Will be putting togethor a 1B in British 303. Would like the communities thoughts on this.
So far have been met with why? and polite smiles. Anyone else think this is somewhat of a interesting project.

TY

I would go with the 303EPPS instead

I think it a fine chambering. The round is a classic, and brass is readily available. The bullet selection is a trifle short, though. I believe Woodleigh may be making the only 215 gn bullet for it, and it was with this bullet the cartridge made it's name as a big game round. In your No. 1, you can easily beat the original 2050 fps, and the Woodleighs are rated to 2200 at impact.

One thing I didn't like about my No. 1 was the noise it made on closing the action. This was from the extractor snapping left and right, a feature meant for rimless cartridges. If you like to keep the chamber empty until after the stalk begins, this is a hindrance. For your .303, you might consider being rid of it.

About the only thing I'd question is the 1B barrel profile, which seems a bit stout given the modest recoil.

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p.s. I just came across the site of Rhino bullets in S. Africa, and they too offer 215 gn bullets for the .303.

I love the idea. I shoot a bunch of .303> Have a Fulton Regulated Enfield target rifle, and was considering buiding a .303 on a No. 3 action. David.

Have a custom chamber reamer made. The standard Lee-Enfield chamber has about .010 diametral clearance at the head. This contributes to case head separations. There is no reason to put up with that in a custom barrel.

I agree In a No. 1 I would go with a tight chamber. I neck size only in my Enfield and have gone 10 loadings without losing a case.
Any source of barrels?

Sweet idea and in a modern rifle with tight chamber, it won't give much away to the .308Win. Projectiles are becoming easier to get due to the popularity of ex-mil's like the Nagant. Build it light and trim with a 26" barrel and make a real gentleman's stalking rifle out of it.
Cheers...
Con

A No1 in 303 sounds good to me. I have a Number one in 7x57 and an Army and Navy of London in 303, they are both good rounds. The 7x57, which is much admired and used will do little that the 303 can't when used for deer. The 303 IMHO is a little better with the 215 grain bullet when going after animals in excess of 400lbs in heavy cover.
There is in Taupo, New Zealand, a small exhibition of a deer cullers hut from 40 years or so ago. In it is an old cut down military 303 with which the owner shot over 2,000 deer. I know the bloke to whom that old rifle used to belong he is not the type to go in for bull.The number is authenticated.
Not bad for an old round that a lot of people think is not very good.
If it's what you want, a No1 in 303, go do it.

I can't say anything bad about the round,Not a single shot,,But,,,,My first hp rifle was a long branch #4 I bought at woolworths for 75 bucks,,Have taken a bunch of white tail with it out to 250 yds without much of a thought about it,,never have had to track or chase one either,,,,asshole over applecarts running 180gr.sp remington ammo.With 150 fmj's have smoked a lot of 200-300yd. chucks. have fun!!!Clay

An interesting chambering for a #1, nothing at all wrong with the cartridge. If it was me, I'd go with the 30-40 Krag instead, only because of the multitude of 30cal bullets that are available.

Elmer
My barrel source is from a gentelman in Ont,Canada.$300.00 and some change for a stainless job.
Thanks for everyones input! Wanted to originally do this project with the 1-A light
sporter because of the open sights and the guns just plain pretty looks.The 1-B showed up in the paper for a price and condition I could not refuse.
Also now looking for info on obtaining open sights for this gun.On the fence with this may just keep the gun clean.

Ty

Sounds like a good project. There's always been a 303 in my gun cabinet. Always wanted one in a single shot, I like single shot rifles. Building one with a good tight chamber would be even better. 303 is still one of the most used rifles here in this province and the rest of the country as well.

Stealth308win:
I have had built several No.1s with similar questions as to why from the masses. The answer for me will work just as well for you. I had mine built to please me and no one else. They pleased me just fine and that's what matters. Away from educated and cultured forums such as this, you will most often encounter those who can only understand things in simple news stand hack magazine terms. I was always asked why I didn't build a 270 or a '06. The simple answer was, I already had those or didn't want them. We build this toys to serve specific purposes. When we do these projects it is because the common rack built piece isn't quite what we want. That's reason enough. That 303 sounds like a plan. I had a 45ACP, 30M1 Carbine, and a 444 Marlin built. All on No.1Bs. I'd like to have a few more done.

Tanker,
A Ruger No1 in 30 Carbine... why? Only kidding, I've always wanted a bolt-action 30 Carbine, reckon it would be the perfect "bigbore" rabbit/fox gun.
Cheers...
Con

Hi Con:
I actually had the gun done up as "the" ultimate turkey rifle. At least that was the excuse I used on myself. I figured that little case headspacing on the mouth should be potentially as good as the 45ACP in an accurate barrel. It was. I used a match grade octagon Douglas 24". Just an example of something fun. A modernized 32-20 so to speak. Good with cast or jacketed. Cheap to shoot. Hard to ever wear out.

quote:

A Ruger No1 in 30 Carbine... why?

So you will not laugh if I want a matching pair of #1s in .25/20 and 32/20.

I wouldn't be the one laughing. One of my plans was for a 256 Win. There is no shortage of crazy people. Many a 'smith counts his blessings there.

I have one in 30-30 win. with a very lightweight brl and a quarter rib of my own making. Not many better 200 yard varmit guns

Yes, of course it is interesting! There are a few special run 1A's in .30/40 Krag around, and of course, many No. 3's in that caliber. Why not a .303? In the Ruger action, you can sure beat SMLE ballistic levels!!

There aint nothing wrong with the .303 brit.I say go for it though Id prob be lookin at a patt 14 .Which as a matter of intrest. Purdey reburnished many pat 14's during ww2 as sniper issue.If by chance you ever see one contact me asap & I promise it will go to a loving & deserving home .But good luck & keep us posted

We have a custom barrel maker in Alberta who will make you any kind of cut rifling barrel.
He also has a cabinet full of reamers. He has no 303 reamer he had never had a call for a 303.
He has been making barrels for a long time. The question od why is not far off the mark.
Fred M.

quote:

We have a custom barrel maker in Alberta who will make you any kind of cut rifling barrel.
He also has a cabinet full of reamers. He has no 303 reamer he had never had a call for a 303.
He has been making barrels for a long time. The question od why is not far off the mark.

I suppose we're lucky here in Auz .As we've got 1000s of .303s in various mods and convertions.On the odd occation that I need a 30 ' barrel their easy enough to come by &most barrel smiths dont even blink when you ask for .303 reamers.Or for that mater .303/22-243-25 -270,even 35/303.Our fore fathers did a lot of wild cating with the .303brit.In fact most of the above mentioned cals became factory standard,so far as ammo was concerned!I still have & use my first 25/303 which was the faverate Roo rifle well into the 1970s!

Hey Tanker,
what kind of accuracy did you get with your 30Carbine #1? I load a lot of different calibers but the 30 Carb is one of my long time favorite just for fun calibers. I have a military I got from DCM about 40 years ago, a Marlin model 62 lever action I bought new many years ago, and recently an Encore (which I'm just working up loads for).