That's about 2 MoA with irons... that's good shootin'. My sporter I made wit a vertically adjustable post front sight (hooded) and a windage adjustable rear aperture... works pretty well and easy to zero..... But then I have machine tools which help, although on that rifle I made the rear sight with just hand tools... didn't have a mill back then.,.... That's a really nice rifle you have made there and it is unique, one of a kind, and carries your skill and spirit with it. You can't get that from even the finest factory rifle.... Brilliant.
Hi, nice job. They are very under rated. I have rebuilt a few with new stocks. There is absolutely no need to float the barrels. Shoe polish is awsome release agent. If you have good bore they shoot lead very well. A basic aperture sight screwed to rh rear reciever is easy to make. There is nice flat there to mount it. A steel butt plate would be very durable and simple to make. We are lucky here in nz. Lots of these available. You are well armed with .303, 25-303 etc. Retro hunting rocks! Sv. Manawatu.
I have a milsurp lee enfield No4 Mk1 Long Branch from 1950 and it shoots great. Normally i am against sporters but this seems like a love project so I like it. Going trough all that work and all to get what you like in lee enfield action is great!
This has been an interesting series of films and I’ve enjoyed all three of them, so thank you. Re “Head Space Issues in Lee Enfield .303”: It would be worth looking up “Bloke On The Range” YT Film “Lee Enfield Myths (and why we in the Commonwealth.....)”. If you dive into the “comments” section, one of England’s finest Rifleman and renowned .303 specialists, explains where this “half truth” (Head Space), comes from. In short and in an original, factory proofed rifle, there will be no “head space” issues whatsoever. Head Space Issues, if they exist at all, come from a second “Proofing”, as better explained by the man himself. All the best to you and may that rifle remain with you forever!
I'm from Australia the SMLE was almost a staple piece of tooling around an Aussie house in the 50's when I grew up. They were everywhere people even gave them away there were that many. It served our armed forces going back to the Boer War in South Africa when it was called a Lee Metford I believe. In our country we have been almost disarmed & you'd be lucky to get hold of one these days. So the last rifle I had was a Lee Enfield. It wasn't a .303 bore, it had a .25 bore. With the .25 projectile fixed into a normal 303 brass shell. It looked the same as the one there, but it had the normal military front sights. It had 1897 stamped in it's receiver. They had such a surplus of them they just took the old barrels out of them & stuck a .25 barrel in them. They were popular as a sporting rifle in this country, A very accurate gun. I loved it. Do you have 303.25's in the U.S?
I live in the U.S. and I have a No.4 MK II chambered in 303 British. I've seen some of the Martini Cadet rifles re'-chambered from the original cartridge of .310, but I've never seen an Enfield rifle chambered in 25 out here. I have also seen chamber inserts for a 303 to shoot 32 ACP out of them.
@markbrennan1393 i remember seeing them bored out and rechambered in 410 shotgun. There were literally hundreds of 303, arisaka, 7mm, 8mm, and 30-40 kregs on the shelf at Springfield Shooters in Pennsylvania. They're now outta business but my guess if it was done to the 303 it was there at some point. Wish the place was still around
@@vincethewoodlander I've seen Enfields re chambered for .410 shotgun shells. I believe it was done when the Britts lent the guns out to allied nations to use as a form of riot control. I've also seen the Ishapore Enfields chambered in 308 out here is well.
You did a great job on that rifle! I've always had a soft spot for the old Lee Enfield, as my first real big game rifle was a sporterized Enfield when I was 17 years old. Now, just a few months shy of 60, I can't use iron sights at all anymore. I think your 100-yard group was excellent considering the firearm, the sites, and the fact you were doing it with bifocals!
Its interesting the rifle ended up similar to a PH conversion, but you did it all. You have a good rugged hunting rifle that will stand up to a harsh environment better than a lot of new commercial offerings. Lee sold Sporters a hundred years ago similar to the rifle you put together. Very tasteful.
@@vincethewoodlander I don't see why not, it was built inspected and passed for British Army specs, resulting in all those weird stamps on it. Meaning it was okay for continuous use in say the Dolomitic Alps, (if the Brits had ever been sent there) for indefinite use with rudimentary maintenance.
May I suggest using Herters 180 sp . I buy mine at my Local Cabela's. You will be surprised at the results. You spoke about making great shots in the beginning of the video. I was hunting western South Dakota on a private ranch when a Mule Deer Doe broke cover she was running strait away from me. The rancher said she almost off my property. I squeezed the trigger and struck the Doe in the back of the head. The Rancher couldn't believe it. He ask me where I learned how to shoot ? I replied in the Marine Corps .I was using my 303 British Enfield that I refinished .
My good shots are very similar one straight away and another fullout run left to right about 100 yards. One neck shot the other in the lungs. Don't I could repeat them. Thank you for watching and the tip. I'll try them soon as I can.
@@vincethewoodlander I doubt I could too at age 63. I had a similar shot with my 270 win . A whitetail doe straight away I was 28 then. My old eyes aren't what they used to be.
im personally not much for turning old miltary guns into sport rifles but you captured a very nice nod/clone of the old British Lee-speed sporting rifle, good job on the nice looking rifle
Really enjoyed watching what you did with that old rifle. I am currently restoring a sporterised .303/25. The stock has been sanded down and awaiting a linseed oil finish. Just got to figure out how the original front sight was attached to the 25 calibre barrel so I can remove it (I'm mounting a scope). Once I do that, I can progress with refinishing the metal and get it back together.
