Thread: BSA model E 303

Originally Posted by csmiffy

good to hear from you all.
@mucko- there were more basic models from BSA. Just looked them up-the model C had a different stock but the belly plate was still original as is the dogleg bolt-the photo showed the side mount sight though. Both the C and D photos I found showed a recess cut in the wood. Maybe only done if its ever fitted? there are a couple of posts on other forums that show a catalogue but cant refind them to check if you know what I mean
Model D had a better stock and the bolt was straightened.
As for the top disc, my belief is that maybe a misaligned scope mount screw may have jacked out the disc. There was no sign of solder/braze under there So just friction holding it in and its only 4mmish at the thickest.
There was the original rear hole still in the receiver. I welded that up just in case it went in the same spot and could do something. Knowing what I know know after my second go, I'd have left it. More dicking round than what I gained from it.
The 264mag would be a cracking calibre for it-read up on it a while back, one of the better 6.5's as far as outright performance goes. @Sideshow-Thank you. Yeah I was confident I could do a good job but knowing what I know now (and considering the tooling I had) I'd have just machined the bottom and left the OD of the recess alone. I probably made it worse and made that little chamfer at the back. The sides were more parallel before I started and probably even less oval. lol.
@Cordite-Gold coin a nice touch, but that only worth the effort if I was using open sights only. Once the scope bases fitted you'd never see it. Also used a lower grade high tensile to give the thread some substance-don't reckon gold would have enough. Oh and yeah cant afford the gold lol. Ohh and ive seen a heap of those videos on youtube. The quirky dora the explorer music on them is far more hideous
@Walker-yes, If I wanted to do a 30-06 class of cartridge, the p17 is better, bolt head is already right as is the mag box. the 303 isn't long enough apparently

like you say p14 mag box is to short I modified mine to get the length for the 264, in saying that you could almost just use a p17 mag box. as the bolt face is the same on p14 as belted H&H case its a easy convert, I have a couple of p17 as well 6.5/06 and 30/06 AI the 6.5/06 is only a couple of hundred ft/sc slower then the 264. I love them all. as well as bolt face the difference the firing pins are different from the p14 to the p17. either rifle is a great base to build from and I am always on the look out for parts had a couple of leads that lead no where. enjoy your rifle there quite under rated.

@mucko you are right. My initial internet research suggested doing the exact same thing, using the p17 mag box to get the length.
Probably good in the day when there were a bunch of junkers around you could get cheap for bits, but not so much now. P14s don't come much cheaper than 3hundy on tardme.
Unless lucky I would have to do what you did. I can't get my head around buying a going p17 just for the mag box-it would have to be turned into something else lol
Barrels are different too, cone vs. square I think with corresponding matching bolt heads, but it all from internet, I haven't had both in my hands at the same time for comparison.
A chap I worked with years ago had a Sig Sauer rifle with an interchangeable barrel system in 6.5-06. He loved it that calibre.

Originally Posted by csmiffy

@mucko you are right. My initial internet research suggested doing the exact same thing, using the p17 mag box to get the length.
Probably good in the day when there were a bunch of junkers around you could get cheap for bits, but not so much now. P14s don't come much cheaper than 3hundy on tardme.
Unless lucky I would have to do what you did. I can't get my head around buying a going p17 just for the mag box-it would have to be turned into something else lol
Barrels are different too, cone vs. square I think with corresponding matching bolt heads, but it all from internet, I haven't had both in my hands at the same time for comparison.
A chap I worked with years ago had a Sig Sauer rifle with an interchangeable barrel system in 6.5-06. He loved it that calibre.

i just popped the spot welds on the p14 box to get the length then tig welded it worked a treat. the 6.5/06 is a awesome round. I have a p14 I'm suppressing at the moment should be some fun once finished.

Good stuff @mucko
Between this and the parker hale project I have a couple of cartridges I need to look at. I can probably see a 7mm rem mag in the future as I always liked them but not so sure about the other one. Probably a 308 but I'll see what cheap barrels pop up.
As an aside, I just had an email from the stock outfit in the states, "sorry don't ship international". Bugger.

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Good stuff @mucko
Between this and the parker hale project I have a couple of cartridges I need to look at. I can probably see a 7mm rem mag in the future as I always liked them but not so sure about the other one. Probably a 308 but I'll see what cheap barrels pop up.
As an aside, I just had an email from the stock outfit in the states, "sorry don't ship international". Bugger.

try this guy https://www.instagram.com/gunracknz/ for your stock.

