AN AMERICAN R¡FLEMAN REPRINT REMODELI}{G .. I I ¡ I The .303 Lee-Enfield Rifle Complete information, with exploded parts views on the various models, on disassembly, inspection, and adjustment, on remodeling into deluxe sporter, and on handloading the .303 arttidge. Also, plans for a gun rack. THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN is the offi' cial iournal of The National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Its readership is well de' fined and essentially has a strong common bond of interest in firearms, ammunition, the and their I e on e, in the hu and- as acquired, and enjoyed. 50 CENTS tor lurther inÍo¡molion, wrìle lhe NRA ot ló00 Rhode lslond Ave., N. W., Woshington ó, D. C. publicorion (R2) This reprinr is from rhe Ap¡il 1957, Morch 1958, July l9!i9 ond Augurt 1959 issuc¡ of IHE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN. o fullv opvrishrsd I $one .303 cartridgcs (1. to r.): Mk. VI, I Mk. VlI, Mk. VII of U. S. manufac- p crimp instead of stab crimp, r long Lee-Enñeld. Weight about 9.4 ith Westley Richards capped This model, an improvement of the of several types made in Eng- 895, has safety lock which sporting with soft-nose bullet appeared broad-land riffing required to resist (general type macle in U. S.) added to existing rifles in 1907 Tfffi.303 tEErlEN]Fn]E,tD By Col. E. H. Horrison, USA (Rer'd) NRA Technicol Sroff ,-f-. t" standard military rifle of the then seemed more in-rportant. There is, reducing its velocity undesirably. I British Empire and the present however, very little in it for the user of The .303 military ammunition has Commonwealth was, from 1888 on- a .303 rifle to become concerned about. been regularly loadecl witb a large ward, the .303 Lee in various models. The riffe handles this cartridge excel- Berdan primer which contains both Not until 1954 was it replaced, and then lently, and to the user it will nlake no mercury fulminate and potassium only chlo- with a self-loading rifle. No other difference in practice. rate. The mercury affects the strength of breechJoading rifle and cartridge have Lil<e most cartridges, the .303 has the brass cartridge case on firing, mak- been the standard of a major power for been produced in various loadings. The ing it unsuitable for most reloading. The so long. usual British smokeless rifle powder is chlorate on firing lcavcs a deposit of The gradual rearming of British Com- cordite, adopted for this cartridge in salt on the rifle bore which will rust it monwealth forces with self-loading rifles 1892. The first bullet was of special badly if not promptly cleaned out. Water resulted in large numbers of Lee-Enfield round-nosed form and was long and is the best solvent of this salt; hot soapy rifles coming on the American market. heavy, weighing 215 grs. Mark VI am- water cleans well and is easily wiped The construction and characteristics of munition. in which a bullet of this out before oiling, It is not always possi- the rifle and cartridge thus became of weight is given a standard muzzle veloc- ble to clean soon enough to prevent considerable practical interest. ity of 2060 feet per second (f.p.s.), is some damage. The continued manufac- While the basic rifle design preceded still often encountered. The present ture of such primers, in the face of mod- the cartridge, it is convenient to con- standard military cartridge, the Mark ern chemical knowledge and the avail- sider the cartridge first (see Fig. 1). VII, was adopted for the trajectory flat- ability of reliable noncorrosive primers, tening obtainable by pointing and light- Among originol militory smoll bores can fairly be called backwardness. ening the bullct, and firing it at higher The .303 rifle cartridge was among velocity. The Mark VII bullet is flat- U. S. sporting ommunilion the original military 'small bores', and based and pointed, weighs 174 grs., and Sporting ammunition for the .303 dates from 1888. It is contemporary is given a standard muzzle velocity of has been manufactured in this country 7.9x57 with the or 8 mm. Mauser approximately 2440 f.p.s. An unusual (regularly in reloadable cartridge cases) cartridge which also appeared that year. feature is the bullet construction, in since about 1897. It is made to supply The 8 mm. Mauser proved much the which the space under the jacket point not only imported Lee-Enfield rifles, but better design in the long run, especially is filled with a plug of aluminum, fiber, also U, S. and Canadian rifles of this for automatic arms. Even for hand-op- or paper for lightness. This