Just wanted to share pictures of my latest acquisition a Lee-Enfield based 45-70 rifle put together by Navy Arms. I have dubbed her "Smelly (SMLE) Nelly". Nope, not for elephants, just the local wild boar, and wild cattle using hard cast 500 grainers at about 1400 fps.

That has to be one of the best uses I've ever seen for an old SMLE !!!!

So, how does it shoot?

Keith

great pig gun!

what is the mag length???

maybe you can load long like the 45-70 nitro

Nice !!

Thanks for the comments, she hasn't arrived yet, maybe on Wednesday. The magazine is long enough to accommidate 45-90 length cartridges though only 3 rounds. This action will handle 45,000 cup so the same ballpark as the 1895 Marlins though i'm planning on sticking with milder loads for piggies. Here's a couple good reads on this gun:
http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2005/kingandcountry/index.asp
http://www.chuckhawks.com/gibbs_summit.htm

That sure looks nice! You could probably load those 500-grainers even faster if you wanted. I've shot 509-grain hard-casts at 1600 fps with my re-barreled 1917-made Winchester 1895 with no problems. And it only has a 19" barrell. SMLE should handle those levels quite well too.

But if you're happy with your own loads, there's really no need for anything faster. Pigs won't notice the difference anyway and you'll get longer case life too.

Let us know how it works on pigs!

quote:

Originally posted by sierra2:
That has to be one of the best uses I've ever seen for an old SMLE !!!!

You got that right. Interesting!!

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...=513109845#513109845

if you long throat it you can do this...

and still shoot reg 45-70 ammo.

these are cool, as were the conversions of the Siamese Mausers to 45-70/90. You have to use their modified magazines don't you? Definitely in the running for most bang for the buck big bore rifle.

Rich
DRSS

According to Jeff the 45-70 case with that Barnes 450gr TSX bullet the OAL is 3.162", the Lee-Enfield magazine can handle 3.075 (303 OAL) so a tad long for that bullet though it still could be reamed to 45-90 and use the round nose 500s, 1/2" of wasted magazine space with 45-70 rounds, food for thought. I'll start with cast 405s I have on hand and see how bored I get then move up, though I think my shoulder will stop me from going too crazy.

Here is one I did last year, they are a lot of fun to shoot and are the ultimate pig gun. In my opinion. I built one as I could not find any of the Gibbs or Navy Arms
SMLE 45-70

HH,
With 45-70 brass, if you load the Remmy 405s in the bottom cantalure, aol is 2.861". With the Barns original 400gr semi-spitzer, will load to 3.0" Just some options for loading cheap brass.

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by Rolland:
Here is one I did last year, they are a lot of fun to shoot and are the ultimate pig gun. In my opinion. I built one as I could not find any of the Gibbs or Navy Arms
SMLE 45-70

Rolland I just had to post a picture of your rifle, very cool. What loads does she like?


Keith, thanks for the tip on the Barnes semi-spitzer, very intersting. Being a blue collar cheapskate i'm gonna start with hardcast plain base flatnoses at first, but those Barnes are very interesting, I use 53 grain .224 X bullets in my .223 Handi and they work great on wild goats here.

PS Ebay presently has both a 45-70 barrel, and magazine for a Lee-Enfield action listed if anyone is interested.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Navy-Arms-SMLE-No-4-Mk-I-45-70-21-B...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Navy-Arms-SMLE-No-4-Mk-I-45-70-3-Ro...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hawaiian Hunter
I have been shooting factory 300 and Hornady leverevolution 325. it likes both of those loads.

ARGH, just can't find ANY factory 45-70 ammo here on Maui...

Funny how when I called Numrich arms three months ago asking about these parts they did not know what I was talking about.
John

J- let me know if you decide to bid on the parts, if not I think i'll get an extra magazine, but only if you decide not too, don't want to compete with a fellow forum member.

Hawaiian Hunter, Bid away I do not need them now.
John

That is a great use for a smle. Do they feed well in 45-70?

500 Grains
I am not sure who you were asking but I can tell you what I learned after building two of them.
You have to open the forward half of the feed rails and if you don't turn the rim open up the inside of the receiver ring.

The saga of Smelly (SMLE) Nelly I think is finally over, she has finally arrived TODAY! [] Nice dark walnut stock, nickel plated bolt & trigger, 100% blue on barrel with cosmoline still in action parts like the safety so i'm guessing never fired since leaving Navy Arms. She comes up to the shoulder nicely with sights lining up naturally. Working the bolt is very smooth even from the shoulder thanks to the cock on closing bolt. Also very easy to uncock, just open bolt again and hold trigger while closing. Trigger pull alittle stiff but i'll be stone it soon enough. She is in fine shape the grand daughter of the 1879 Remington-Lee Navy. My dies & brass are on it's way already having 50 405 grain cast plain base bullets on hand. Can't wait to shoot her. Not bad at all for $300 INCLUDING SHIPPING. [][][] Range report will follow.

quote:

Not bad at all for $300 INCLUDING SHIPPING

source?