@mucko cheers-yeah looked at these guys first and then found the other site, but at least you can get the Boyds in NZ now.
Not many do stocks for the P14 so not a lot to pick from. Thought there'd be more actually.
350 bucks isn't too bad for a bargain basement stock I spose. Only issue with them is they only do a stock for p14 military config. They do a P17 in flat floorplate though. Have you had any experience with these, which would be easier to make fit, the P14 or the P17?

I bought one of these on here before Christmas.It was in reasonably good condition but the barrel was immaculate.I shot it at the range over Christmas with the 180gr Hornady round nose bullets and it was easily 1MOA.
I have a spare rear Weaver mount no.49A which you are welcome to have.The front mount is a Weaver 46.
I would say your stock is a replacement as mine has a checkered pistol grip and no cheek piece.
My other original P14 I rebarreled with a Criterion barrel in .303 and that shoots very well too.
With the the right load and projectile you will get .308 performance for most hunting ranges- Nathan Foster explains it far better than I can!
So that is one of my ambitions to shoot a deer with this lovely old rifle which oozes tradition and is heir to an illustrious history.The purist would put an aperture sight on but they are not so easy to find.
Thank you and I really enjoyed reading your story.

@Tupara good stuff and thank you for the offer of the mounts, although I may not need them.
The Gunsmith type person who is D/T'ing the top for me is sorting out mounts. He said they can be a PITA as the height on the rear wasn't always accurate, nor was the radius the same. He mentioned a set of mounts he may have had which I would fit, but for the life of me I don't remember knowing what sort they were.
Because he is doing that whatever base is fitted, he could drill it to suit.
Mine is supposedly the model E and looking online that's the style of stock with a cheek-piece, but mine is a lot lighter than the ones that pop up. My chequering looks like its been scratched in, so don't know if it has been sanded down or it is indeed another stock.
Funny you say aperture sight.
The guy on this forum I bought it off, had a side mount aperture sight which would fit, but as money was a premium and my rifle has been shortened so the front sight has been removed, I didn't grab it as I would have to do that as well.
Agree about the performance. the guy did sell me a little lee loader so one day I might reload for it but it will be factories for a bit.
If I did rebarrel it I can see it becoming a 7mm mag but that wont be for a while.
Story isn't finished, still to be blued, the stock fixed, (way bigger job than the plug) and scoped sighted in-hope it does shoot ok.
Be a shame if it doesn't but my barrel not so immaculate so expectations not so high.

The first BSA conversion I had just had the cutdown military stock, so I laminated some wood on and shaped it to the same dimensions as my forester stock which fits like a glove. Wonderful work rifle. BSA profiled the rear receiver to match the Remington model 30 which was just the P14/M17 in commercial form. Remington kept the same profile/height relationship for the M700 Rem, so any mounts for these rifles should work on a BSA conversion that hasn't been altered. I have some steel rings of forgotten make that hold a Leupold M8 3X low on the rifle and the fit is perfect as you shoulder the rifle with the eyes closed.
My second was an E model that had the straightened bolt handle and floorplate and the nice sporter stock. It came off trademe, advertised as having a mint barrel. Of course it did!, the inside of the barrel was like a rusty rasp and collected 1/2 of a cleaning patch passed through it. Mike Collings rebarreled it for me with a MAB chromoly, and it is now one of the more accurate rifles that I have owned. I generally load 180 gn Sierra pro-hunter projectiles, using .308 Win load data, as the case capacities are the same and in my rifle 45 grains of AR2208 gives 2610 fps. It gets to come out of the lockup the most often.

@JWB
My barrel not as bad as that. From memory my P+H safari 7x57 is like that.
This one somewhere between yuck and mint so could be alright.
worst thing is I have a big fat Burris 50mm 2x10 that was for a very slow ongoing delisle 45 project that I am going to use for testing.
It really should be on the 243 but I doubt it will fit as that means new rings for that resighting etc etc so it will go on this instead so I will probably need tall rings.
I'll just have to wait and see how Jim goes with the mounts. I'm getting what ever he fits for mates rates or so he said the mentioned the other day too so fingers crossed.
I have what I think are Old Warne premier bases off my rem 700 416 that may have fitted but rings are discontinued so they are really not worth trying to fit even if I thought that was a great idea.
As per piccies there are some big bits missing from the front of the stock barrel channel WTF why/ I don't know-same on both sides. Found an old smle fore-end that I'll strip back and see how close it is in colour for some donor wood. orange looking though the varnish so could be light enough.
The Stock is going to get some recoil pins fitted to help tighten it up and hold the cracks. Its got cracks in the tang, and between every bit of wood up to in front of the mag well and its split there too. lol
I have another piece off another 303 fore-end that is quite a dark chocolate for plugs but don't know if I can get them right to suit the grain. Not Ebony but is probably a good contrast and in the spirit of keeping these things alive.
Good for some load data. I was fishing for some good ideas on another thread for this a while back. I was more considering 150grainers though.
180's at 2600 would be as good or better than factory 150s at the same speed.

