American Machinist does Winchester-Lee

[waterman]

30 years ago, I played with one of the Winchester-Lee sporters and succeeded in reloading for it. The Swift case worked well after the semi-rim was turned off. The neck was short by 0.10" and didn't help accuracy, but the case was functional and as strong as a converted brass case can get. Donnelly describes a way to add a longer neck to the Swift case. Might work, but I quit before then.

I can't imagine why anyone would even think about using a Krag or .303 Brit case for the conversion. The first thing, you would have to turn off the rim. I was in hot pursuit of a military Lee-Navy when the guy was killed shooting one. We're supposed to learn from the mistakes of others.

But I have found reference to a series of in-service modifications made to the bolt by the USMC. They apparently had problems & maybe some injuries. I'd like to know more about that.

Have you ever noticed the similarities between the Winchester-Lee and the Model 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle? JMB turned the Lee Navy bolt upside down, operated it with a gas-driven piston and fed it from a removable box magazine. Prototype to production in less than a year.

[butlersrangers]

I am 'Bumping' this old KCA thread due to current interest and discussion of Winchester-Lee military rifles and sporting models.

p.s. - 'WIKIPEDIA' has an article on the Krag-Jorgensen that mistakenly uses this picture of U.S. Marines, (who clearly are using Winchester-Lee rifles, during an apparent staged-battle scene, possibly in Cuba).
I believe a couple of the Marines can be seen simulating rifle loading by 'charger/clip'.

Love the petite bayonets and suspender ammo-belts!

[Tenacious Trilobite]

Good catch. It even says it was taken June 1898, which was before the Army and Navy agreed to standardize on the Krag. I'll dust off my Wikipedia account and see if I can change it