- Location
- Saskatchewan
if only it could talk...
- Thread starter powdermaker
- Start date
Bassmaster
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- WMU 48 - Whitetail country
People have been known to reload 30 cal bullets in .303, so I suspect the barrel is fine. The Enfield (presumably) is a strong action so who knows. I suspect the shooter likely got a face full of gas and nastiness and nothing more....but again, like you said...if it could only talk
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Last season at work I found an old 30 Remington casing where we exited the heli way the hell out in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. As I knelt down while waiting for the heli to lift off I thought how nice of an area it would be to hunt, the casing was right beside my knee on the ground.
- Location
- Saskatchewan
I was wondering the same thing...
A quick internet search shows that Winchester changed the name in 1946.
2 or 3 years ago I was out scouting for goats with a buddy who won a limited entry hunt. I stopped at random and looked down to see a single piece of brass perched on a rock. It was of calibre 33 WCF, which looking it up when I got home has been discontinued since 1940 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.33_Winchester). I took a picture and put it back for someone else to maybe find in the future (I doubt I could ever find it again if I tried). Take a look at the picture taken from where I found the brass amongst a field of boulders
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
if it was fired out of a Lee then the gasses would have been vented out of the left side of the receiver, no issues
I watched a guy fire 3 rounds of 30-30 out of a Lee without an issue... well except split brass
I watched a guy fire 3 rounds of 30-30 out of a Lee without an issue... well except split brass
gewehr76
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Fired some 30-30 out of 91/30. some cases were split and some just had big bulge at the base. had to use cleaning rod to push empties out. otherwise it felt like shooting 22lr. then reached in the dud bin and found perfectly fine 308win with slightly dimpled primer, what a heck. chambered it in same Mosin, this time some smoke from the action, bolt head was black recoil was same as x54. cleaning rod pushed the case out. side of the case was blown, and neck looked like 54r. Fired normal ammo after it with no issues.
So in a pinch any of 30-30 or 308 win can be fired out of MN if there is enough support at the base of the case, like adding electrical tape or rubber bands.
I was never in doubt that MN will not handle 308.
But its better to stick to proper ammo
So in a pinch any of 30-30 or 308 win can be fired out of MN if there is enough support at the base of the case, like adding electrical tape or rubber bands.
I was never in doubt that MN will not handle 308.
But its better to stick to proper ammo
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wrenchbender4
CGN Regular
- Location
- SE of Western canada
.303 fires a .311 or .312 bullet so I suspect it was nothing to write home about.
That would make a good T-shirt slogan.
This /\
Low pressure round with a small bullet for the bore
Maybe not even an issue with gas blowback, because of the rim, especially if it was a tight fit headspace wise.
I tried to shoot a 30-30 factory cartridge out of a No4 many decades back but the bolt wouldn't close on the rim because it was to thick.
- Location
- Saskatchewan
So, given the location of this spent case, I am assuming that the owner wasn't just plinking. He was likely trying to kill a caribou. (Possibly ran out of .303 ammo?)
Would you speculate if there was enough energy in the 30-30 (but shot out of the .303) to actually kill a caribou?
My thought is that a lot of gasses would escape past the undersized bullet, resulting in greatly reduced velocity?
A .30 bullet through a .303 bore is going to hold lots of pressure to get velocity. It is going to engrave in the rifling. There is going to be some velocity loss because of the split case. I very much doubt that the capability to kill a caribou would be much diminished.
I know people reload 303 with 308 bullets for 40 years. They work just fine though there is a black ring shows on a boars skull at point blank range . Also I defie anybody convincing them different about bullet size I never tried. Same people clean brass on the wire wheel on a bench grinder.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Gotta say, mate - that was a very thoughtful thing for you to do. Kudos.
Midnight Rider
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- ......the Vanishing Point .
Given how strong the 303 LE action is ; I suspect that the rifle is currently tucked away in someone's closet or camp ; and the former owner of the rifle has probably passed away from old age .
I was referring to the low psi of the 30WCF round, in comparison to that of the higher pressure 303Brit. I don't believe that cartridge would be able to generate anywhere near the same pressures.
I knew an old gent that lived on a ranch, east of Cranbrook, that shot at least one and likely more crates of 8x57 fmj surplus out of a Pattern 17 Enfield, without a single issue.
Gave me the 30-06 ammo I loaded for him back, because they "kicked to much''
