Re: American Machinist does Winchester-Lee
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 5:31 pm
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.
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.