rims are different thickness. I just used the longest bolt heads a i had. I could set the barrel back and rid the rifle of extra head space. But thats too much work i figured for such a low pressure rounds
Primers back out about .010"
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Did you just drill the chamber or the whole thing? Did you actually do it in your garage or pay someone? What is the longest bolt head you had? If your drilled the whole length have you tried 45LC?

I am very tempted to find the cheapest sporterized Enfield on the EE and do it.
 
Also since the enfield is now a shotgun does that mean the barrel can be cut down so the overall length is 26"? By a gun smith of course
 
I'm not sure about the barrel length thing, i left mine full length. i did the work my self, I'm a manual machinist, so i did it on my lunch break one day. i drilled the whole barrel with a 10.4mm drill, that gave me a bore of .411 then after sanding it smooth/kinda polished it slugs at .414 then i bored the chamber into it to the specs found on the saami pdf, they chambered for 3" shells, the pic of the bore is from before i cleaned it up, that's how the drill left it

my longest two bolt heads are .630 and .631

also they are both no1mk3, one has a no4 barrel on it, that i found installed on my LEC the knock form was upside down and a dove tail cut in the the bottom of the knox form also extractor cut on the opposite too . and the other has a no1 barrel on it

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Evanguy said:
I'm not sure about the barrel length thing, i left mine full length. i did the work my self, I'm a manual machinist, so i did it on my lunch break one day. i drilled the whole barrel with a 10.4mm drill, that gave me a bore of .411 then after sanding it smooth/kinda polished it slugs at .414 then i bored the chamber into it to the specs found on the saami pdf, they chambered for 3" shells, the pic of the bore is from before i cleaned it up, that's how the drill left it

my longest two bolt heads are .630 and .631

also they are both no1mk3, one has a no4 barrel on it, that i found installed on my LEC the knock form was upside down and a dove tail cut in the the bottom of the knox form also extractor cut on the opposite too . and the other has a no1 barrel on it
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Thanks for the great info. Which extractor do you have to get? How much would a machinist charge if some random guy walked in and asked to have this done?
 
Another option for making up a .410, etc., is to use the original barrel's breech as a bushing, and fit the new barrel to that. Drilling/reaming/chambering is already done.
There are lots of bitser Lee Enfields around, often with bad barrels. Great candidates for projects.
 
Im not sure what they would charge. All depends on the type of shop. I worked pretty quick and got alot of stuff ready before my breaks started and i probably spend 2 hours per barrel and these were old rust barrels i did not mind markng one bit. Also i used the lathe jaws instead of boreing soft jaws at the proper angle for the barrel.

Also sorry this is about the 410 in a no1. You do not need any thing else. Just the barrel drilled and bored, i dont have any extra mags so i didnt mod one to work with the 410 round yet but with a little work inside the mag it should work.

The extractor talk is about a 308 build on a no4
 
I have had 308 Barrels installed on #4's.

I use "shot out" target rifle barrels. By setting them back 2" and then chambering 308 and threading, they are like new. No need to change the bolt head or the extractor. The 303 extractor will pull the 308 case out an inch. No ejection. Makes good single shot plinker rifle.

Did one rifle with a 308 bolt head and a 308 magazine in a 308 Long Branch barrel. Sweet rifle.

My favourite rifle is a 308 barrel with a 303 reamer. I call it a 308 Brit. I can use 303 brass and 308 bullets. I have lots of both. Brass feeds from the magazine perfectly and extracts and ejects.
 
SupersonicSupply.ca said:
Ream your chamber to 303 Epps improved - and you have the same performance of the 308w. You can use your 303B brass and the cases last much longer. If only there was a sponser who does this - oh yeah - Elmwood Epps. This mod works best in modern rifles or the rugged action of the P14.

http://www.303british.com/id20.html
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if you are looking for a 303 epps, start checking out the gun shows. i always see a few for sale at our shows on a fairly regular basis.
 
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