is necessary caliber. These latter rifles are no longer erated magazine rifles its rimless form is to obtain the desired pointed form and made, but numbers are still in use. better. The choice of a flanged case for length within the desired weight. If These and the large number of military the .303 was thus a mistake, in spite of that space had been left solid the bullet Lee-Enfields can be expected to warrant certain advantages of that form which would have weighed about 196 grs., (Text continued on page A ) (4th Printing) 2 found to raise muzzle velocity to about that of lonc Lee-Enfield rifle' Marks I' II' III. and IV are almost equivalent, Mk, V is êouivalent except rear sight is peep with gradiated folding leaf on receiver bridge ì|,!f,'f.-çrorl,t *u nvn¿ n¿nd Çua¡ä îer @¿¿ocing ôoltJptng aolt t(Ew Ú.1ôcktng âtocV l(nors lwln Eutt ont 8uèt forêe.rdSpnng orr**fl Sønt&re*ê n 5w,veltÖ nggorÇurd.knv! Screws aatøtttwtá P/¿êlorm Swtnl Scnvl . Sprng Á, Exoloded view of No. I Mk' Cas? l, III-t rifle with parts named l+a¿r.aq ""ö Catch Spnng kotÉtq ^,Safetgsalety catctt knv l-rwtøh¿ $ n Front Quard Ra¿r 6u¿td aâtch ler'"a endge 4u¡dc I (þPtr ¿orEr fþDt EèNd ôtnd êutt I Ardcke¿ uìp", A"nd { . svvJf &rer &- ôan¿ Sptv¿ l4êgêz,ne 5pr/n9 7 Exoloded view of No. 4 Mk. Casê t l*'rifle with parls named 3 commercial production of the ammuni- target shooting, and in sporting models tion for a long time. for game shooting. Such rifles are ex. Commercial .303 loadings are: cellently and often beautifully made. Bullet Velocity Rifle chorocleristics Make (srs) (Í.p.s) Norma 130 2790 The action of the Lee-Enfield is based cIL* 150 2720 on a design by an American named Lee. Norma 180 24lO It differs materially from the Mauser crl- 180 2540 types which, beginning with the Spring- Winchester, Remington, CIL, Norma field, have been the basis of most Amer- 215 2180 ican bolt-action sporting rifles. The bolt handle is behind the trigger, not for- Rear sight of Mk. III rifle. Gradu- 'Canadian Industries, Ltd, I ated from 200 to 2000 yds. with divi- ward of it as in the Mauser. The bolt sion each 25 yds, Elevation set by press- These constitute an excellent range of head is separate from the bolt body, ing in spring catch a and moving slide to bullet weights and velocities for North and does not turn. The bolting surfaces range desired, Ramp is so made that range graduations American game, Except for the lighter are near the middle are uniformly spaced. b is of the receiver be- fine-adjustment worm wheel with notches Norma 130-gr. and 180-gr. loads, the hind the magazine, not forward of it of 5 yds. each. c is wind-gauge screw with above are almost exactly the same as as in the Mauser. The firing pin is 1-minute clicks; Mk. III* and later Mk. III the original commercial loadings of the cocked almost entirely by the final push- sights have no wind gauge. d are guards .30-'06 cartridge with which reputa- fixed to barrel. Rifles previous to Mk. III* its forward of the bolt, not principally by and I tion on game was established. With the bolt-handle lift as in rnost Mausers. sights suitable bullet types, the .303 has been The magazine holds l0 rounds instead on lef successfully used on big game all over of 5 as in the usual Mauser. It is de- left si for range setting the world. tachable, but is usually left on the rifle and loaded from the top of the action .303 odopted to hondlooding in the same way as the Mauser. The The .303 cartridge is well adapted to buttstock and forestock are separate, handloading. Tnn Ar"renrcAN RTFLEMAN not one piece as in the Mauser. The light has published 2 articles on the subject barrel and the forestock construction I with laboratory-tested loading data. of the læe-Enfield bring on problems Cartridge cases (for American primers) of barrel and action bedding which are and bullets are regularly available. peculiar to it, especially in the Mark The .303 Lee-Enfield is well adapted III model. for making into a sporting rifle. A .303 These bedding problems are real, but sporter is unusually short, Iight, and eas- have been overemphasized. Competition ily handled, for one made on a military shooting with the .303 has been carried base. Simple sporterizing has been de- on regularly and very successfully for scribed decades. For fairness to all, British and O Rear sights of No. 4 rifle. a is Mk. I in THe Rlr¡-¡vr¡N. Something t sight, for Mk. I and Mk. II rifles; is worth mentioning here which is not Commonwealth competition rules gen- elevation screw has l-minute clicks, and often spoken of.