Re-boring a 303

[inukshuk]

This 303 rifle was my dads and it’s a synthetic stock that my brother but on as you see it. So it’s mostly sentimental. My brother will never buy another rifle. It’s not really a question of money, he just loves it and it’s action. If possible he would like to add a picatinni rail. Also with that rifle which calibers could it be re-bored to?

 

[tiriaq]

Rebored, as in reamed, rerifled and rechambered, or rebarrelled? If the former, there are various .303 based wildcats, with .35. 375 bores. If rebarrelling, .303 or .30-40 based cartridges are easiest from the magazine/feed viewpoint.
I suppose anything is possible, and a Picatinny rail could be fitted to a sidemount bracket.
Probably a good thing that it is not a question of money, because projects like this will soak up a lot of it. Even rebarrelling with an issue barrel might not be inexpensive, by the time you find a barrel and have it installed.

 

[josquin]

The Lee-Enfield action is limited to relatively low-pressure cartridges (<45,000 psi, I believe) so part of the question is "what does your brother want to use it for"? If he wants a grizzly/polar bear gun he might be out of luck, although L-E's have been rebarrrelled to 45-70. He could get a little more "oomph" out of the old girl by rechambering to .303 Epps- see Steve Redgwell's website (.303british.com for info on the Epps conversion.) Ellwood Epps in Orillia, Ont. still does this.

Stuart