Originally Posted by csmiffy

The Stock is going to get some recoil pins fitted to help tighten it up and hold the cracks. Its got cracks in the tang, and between every bit of wood up to in front of the mag well and its split there too. lol
I have another piece off another 303 fore-end that is quite a dark chocolate for plugs but don't know if I can get them right to suit the grain. Not Ebony but is probably a good contrast and in the spirit of keeping these things alive.

My model E also was cracked in the front of the magazine well and at the tang. As you have noticed there is no recoil bolt through the stock behind the recoil lug recess. In mine the wood between the recess and the magazine well had given way letting the action recoil back to split the pistol grip. Where the back of the action meets the pistol grip, the stock is supposed to be relieved so that steel doesn't meet wood at that spot.
The fix for me was to wedge the stock open, and wash out all the old oil with cleaning solvent, and then wash out again with epoxy thinners. The cracks were then filled with HT9000 epoxy resin mixed with glue powder. After it was cured, the recoil lug recess was opened up and undercut where it met the stock sides and the area built up with resin and pieces of glass mat to replace the damaged area which the recoil lug bears against. When that had cured the rifle was bedded normally from the magazine well to an inch in front of the action, using HT9000 with glue powder and glass mat, chopped fine into flakes as reinforcement.
Still going strong after 10 years and has not moved

@JWB
Good advice, mine rocks backwards and forwards on the two action screws, it needs at least a quasi pillar bed to sort that out before I tackle the bedding, but I want to do it for a practice anyway.
I got into the cracks with some aerosol cleaners but it needs some more before I glue it.
What sort of epoxy resin is it?

Epiglass HT9000 epoxy resin. Epiglass is now branded International Paint. They had a range of glass mat, glue powder. and microballoons to mix with the epoxy to make thin or thick glue, or filler. A bit expensive, and is not stocked as widely as it once was, and has been replaced on most hardware shelves by a similar Norski product. I've used a bit of this Norski for other things, but haven't yet bedded a rifle in it.
Epiglass products are available at ship chandlers or other places that supply to the boat-building trade.

That's a bit of a kicker too I spose.
Don't want to pay 100 bucks for materials to bed and fix the stock if I can get one out the US for 200.
Then again might never get the new stock out and the old one only costs materials to fix.

Here are some happy snaps of the stock which I started playing with weeks ago but never took pics.
Pics of the action which I just got back today from my friendly gunsmith from the shooting club.
Bluing is a as good as I can get from a cold blue. He redid it with an oxpho blue because the other chemicals just didn't take and wasn't happy with it.
Suffice to say I am.
The picatinny mounts are a made from a single one piece sun optic picatinny rail that fitted, was level etc. with no shimming, so he drilled and tapped it to suit after cutting it up to match the action. He tried boresighting a scope from one of his rifles and seemed ok so ran with it.
None of the scope mounts that are meant to fit, did without shimming etc.Looks good to me

Ive drilled the stock for home-made cross bolts made from brake rivets drilled and tapped for 5mm screws.
If I was going to leave them visible, I would've made each end from rivets so they looked a bit more original but as I am going to cover them with plugs I thought meh.

Drilled the cracks for dowels, washed the cracks out with brake cleaner and white spirits then epoxied the dowels and cross bolts in at the same time as I glued the cracks. I was able to spread the stock apart to wash it out as well as get glue into the cracks.
What is hard to see is I drilled though the split down the tang of the stock (just behind the rear action screw hole, and epoxied a piece of 6mm threaded rod about 75mm long down in there

Also made up some threaded pillars from alloy (@Mickey Duck). You can see the front one trial fitted. I tapped the stock to suit the threaded pillar. The rear isn't done as I didn't have a drill bit that would fit my drill chuck. The rear is slightly larger, the front I just ran a tap down it.
These will be epoxied in Once I fit them to the action to get the correct clearance for the mag box.
Going to bed the action so a bit of tidying to do in there.
Thanks to @Nga for helping me with some ebony for the crossbolt plugs.
Only thing is Jim also did a fantastic job of cleaning out the barrel and while it still isn't flash, it is actually better than I thought.
Worst part is now Jim has told me that the now you can tell that the last 2 inches of the barrel are buggered so I should cut it off and recrown it. Its 600mm approx.(24") from roughly the start of the barrel to the muzzle so it will be down to a 22 incher after I'm done.
Ah well
more to come once I get my shit sorted