303-25, Life brought back into it

Bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action, self loading rifles and other miscellaneous longarms.

Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by gunnnie » 02 Mar 2016, 12:41 pm

Agree with you re the SMLE. Have had them in 303-22Falcon & improved, 303-270 & 303-243 of all things! Currently have several 303's in No1 & 4, plus No 1 MkI & P14. Plus a 375NEf 2.5". So am certainly aware of the action strengths & weaknesses, as well as the reloading side.

Folks get hyped up over chasing speed, which is fine if that's what floats your boat, just don't do it with an SMLE or Enfield! It will only end badly.

With the 303-25 in one of these actions, you get a 10rd, fast cycling bolt rifle that will suit 90% of the hunting in this county. By using projectiles in the 90-100gn weight range you will take everything from rabbit to even red deer. Stalking skills & shot placement are the critical aspects of this, more so than the calibre/cartridge!

So, again, I say pick a projectile in that weight, develope an accurate load & concentrate on learning the range a drop of this load whilst improving ones accuracy with said rifle.
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Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by Heckler303 » 02 Mar 2016, 6:12 pm

Wow, a whole host of replies.


Also, yes I'm fully aware both the 303-25 and 25-06 have differences because they are two entirely different cases with different tapers and lengths. I have photos of the 25-06 M17 which currently is off at the gunsmith getting reamed because when a round was about to be chambered it refused to feed. So he's busy working on that, I've been trying to work on bringing up the absolutely junk sporterised stock that it came with. So I'll start a project thread on it sometime.

Also I'm currently using a load of 33 grains of AR2208 with 87grn soft tips for the 303-25.
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Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by GLS_1956 » 03 Mar 2016, 12:56 am

Varmtr wrote:GLS the SMLE"s and even the No4's are not as strong as the P14's front locker Mauser copy design. Hence my 6.5 Epps which is a 303 necked down and Ackley Improved is being built on a P14 to get the full potential of it.

The No4's are a step up compared to the SMLE's but still if you start to push it you'll start running into case stretch problems and head seperation. That's why a lot of reloading manuals show loads mostly for No1 & 4's due to the design of the action and pressures it can handle.


I'm quite aware of the superior strengths of a Mauser style action over the Lee-Enfield's rear locking design. In addition to several commercial sporting rifles I have an M1917 Eddystone, a 30/06 version of the P14, a WWII vintage Smith-Corona made 1903-A3 also in 30/06, an M48 Yugoslav in 8mm, and a couple of Mosin-Nagants.

A little online searching indicates the 303-25 can safely match the performance neighborhood of the 250 Savage and that ain't a bad neighborhood to be in.
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Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by gunnnie » 07 Mar 2016, 5:29 pm

Heckler303:

mate, if you're still chasing brass for your 303-25, go to FirearmSales.com.au and in the reloading components section page 2 you'll find a listing for 303-25 brass ($145/100).

Hope this sorts out what you're after to get the rifle up and running again.
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Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by SamHuntVic » 09 Mar 2016, 2:05 pm

I did a similar job on my 303.25. A big sand down then seven coats of Tru Oil.
I think you had a better one to start with than mine though.
You can see the original military marks on the butt stock.
Mine's also got the Sportco .25 barrel.
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Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by Wes » 08 Jun 2016, 9:34 am

She's pretty too :D
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Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by Bob 303/25 Epps » 13 Mar 2021, 1:35 pm

The 303/25 is a brilliant cartridge But the one I did is based on the Tipan, Epps and Newton cases.
Minimal taper, 35 degree shoulder angle and a .257 neck instead of the .311 long neck.
It holds 60 grains of 2213sc but you wouldnt use that amount unless you want a bolt in your forehead
With my Loads
a 115grain nosler combined technology silver tip I SAFELY get 3,300 fps but I have a 1 in 12 twist barrel. This is in a M17. My son's No4 SMLE will SAFELY do 3,200 fps with any 100 grain projectiles and 3,000 fps with 117 grain SSTs.

99% of the older conversions by sprinter have a 1 in 12 twist and will not stabilize anything over 100 grain
If any one wants any info on the Epps improved they are free to ask me any questions.
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Re: 303-25, Life brought back into it

Post by Ej45 » 16 Apr 2021, 8:54 pm

Hey Bob would love to hear more about that 25 improved especialy the SMLE. whats the case life like and what pressures would it be putting out?
any pics?

ej
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