What rifle do I have?

W

Wcorr

Inactive
I recently acquired a rifle which the previous owner called a .308? , but after further inspection, I realized that it had some interesting markings. It is British and says .303 but, it has been upgraded to a composite stock, and Im not sure if it is an Enfield, or something else?. The Markings are: A Crown, G R, B. S. A Co., 1917 ,Sht. LE III *. I know very little about it, other than what I have Googled :confused:. Also the barrel has England 1883 ,.303, 2 22", another 1883, 18 a fraction #, looks like one half; tons; also some on the other side; some other stuff which I cant make out. The ammo is ,well there are two different kinds. R (an arrow) L 31.and VII. The other is REM-UMC 303 BRIT. Could some one please give me some info
 
Too right its an Enfield!

Well of course it is an Enfield. Short, magazine, Lee Enfield. Georgius Rex. Birmingham Small Arms Co. .303 etc. The barrel sounds like it may have been a replacement from an original late 1800's Lee Metford which would be odd as they used a different barrel than later .303's, but I am not an Enfield expert. The .303 is, of course, a rimmed cartridge so the back of the chamber should look quite different than a rimless and you can esily see if it is a .308 which I'm sure it is not...

The Mk VII ammo is very common old military ball -- their spitzer round.

Pics would be nice -- can we see some of those here?

Gehr
 
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Easy way to tell, try to chamber a 303 Brit, if it chambers then it is definitely not a 308.

Some British rifles were converted to 308 to issue to snipers, and some Indian Ishapore rifles are in 308, but by large most are 303 Brit.

Jimro
 
Take it to a competent gunsmith and let him confirm the caliber for you. He should have the measuring aids needed to make such a determination.
 
Take it to a gunsmith, to be sure. ALL milsurp rifles ought to have their headspace checked, by a competent smith before being fired.

One quick check you can do, look at the bottom of the magazine. If it is rounded, it is probably a .303. If the bottom of the magazine is sharp cornered it could be a .308. Some .303s were converted, and some SMLE's were made originally in .308 (in India), and every one of the .308s I have seen has had a sharp edged slant to the bottom of the mag.

Take it to a gunsmith, anyway, and be sure.
 
If it is a .308, consider handloading to slightly lower pressures as well. I have a jungle carbine in .308, and it's a doll of a rifle, but the lighter bolt configuration of the Enfields gives them a lower safe operating pressure than modern bolt actions.

KR
 
In proper working condition, the SMLE in 7.62 NATO will be safe for the military loading. Shooting commercial .308 Win ought to be ok, but every rifle is a law unto itself. Shooting max level handloads would be a poor idea (as it usually is in any firearm), and the relatively light reciever and rear locking of the SMLE would tend to put the max safe load somewhat below that of a different design bolt gun. And in the SMLE, brass life will probably not be as good as a front lock up design. Probably.
 
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