That is a very respectable group at 100 yds considering the short sight radius that you have with express sights and that the average Lee Enfield shoots about 2 1/2" at 100 yds. I have rear mounted target tangent sights on a few of my Lee Enfields and even with the greater sight radius AND handloads I haven't broken 1" at 100 yds yet. Well done!
I prefer the short sight radius of the number 1, (mine is a marklll* 1941 BSA) because being far sighted at age 67 I do not get decent sight picture with the rear sight of the number 4 right up close to my eye.
Got a No4mk1 last year from Texas. I'm lucky. This gun was made in England 1944. Sporterized but looks new. Needed a mag. Place to go is UK Mags. A little expensive. 90$ but are new and beautiful blued .
In about 130 years the SMLE has put a lot of food on the table. It's still very capable so why change a winning formula ? Today they are no longer cheap but that is evidence of how good they are.
I've had a question for awhile, and you seem like the best person to ask. What is the metal loop in front of the magazine and on the bottom of the magazine well, used for?
I'm sorry off the top of my head, I had no idea.... Further research revealed it was an attachment point for a chain that prevented loss of the magazine. Ha! they really didn't trust the detachable magazine with soldiers. They didn't either when I was in the army except we just called the tie downs "dummy cords". In ranger school and my unit we dummy corded everything. We were all dummies and inevitably someone would lose something somewhere when sleep deprived and operating in the dark. The other information said it was a sling swivel attachment that was later abandoned. Who knows, either satisfies my curiosity, also Thanks for watching!
I watched the video all the way through, you put a lot of work into that rifle. I will try to send you an email. anyway, I believe that the .303 is going into obscurity, not because it's somehow a short performer, it mainly because ammunition companies here in the U.S. look at tooling and bullet forming dies to make the round. there are though overseas companies that produce quality reloading components for the .303 ammunition hand crafter. There is two things I would have done different, I would have bought a adjustable rear peep sight for the rifle, also, instead of True oil, I would have used tung oil for a Danish finish. anyway Peace out dude, great video - Dave
@@thorsaxe5881 I didn't think the ppu brass was that bad. Especially when only neck sized. Although had a problem with consistent tension. These things stretch so much that brass is a problem, you either wear it out FL size or fiddle with neck sizing and tension.
@@vincethewoodlander I find that you can get into a vicious circle when loading for these, PPU brass is great stuff, I have had more than I expected "Luck" with it. one of the things you may want to check, Store bought projectiles labeled for this caliber can be a source of neck tension problems, I have seen bullets as small as 310 - 309, however labeled for the .303. Most, but not all .303's have a bore diameter at or around .312, some even larger, it's best to slug your bore to see what you got to work with for best performance and re-load-ability for your hand crafted rounds. Personally I shoot the Hornady 180 gr RN, That bullet seems to produce great accuracy in my rifle and others through the community say the same, It's not at barn burning velocity's, however it is accurate (In many rifles) and has a lot of connect energy. So, I hope that was some help, peace - Dave
As a Toolmaker and CNC Programmer/Operator there is nothing I can not make or refurbish. My Grandfathers 1912 Lee/Enfield works just fine. Food in the Freezer for the Families around us year after year. Even my shooting buddies enjoy how accurate this gun is after 110 years and counting. The gun needs a wee luv'n even in storage. I never changed the Barrel. It helps that I can measure Ten Thousands of an Inch with my own Metrology Gear but CMM and CNC makes this simple. Yes my Boss wanted to shoot the rifle. The look on his face gave me a blank check to use his Mills and Lathes. New does not mean better. A 1912 Barrel has seen a lot of rounds out. It's the ammo that damages it. How True is a Rifled Barrel? Try CMM it! To the Hundred Thousands of an Inch. That would be a 0.00001". I know my shit and have the gear and I love my Grandfathers Gun.
Just wondering why would you like 3" high at 100 yards instead of dead central like sniper rifle? Don't know if you are Canadian or American, but you guys are blessed having the rights to own guns. It makes me think of immigrate there.
From America... Come on over. I only hunt so I wanted to be able to pull up and be able to shoot and know that my bullet would be within three inches of where i aimed as long as it was within the maximum point black range and i was good enough. No doubt, You can find a better explanation of maximum point black range with a Google search. They actually taught it in my army unit and it's worked well hunting too.
buy an airline ticket to Mexico, pay someone to haul you to the border between Mexico and Texas, and swim the Rio Grande and voila.....you are a citizen and can own all the guns you want.....but you need to do this before Jan 6, 2025.
@@stevehunter9255 Trump takes over on Jan 6 and will immediately close the border. No more free entries. Thank God for that !! Come across the border now and you can stay forever !! You can jump the line like all the rest.
Good question. That would normally work but this sight has a beaded front sight, in particular a fiber optic one. I would have filled off the fiber optic housing and bead if I would've filled down my sight. Thanks for the question.
@@vincethewoodlander Oh! Sorry Vince. Yeah not an option. I should have "rewound" to see again what type of front sight you have. Too lazy. You did the right thing. I'm sure filing would have been the first thing you'd tried, if you just had a plane metal post. Very beautiful rifle, BTW.
