Years ago I bought a 1917 Enfield in .375 H&H. At the time the seller on GB neglected to mention that the mag had not been lengthened to handle the .375 length. So I am limited to using 300gr RN bullets, they're the only thing I can seat deep enough to fit. I'm thinking of converting it to something I can get a little more use out of. Any suggestions? I want to avoid action work as it's very expensive and I can't do it myself.

Measure the the max length of the 1917 Enfield and pick a cartridge that fits.

You can shorten and rechamber to 375 Taylor or just screw on a new barrel chambered to any correct cartridge length caliber you want.

Rechamber to a fatter case, RUM or Ruger and live with the extra long throat.

Single load a standard length first shot and live with the shorter mag length cases.

Use a 270 gr RN or stay with the 235 gr or use RN caste lead bullets around the 250-260 gr weight...Lots of ways to work around.

Or sell it...

Luck

beg, borrow or steal () some .375 Ruger rounds.....specifically three of them and see if they feed through the magazine....they are shorter.

If your action feeds them nicely then all you do is remove the barrel and cut off the threads and rethread (assuming there's meat there to allow this) and rechamber. In this manner you retain the power of the .375 H&H and retain the barrel.

Cost?....depends..... but $100 to $200

I'd check with some of the smiths on the gunsmithing forum and see if someone there can lengthen the magazine for less.....it's not all that hard with the Enfield!

I don't want to sound like a snob, but I have less than no desire to own a 375 Ruger. I'm just not sold on it. Besides, my brother has one and hasn't been impressed. I've actually been thinking of selling the rifle and building another sorter. Maybe a Mauser or Lee Enfield in .458 American, or a 9.3 of some flavor.

If you take the stock magazine box out and look at it, you will likely see that the gunsmith did not drill the rivets out and turn the ends over. They look like a U and the bottoms are in. Cheapie fix when they went from 303 British to the 30-06.

I had one and that fixed the problem.

Rich
DRSS

I have actually found something I "have" to have, so I've decided to sell the .375. It's listed on GB here:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=180127904

Opening bid is less than I paid for it, so someone could get a good deal.

quote:

Originally posted by Bigfatts:
I have actually found something I "have" to have, so I've decided to sell the .375. It's listed on GB here:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=180127904

Opening bid is less than I paid for it, so someone could get a good deal.

Is this an Eddystone?

I don't know, th eonly markings are US and the serial number. The rest have been removed. I don't know all that much about the 1917 rifles, I've only owned one other, which I sold some time ago.