Enfield .303 Questions

J

jhedgesville

Inactive
I have a Enfield 303 that I know nothing about and was wondering what all you guy could tell me about it. I know it is a No.4 MK1 Some of the number on it are worn pretty bad so I can't read them but on the side of it on the band it has what looks like a m 1942 then below that M117?2 I have a few pictures of the numbers on the gun. I do know from what I could find online that the stock is not original and that the rear sights are not either. The front sight also has some engraving on it is that original to?

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m501/donsmith1055/?action=view&current=DSC01199.jpg#!oZZ1QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs1129.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fm501%2Fdonsmith1055%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DDSC01199.jpg

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m501/donsmith1055/?action=view&current=DSC01199.jpg#!oZZ3QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs1129.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fm501%2Fdonsmith1055%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DDSC01196.jpg

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m501/donsmith1055/?action=view&current=DSC01199.jpg#!oZZ2QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs1129.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fm501%2Fdonsmith1055%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DDSC01197.jpg
 
Can't help you with your question but, I had to say, that sure is a gorgeous stock on that thar rifle. Looks like tiger maple to me. I think someone put a lot of money in the stock.
 
Yes it is but when my granddad had it he went on vacation and put it in a case in his attic and while he was gone the case got stuck to the stock. All I know about the gun is that my dad's uncle owned a pawnshop and got from the pawnshop.
 
Well, I can tell you that the .303 British is a very capable deer rifle. It is ballistically similar to the 30-30 except that since it doesn't use a tubular mag, you are not restricted to flat nose bullets which gives it an advantage over the 30-30s. My Uncle has a Savage model 99 in .303 British that he was given as a gift about 50 years ago.
 
Not much to tell really. The rifle was made in 1942 and probably used in WWII. The rifle stock is pretty. You could probably get $200-250 for it in sale, less at the pawn.

There are a lot of threads on Enfields here just conduct a search and lots should pop-up.
 
I believe the M stands for Maltby. A factory in England. The England stamping indicates to me that it was exported. The Brits had export laws, things exported for sale were required to have English proofmarks and other marks.

If the rifle was rebuilt, you will see letters written in vibrating pencil marks “FTR” . That stands for factory through repair.

Considering yours is a 1942 receiver, it was probably rebuilt. Then sold, and someone made it into a sporter. From what I can see of the front and rear, those are aftermarket.

The stock is just beautiful, lots of figuring. Is that maple?
 
Slappy, I believe that the Savage 99 marked "303" is chambered for the Savage 303 cartridge. The Savage 303 cartridge is similiar in power and size to the Winchester 30-30, altho they are not interchangible.
The British 303 is more powerfull than the 30-30, but not as hot as the 30-06.
 
Yes sir, I believe you are right. I get confused because they had the 99 chambered in .300 Savage and .303 Savage.
 
.303 British is a tad hotter than 30-40. Factory loads for the military were a 174 Gr bullet at 2450 FPS. With 150 Gr the round is capable of 2600 with good hand-loading.
That rifle has been sporterized, or converted from it's military appearance to a sporting configuration, the original had wood all the way to the front-sight both below & on top of the barrel. It has a flush fitting magazine instead of the protruding 10-round military issue one & something has been done to the charger bridge & rear sight. I guess the front sight was swapped out to get a good zero with the new rear sight?

The "England" stamp is not a British export mark at all that information is incorrect. The Americans required an Import stamp showing the country of origin, the information on the stamp is pre-1968 when the stamping was expanded to include the importer's name & address so that rifle came into the US before 1968.

Although its a good game rifle & capable of things as large as moose with suitable bullets its conversion has dropped it's value form around $300~350 to about $125, assuming it all works & is in good condition.
 
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If you reload the .303British, ..

beware that the rim does the headspacing and the chamber shoulder is about a 1/16" forward. The British army decided that any picked up cartridge should chamber and fire, no matter how crudded up.

So you will need to neck-size the fired case, either using special neck sizing die or do not follow the standard sizing die set-up instruction. If sizer set per instructions, the brass will be worked more and fail early.

This will give maximum case life.
 
Neck size for max case life.

+1.

Also, most (all that I am aware of) .303 Brit milsurp bolt actions have their locking lugs at the rear of the bolt, instead of at the front, making the action less rigid than front locking designs (mauser 98, Mosin, etc) ..... this "springyness" makes for more case stretching, espaecially at max loads .... and means shorter case life.....
 
Lee-Enfields have rear locking lugs. "American Enfields" are totally different being Mauser copies & have front locking bolts.

As for case stretch being caused by rear locking lugs that's drivel! The amount of "spring" is in the sub thousandth of an inch range.:rolleyes:
 
As for case stretch being caused by rear locking lugs that's drivel!
Click to expand...

If so, then several of my reloading manuals printed drivel in the write-ups on the .303 Britt ..... and I've read the same elsewhere about the Remy 788 I used to have....

When you are reloading a case, .001 is not as good as .000 ...... work hardening, over time, kills cases. case necks are easy to anneal .... case heads?

And when the case neck fails... it splits, and usually does so when resizing.

The case head? I don't want my face anywhere near the breech when that lets go.....
 
As for case stretch being caused by rear locking lugs that's drivel! The amount of "spring" is in the sub thousandth of an inch range.
Click to expand...

No, not drivel, mechanical engineering.

Go read your Stuart Otteson and find how much steel compresses per inch.
 
It's a great gun, as already mentioned. the problem is ammo.
supply of milsurp 303 has dried up.
prvi partisan makes some lead tipped that works fine for targets. don't know how it would be for deer.
out past 150 yards, the enfield will outshoot my garand.
great furniture!!!
 
The bolt compresses, allowing the case to stretch to make up the difference: the sides of the case are stuck against the chamber, and the portion of the case behind the chamber stretches rearward to the bolt face .....

Rear locking Enfields have what? 6"?, 8"? between the bolt face and the rear of the locking lugs .....Mauser style bolts have what? 1/2"?
 
so exactly how much "compressed stretching" are we talking about here?
I'm not saying there isn't more room to have the metal stress, what I am saying is that the amount of movement is much much too short to effect brass life.
So how much in thou or some defined measurement?
 
How about we just go by nearly everyone's past experience and say that the cases will stretch and separate, and just neck size?

Ok... group hug... :D

Seriously, I'm sort of interested in how much (in numbers) the bolt is likely to compress upon firing. I know that steel compresses, but I just don't know how much to expect on a what, 1" diameter cylinder of steel? I know alloys will make a difference, but, ballpark.... one or two thousandths, or ten?
Enquiring minds, and all that.

Guess I could Interweb it, but it's easier if someone already knows the answer.. :p
 
I have numerous '99 Savages and receiver "Spring" is not drivel. I have used factory ammo that was too hot and the action sticks and is hard to unlock. The 99 locks in the rear as does the Enfield. The difference is a bolt action has a cam action and usually it is not felt. You can load a .243 so hot for a 99' Savage that you can not re-size the brass.
 
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