I found mine on Gunbroker and at the time there were 3 total on auction ranging from $250.00 to $425.00 mine winning at $265.00 (plus shipping of $30.00) the seller being Numrich Arms. Just keep your eyes peeled on all the auction sights. They retailed for under $400.00 so personally i'd never pay over that. There's one on GunsAmerica for $500.00 + which I feel is way overpriced.

That's definitely a pig gun. Depending on your mag length and throat, one could seat the bullets out and increase oomph with a bit more powder and end up with low end 458 Win loads. If you're not reloading, try some Buffalo Bore's, they have jacketed and cast loads. All are hot.

H-H,
Do you know Pat Fisher who guides hunts on Parker Ranch on Kona? Had a great time hunting Pheasant and Chucker with Pat a few years ago.

That 45-70 ought to do right nice on those hogs over there!

Order you some HAWK BULLETS
They make a .025 jacket in a 300 grain flat point that ought to be a hog knocker downer!

That rifle has my two favorites wrapped into one piece.I wish I had one, it has more appeal than a new out of the box rifle.

HH,

there used to be ads run in Shotgun News, patterns for the original one-piece stocks they came with back in 1879. That rifle in a nice one-piece stock of nice walnut would be TOO cool!

Rich
DRSS

This gun will be strictly handloads even 45-70 ammo being hard to come by here on Maui. I have a bunch of hard cast 405s and 3031 so will start there though I do have Reloader-7 on order.

Hi Rusty, I don't recall Pat Fisher but I lived on the Big Island more than 25 years ago in Kealakekua, did most of my hunting either on Greenwell Ranch or on public lands at Laupahoehoe & Piha which happen to have excellent hunting as public land goes.

Amen to two classic the Lee Enfield action and 45-70 cartridge. May try a little wild cattle hunting with this gun in near future.
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_3VXlevehw

Wild cow hunting with a pig thrown in... Good way to spend a day off...

quote:

Numrich Arms

So where can a person find these rifles for sale at regular retail price ? I only see the one on gunbroker for $550.

Fellows, those SMLE's are nice conversions, but another rifle that is easy to convert and much stronger is the Mosin Nagant. All that's need is a rebarrel to 45-70 and then widening the front portion of the magazine only. That's it.

Joe

I have one of these Gibbs conversions. Overall, I am very happy with it. Mine is a "No 4" (a little stronger action than the "No 1 Mk III". It has a 22" Navy Arms barrel. With no modification, it will take a 45-70 500 gr Speer loaded to 2.93". I had these loaded by a small local commercial loader to 1,750 fps, not wanting to push it, despite the "big case" (with the bullet out so far). Ron Card (writer of the second article)said via e-mail that he loaded his 45-90 with 500 gr to 1,950 fps. I don't know his OAL (or load), but I would think it would be the total OAL that mattered not whether it was a 45-70 or 45-90. As some of you may know, the bolt action 45-70s predate the 45-70 lever actions. Well over 100 thousand of 1879, 1881 and 1885 Remington Lee's were sold to the U.S Navy (about 5,000) and foreign military. The majority were 45-70. There was an article about this history in the American Rifleman a few years ago. I did put some lead and a mercury tube into the "oiler" tube in the stock. This plus the starting weight of 8.75 lbs and a slip on "Kick Killer" pad really helped cut the felt recoil.

Two Things:

1st: did you get the cat with one shot, or did it need a followup?

2nd: Starmetal, thanks for the heads up, is there any information on the conversion, or do you know of someone who has done one? Any feeding problems? One of those hexagonal receivers would be just the cat's ass (no pun intended HH).

Rich
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by starmetal:
Fellows, those SMLE's are nice conversions, but another rifle that is easy to convert and much stronger is the Mosin Nagant.

That's true. We have some of those conversions around since the different Mosin Nagant models used to be very common here. Those conversions are used mainly for moose hunting in thick cover. If you want to make a .45-70 out of a Mosin, in addition to the barrel change I'd seriously recommend having a thumb safety installed too. The mag and feed ramp often need some tuning as well, even though they sometimes work well without any fix.

But the Mosin is a very strong action and you can shoot some really hot .45-70 loads with it.