Bullet performance with the 303 Brit?

OK, I made a bit more progress on the other gun. This one is made on a Lithgow action from 1941. I don't know if any real "Speeds" were made on SMLEs, so I'll call this a 'Speedish" 303.

I have the wood sealed and ready for final finish. I did the engraving on the magazine and trigger guard. The express sights in made and installed and I used an extremely high front sight and front sight base so I know the rifle will shoot very low. Now I can work up a load that shoot well and then lower the top of the front sight base and maybe change out the sight itself for the final zero. I am wondering if I should use 220 or 180 grain bullets. Maybe I'll split the difference and go with 200 grain spitzers.

After all the metal work is done and the rifle is perfectly zeroed I'll take it all apart one last time and rust blue the steel as I do the final finishing on the wood. Then its time for checkering and after that, the final assembly.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr



OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
 
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Sako2, it depends on many things, but that last one took me about 85 hours total. That included making the sight base, turning the new barrel, making the 5 round magazine and the stock and forend, as well as all the inletting, shaping, polishing, sanding, finish work, engraving, bluing and checkering.
Some bolt actions I have done that had a lot more decoration have taken me up to 200 hours. A fancy German style Jaeger muzzleloader can take up to 10 months.
 
I didn't have a chance for much of a reply before, but that is a real work of art! I love the nicer sporterized military guns, and a not-quite-a-speed rifle would be a hot to have sitting next to my not-quite-a-Sedgley '03A3.

Something about this period and style of hunting rifle has always been "the way it should be" in my mind, along with some of the M-S stalking rifles.

Beautiful Wyosmith, just beautiful! It begs to go hunting.
 
Thank you Sam.
You and I agree on what is beautiful.

I don't have any hatred for newer guns with plastic stocks, but they don't excite me at all. I have a few and they are good tools. But that's how I view them, as tools.
My classics are viewed as something more then tools. Yes they work and they work extremely well. But I can take out one of the classics and shoot int just walking around the snow on my land in February, when there is nothing to hunt, and still totally enjoy using them and handling them. I just don't get that feeling from the more modern guns.
My classic Mausers, Lee and older style lever actions bring me a happy feeling just handling them and seeing them. Modern rifles seldom do that for me. I grab my AR15 or AK 47 most times when the coyotes get after my chickens because the auto-loading rifles are better for killing things that are running especially when there is more then one. I have a deep appreciation for "modern features" when the need is business-like.

But the class of the old guns is something I enjoy deeply when I don't need to shoot, as well as when I do.
 
Well, the Speed strikes again. Patterson would be proud.
Not the one in the picture right above, but the one I kept. It drew first blood today. The 1900 Irish Lee. Smallish Whitetail Buck. One shot through the chest that exited the off shoulder. He ran about 20 yards and fell. Shot was about 60 yards.
Load was 40 grains of 4064 in WW brass with a WW primer and a 180 grain Remington .308 Core-Lokt. This rifle has .310" groove diameter and the 180 grain .308s seem to shoot very well.

When I was a boy my dad had a Savage M99 in 300 savage and we sometimes used 180s in it. 180 at 2400 FPS, this load is a .308 180 grain at 2375 from my rifle so I knew exactly how it would act, and it did. Meat for the winter
 
Sorry for the delay. Hunting season and all.

Congrats! That must have been a very satisfying harvest, what with a gun you built almost from the ground up.

My Springfield didn't get to play this year, but my Serengeti stocked 721 proved why it's been "old reliable" for the last 24 years.
 
Love what you’ve done there.

I miss my No4, she lives with the ex lol.
I used it on pigs with Remington core locts, I think. They performed well. I switched to a more night friendly rifle later on. But was my favorite milsurp for sure
 
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