Enfield SMLE.

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

We’ll never a SMLE - Short Magazine Lee Enfield as in the title of this post.

Many big bore rifles including .416 Rigby have been built on the P14-M17 Enfield action which is a Mauser derivative & used by A Square for Hannibal rifles.

Of course many English (some limited American as well) fine rifles were built on this action by the great company’s when original Mauser Magnum actions became unobtainable.

@Sarge
Holland and Holland built son beautiful bespoke 375s in the P14 action.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

A slightly longer magazine box from a P17 helps.

@csmiffy
I think you mean a M17 and that mag box is 30-06 length not magt length.
It needed a magnum length box along with opening up the action to the front and rear ( mainly rear), slight alterations to the feed ramp and rails plus the bolt stop.
End result a beautiful rifle.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The 375 x 2 1/2" Flanged Nitro Express, to give it's full name, is not actually a 303 blown out to 375, it is actually a straight walled case about 1/4" longer than a 303 and about 30% more powerful.
From what information I can find it was developed by Holland and Holland before their 375 H&H Magnum ....Sarg will correct me if I'm wrong

RogerView attachment 739796

@yumastepside
Basically the British re-invented the wheel and made it a bit faster.
It's nothing more than a well loaded 38-55 with a pointy bullets.
The Americans don't have a monopoly on re inventing the wheel.
Bob

 

[Sarg]

@yumastepside
Basically the British re-invented the wheel and made it a bit faster.
It's nothing more than a well loaded 38-55 with a pointy bullets.
The Americans don't have a monopoly on re inventing the wheel.
Bob

I think I said some great English company’s Bob & I consider H&H one of them.

Also I think a long long way off on the .375Ex 2 1/2in being a well loaded 38/55 (especially in 1899)
320gr bullets at 2000fps & 270gr at over 2000fps, my 270gr loads are over 2250fps without doing a heap of development work, that’s in my MLE actioned Lee Speed, could go a fair bit more in my WR Styer I suppose ?

I think the strength of the early Lee Enfields is underrated actual & mostly just Parroted info from Gun Magazines & now internet forums .

Been loading my Lee Speed in 8x50R & worked up to top book loads for the 8x57 Mauser with 220gr slugs, no pressure signs at all, but I still reduce a few grains, 2350fps with a 220gr is plenty for a play rifle.

 

[leslie hetrick]

around here i,m afraid all the sporterizes enfields were done by shade tree bubbu,s, with a hack saw, sand paper, cold blue. at 10.00-13.00 dollars a pop for one in good to nice condition, i have to admitt i was one of the former nitwits in the late 50,s and early 60,s who did that shit. i see them at local flea markets(sporterized) going for 100-200 dollars some fairly well done, but most not. i have owned quite a few full milsurps enfields, but have let them all go, except one 1943 long branch and its a super shooter with the right loads.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I think I said some great English company’s Bob & I consider H&H one of them.

Also I think a long long way off on the .375Ex 2 1/2in being a well loaded 38/55 (especially in 1899)
320gr bullets at 2000fps & 270gr at over 2000fps, my 270gr loads are over 2250fps without doing a heap of development work, that’s in my MLE actioned Lee Speed, could go a fair bit more in my WR Styer I suppose ?

I think the strength of the early Lee Enfields is underrated actual & mostly just Parroted info from Gun Magazines & now internet forums .

Been loading my Lee Speed in 8x50R & worked up to top book loads for the 8x57 Mauser with 220gr slugs, no pressure signs at all, but I still reduce a few grains, 2350fps with a 220gr is plenty for a play rifle.

@Sarg
Those lee speeds and No1 Mk111 aren't what I would call strong actions. Perfectly adequate for the cartridges they were designed for but start pushing the envelope and the action stretches and the bolts bend. Yes they have a very long locking lug on the outside of the action but there ain't much meat holding the rearward portion. The internal locking lug offers more strength.
It not the key board warriors and the others that have gotten it wrong.
In testing by the Lithgow small arms factory they looked at modifying the No1 Mk111 to the new ( back then) 7.62 NATO round. Extensive testing showed this model couldn't withstand the constant diet if these rounds and ended up with dangerous headspace caused by the action stretching. They also had the bolts bend in some cases.
The No4 Mk1 on the other hand with the beefed up action and better metallurgy was deemed strong enough to handle the NATO round and there is quite a lot that have been converted.
Before re issue to the military and big bore rifle clubs in Australia these rifles had to be reproofed at the factory to deem them safe
At one stage there was a company in at building NEW No4 actions with even better metallurgy and these were proof tested to 125,000 psi and had no issues.
This keyboard warrior had a father that was an armourer in the RAAF for 22 years and spent a lot of time with the SMLE before the introduction of the FN L1A1 SLR. What he didn't know about the SMLE could be written in the head of a pin. So I gained a lot of knowledge from him about that rifle.
My first rifle was a No1Mk111 that was given to me as an action only. I spent hours cleaning that action up and dad tricking it up by lightening the firing pin. and re-blueing it at work. I got hold of a new in grease HT 303 barrel that dad also fitted and headspaced to 62 thou to tighten it up and make for better accuracy. Fitted a full wood military stock and forend and it was good to go.
That rifle by the time he finished with it had no problems hitting house bricks consistently at 300 yards with open sights in his hands. I those days I had much to learn ( still have).
So you could say I might know a thing or three about the SMLE.
Bob

 

[csmiffy]

Happy to stand corrected. Yes agreed the No4 is the way to go for a 4570 but I was pretty positve that had been done on the no1s as well.
Definitely didn't known the 5s were that much weaker than the 4s.
I will defer to Sarg as he is a 303 guru as far as I'm concerned

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Happy to stand corrected. Yes agreed the No4 is the way to go for a 4570 but I was pretty positve that had been done on the no1s as well.
Definitely didn't known the 5s were that much weaker than the 4s.
I will defer to Sarg as he is a 303 guru as far as I'm concerned

@csmiffy
The No1mk111 is perfectly fine for the 45-70 as long as it doesn't exceed the normal factory loads for weaker actions.
When I built my 444 Marlin I was strongly advit to use the No4 as the No1 wouldn't stand up to repeated firing of the big marlin.
Bob

 

[coreydb]

I bought one years ago from a deceased co-workers widow. I was going to customize it at first, but I ended up turning it into a sleeper rifle. I re-furbished the receiver and internals, bought an aftermarket trigger and Criterion Barrel, and left the original stock alone. Tight, crisp trigger, shoots MOA, but looks like a piece of trash

 

[farmer_john]

I bought one years ago from a deceased co-workers widow. I was going to customize it at first, but I ended up turning it into a sleeper rifle. I re-furbished the receiver and internals, bought an aftermarket trigger and Criterion Barrel, and left the original stock alone. Tight, crisp trigger, shoots MOA, but looks like a piece of trash

Did that with a k98 with torn up/pitted barrel. barrel

Looks 100% the same except gas a new lothar walther barrel in kriginal profile and all hardware re attached. Amd timney trigger