OK guys I'm way out on a limb here - Need some tech help and some advice.

My gunsmith was looking over my 303 British No.4 MK1* and offered to rebarrel it to a 45 for 1/2 cost of new barrel - labor included!!! (Says he has had this Shillen 45 blank w/ the proper threads for decades)

Now what are the pros and cons of going with a 45/70 vs a 45/90?

Best I can figure the 45/70 COL with a 350 grain bullet will be 2.56" - the 45/90 will be 2.90". Either will fit magazine!

Rifle could use new barrel. Resale of this rifle does not come into play cause I'll keep it anyway. I figure to do a 22" barrel but am open to suggestions on taper.

He has a 45/70 reamer - wants me to pay $85 extra if he must obtain a 45/90 reamer.

Dies for 45/70 run $24 - $48 for the 45/90.
Cases for the 45/70 run $53/100 - $92/100 for 45/90.

Soooooo..... What advanage will the 45/90 give me for the extra cost and any "land mines" here I've not figured on?

Ray...you need to read over all my posts concerning my 460 BOONDOGGLE McWILDMAN, 303-45.70 and all the other posts I've been doing on this forum, Graybeard, and 24 hour for the past several days... and do a search for SMLE conversions on any other forums you can find.

My opinion is STAY AWAY FROM ANY LARGE RIMMED CASE. Unless your gunsmith will make the magazine feed correctly or make you a new single stack mag, you're in for a lot of pain. Gibbs Rifle company tried to make it work with the 45-70 but had feeding problems even with a single stack mag.

I just got my 12 rnd SMLE 2a magazine to function as a quasi-single stacker with the 458 WM case, but had to finally solder in some longer rear ears, do a lot of bending and filing AND make a new flat bottomed follower to hold the rounds in the proper position and I've been working on several mags for the past couple of weeks with various successes.

I picked the 458WM case for a number of reasons stated in my earlier posts.

Today I worked out one good load using Benchmark and Sierra 300 HP's BUT couldn't get beyond 69 grains without the bolt locking. I got the load out of Hodgdons 2006 manual starting at 70 gr...4 gr below the beginning point and had to drop back to 65 gr and start back up. 69 gr was giving me 2350 fs avg in a 22" bbl. 71 gr was about 2450 but locked up and 70 gr split the range.

I also tried H4895, H4198, H322, Varget, AA2015 and 2230 with 300 and 350g cast lead bullet plus several powders using the Speer 400 gr...all single loaded...while I was chrono'ing different load combos. The bolt lock everytime I got up around 38 KCUP, while the Fed LR primers were only slightly flattened.
Most of the problem with feeding is with the bullet nose shape. The round needs to be almost in a straight line to the chamber or it will hang up.

Having gone through most of the problems and solving them my strong suggestion is to go with something like the 444 M, 375 or 411 JDJ or 405 W. You will end up with an easier to build rifle and much easier to get to feed properly because the rims are closer to 303 specs and the ballistics will be as close as I'm getting with my larger case...less powder also.

You also have a COAL limit of about 3.050-3.10".

You need to really study up on this conversion, the barrel is cheap compared to the rest of the story...

quote:

(Says he has had this Shillen 45 blank w/ the proper threads for decades)

...and the twist is ??????

Keith

Concerning the reamer, you can rent one from 4D for less than $40 including all shipping.

http://www.4-dproducts.com/display.php?group=Rifle+Calibers

Thanks guys!

Always helps to talk me out of a "good deal" that is to good to be true!

I'm going to look harder at that 405W.

Also good advice on the reamer if needed.

Thanks again.

Don't throw out that cheap barrel yet...the 458 x 2 American and the 450 M are also contenders that would work if you couldn't live without a 45 cal.

There is also one called the 450 Yukon which is basically a necked up WSM case or cut down RUM case. You might get a bit more push on both ends...no guarantee in the SMELLY...but it will cost you $150 for the reamer from PT&G and about $125 for custon dies...It would also be easier to modify the magazine to feed. Just solder in some longer ears on the rear and tweak. This one works wonders in a Marlin BigBore levergun...458 WM ballistics at levergun pressures, and you oughta hear the whinning about the bitchslapping you get.

I rent most of my reamers from ReamerRentals as they are just a hundred miles away. Usually runs just over or under $55 for 3 days (slightly more for 2 weeks), depending on which pilot I get. That includes return Priority shipping and insurance in case I get ham fisted with the feed or don't clean the chips often enough.

Lots of ways to get a Smelly to work...but I can't seem to get anyone to give up the booty about how they modified their mags.

Handloader #170 has an excellent article on the 45-90 Express...a converted #4 and a picture of the magazine and a short blurb about how he did it.