Right - from a pure performance point of view, the 357 caliber seems likely a good compromise, what with cast pistol bullets available for light loads and the heavy bullet capability in full power loads - somewhat more power than the already plenty powerful 350 Remington - which would still give a fairly good long range capability. This would be a short barrelled project.

I have considered the 411 in a shortened case (even a straight walled 44).

Your thoughts as wild-catters?

303 guy A 35 cal 303 or 303 imp would make a very useful cartridge.I don't think it would be as powerfull as the 350 Rem mag. The 350 Rem has a couple grains more capacity than the 30-06 case and the 303 case is smaller yet. It would be similar to a 358 win. What action are you considering? a SMLE or a P-14?

Nothing new. As said, Mr. Epps, Canada, did both the standard case up to .35 and a .35 Improved. Much more than the .35 Remington. Not quite the .35 Whelan. Before the .358 WCF and .350 Mag.

I also think that there was a very popular hand gun round for sillouette, called .35 Remington rimmed. The .30/40 K or .303 case was used with correct shell holder and .35 Remington dies. Case was shortened a bit.

You are certainly correct that the .35 is popular as an all around game cartridge in North America, anyway. Big for varmints, but otherwise, get the job done. Biggest bears, light, but they are getting scarce.

Again, we look at the actions. SMLE have limits a bit below others. Single shot or P14 or ??? and I think you could rival the Whelan, at least. luck.

DO IT! roger

I think it would be fun in an Encore barrel, but then in a single shot, why wildcat, when there's the 9.3x74 to play with.

KB

I made A TYPO. I meant to say 35 Remington not 350!

quote:

... called .35 Remington rimmed. The .30/40 K or .303 case was used with correct shell holder and .35 Remington dies. Case was shortened a bit.

There's an idea!
It's a MkI No.I (forerunner to the SMLE but same thing) that I want to use. Unless a No.4 comes along but I am not after max performance - just adequacy, which means to me 35 Remington or maybe a little more. It seemes to me it would be real easy to neck up a 303 Brit case. (It has to be a 303 Brit based cartridge because that's what I want! And it has to be on a Lee Enfield because that's .... etc! )

Mmmm... 303/35? 303/41 shortened? 303/44 straight and shortened? Mmmm....??

quote:

Big for varmints, ...

Oh I don't know. Kills 'em dead, don't it? !

I already have two 303 Brits that shoot well. The one is to be dedicated to cast bullets (the MkI No.I) and the other shoots 180gr Highland bullets real well (MOA) so now my next one is to be a shorty and my idea of a shorty is a larger bore on the same case. But which larger bore? Should I simply build one of each or go 'switch barrel'? Mmmm.....

303 guy A #4 rifle would handle a little more pressure. The 35-303 Imp wether it be the Epps version or someone elses would be a good choice. About a 20 or 21 in barrel would be real handy in the bush.

quote:

The 35-303 Imp wether it be the Epps version or someone elses would be a good choice ...

Would the Imp require any changes to the magazine? Would it still hold ten rounds? I'm not specifically looking for more power than the standard 303 can produce in the SMLE although the heavier the bullet the better, particularly if I were to use cast bullets, in which case a larger case capacity would keep pressure down. I'm just not sure I want to do fire-forming - although a batch of brass only gets done once and should last a heck of a long time. (I am still using remnants of 303 cases I bought nearly 30 years ago. Those are still good but just not enough of them to load a batch - neglected to anneal and had a few neck splits).

303 guy I have a 25-303 Epps Imp on a # 1 Mk3 action. I believe it will only hold 9 rds in the clip.With the improved case there is a little less case stretching so I would suggest cases would last a little longer. As for fireforming I have a couple loads I just load into the resized case and go shooting. The best choice may be determined by what dies are most availible.

Thanks for that snowman. Nine rounds is still respectable. The 35-303 Imp would be the same, no doubt.

What velocities do you get with your 25-303 Epps? I would expect equalling 257 Roberts at the original Roberts loadings - which ain't bad!

My last goat with my 303-25 (the official name of my cartridge), dropped in a rather spectacular fashion. High behind the shoulder entry and mid shoulder exit. He just flipped onto his back and wriggled a bit before going still with blood frothing out his nose. The exit wound was a little larger than the entry wound with a little bleeding. I did not complete the autopsy as I developed cramps at that inopportune time. But no shoulder bone was hit. The bullet was a Sierra 100gr SPS.

303 Ballistics are very similar to the 257 Roberts,a little better with some loads. As soon as I loaded to near max case life is shortened up to 3 or 4 reloads. Personally I wouldn't build another wildcat on the SMLE action. I would use a P-14 but they are a little big and heavy and best would be a strong single shot. However if I keep the loads mild case life is good and its still lots of fun.

I wouldn't mind if my 25/303 barrel was on my No.4 action. Then I could load it to it's full potential. I have no need for 'hot' 303 Brit loads so the No.1 action would be fine for my 303 Brits but one cannot just swap barrels around (the thread starts are in a different position). Pity, I am loading very mild for my No.4. On the other hand, I am using the rear sight mounting as a carry cord ring mount! (This gives me two free hands and being a shock cord, I can shoulder the rifle without unclipping it).

303-35, also known as the 35territorian, myself and another aussie member are in the process of building such a beast, both of us using a N0.4 action.

There is a guy over there in kiwi land already building them too Status, got a quote from him some time ago and it was about $600 to supply a chambered barrel.

Paz

I took the 303-25 out yesterday. This time the scope base was secure! The SMLE action is not quite ideal for this kind of rifle. Reloading is slow and deliberate and one often empties the chamber. The clip charger bridge gets in the way of removing cartridges and pushing them back into the magazine. I had quite a few spent cases not eject. I'm not sure what is happening but it might be a combo of the clip charger bridge and the scope rail. My No4, on the other hand has no such problems nor does my MkI. As far as caliber goes, I am finding the 303-25 a real dream! A shooting mate took his 358 lever gun. The 35 seems quite a good choice! He had loaded up some 357 revolver bullets - 96gr I think he said. Seemed like a nice load. Personally, I like the 303/35 on a No4 action idea. Ideal for Auzzie conditions?

This is how I did my MkI. It started out with a through rail which I cut away. This one is real reliable.


I did this scope mount for a friends No4. The rear piece is siver soldered and srewed, the front has a large curved area which is epoxy bedded and screwed. I used the same steel as the action and milled the rail after mounting. If you look at the rear rail you will see (apart from the screws being off-set - not me, the holes were already scew on the bridge) there is a crude rear sight which is the correct hight for use with the original fore-sight.