whats the caliber of my rifle?

[ka0sx]

5 points if you can guess the caliber of my new rifle, 500 points if you can guess what rifle =P

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm290/Cha0sx510/caliber.jpg

[ka0sx]

.303 British
Lee-Enfield

close >,<

[ka0sx]

.308
Winchester or Remington
still nope ><

[Gideon]

.223?

AR type rifle of some kind?

[NJBob]

5.63mm AK

[ka0sx]

kekeke this is fun! PK is getting very close

[ka0sx]

well im running out of ideas. is it a .300 Winchester?

.300 winmag :biggrin:

[ka0sx]

actually I bought the Winchester SXR(autoloader)

[ka0sx]

sweet , although im old school and i love the bolt action

I dunno, I like both but I prefer to have an auto loader.

[SailDesign]

.303 British
Lee-Enfield

Nope! The 303 has a tapered case with a lip at the base.

[SailDesign]

my buddy has a .303 Lee-Enfield , its an awesome weapon for its age

Be VERY careful, if it has the original barrel - those old ones have a habit of getting fatigue cracks adn blowing out. Painful.
If original, get a decent gunschmidt to check her out.
Other than that, yeah - great guns. We used a set of Parker-Hale tweaked 303s in the rifle team at school, and it was possible to get a 10-inch grouip at 500 yards with service ammo. No bench, no bags, just what you Yanks call a Hasty Sling.
Good times... :smile:

[ka0sx]

Be VERY careful, if it has the original barrel - those old ones have a habit of getting fatigue cracks adn blowing out. Painful.

Painful to say the least, wow, ouch....

[GeneW]

5 points if you can guess the caliber of my new rifle, 500 points if you can guess what rifle =P

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm290/Cha0sx510/caliber.jpg

It's a belted magnum, which means it's a hunting firearm. AFAIK no commercially made semi auto uses belted magnums. Might be a Weatherby but I hope not. Don't like the "Run Up" business.

My money says it's a heavier magnum, maybe the 338 or larger. Probably a bolt action. God knows who.

Gene

[GeneW]

.300 winmag :biggrin:

Damn! Should have noticed the short (less than one caliber) length neck on the case.

Gene

[GeneW]

actually I bought the Winchester SXR(autoloader)

Somebody makes a self loader for belted magnum cases? That's a new one.

Gene

[GeneW]

will do Sail, i only shot 5 shots and from what my buddy tells me when he bought it it was never shot before. but ill let him know about the condition thanks

The 303 doesn't run "too hot" as far as pressures. I have a 7.7 Arisaka which is close "ballistically" to the 303 Brit. Those old school firearms were not pushed hard because accuracy was a big issue for them. Some of the sights on older rifles were calibrated for over 1,000 yards. You don't get such accuracy with "single base" powders in my experience when you go for high pressures.

Later on studies showed that shooting people over 400 yards away was in general a waste of time, so planners reduced the mass of the ammunition and pushed up the pressures.

I am not experienced with the Lee-Enfield and do not know about barrel fatigue issue. In US made arms such an effect is quite rare in 30 caliber and up rifles. It's common in the 22 caliber military stuff because water will "wick" into the barrel, causing it to split when it's fired.

SMLEs were made in most of the bigger Commonwealth nations. If you're not sure about the rifle's origin it pays to have an experienced person check it out. I can almost guarantee it's been shot before, if only for Proof testing. The markings will appear on the barrel or receiver.

Gene

[SailDesign]

Found the reference. From an NRA Reprint called "British Enfield Rifles"

[Bob_VT]

that's chinese to me , :iono:
i know weapons at an intermediate level and i don't shoot regularly , so you would have to explain the phenomenon to me Gene

Well here is the safety item. ALWAYS wear shooting glasses. If a barrel ruptures it can split and shard but the majority 90% + of the energy is traveling forward ...... away from you. The hot gas, powder and pieces of brass can be thrown back towards the shooter.

Approved shooting safety glasses can save you.

The true phenomena when a barrel explodes and splits is where it happens internally.

A barrel consists of lands and grooves. The lands being the high spots and the groves are cut into the conventional barrel.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Polygonal_vs_normal_rifling.svg/493px-Polygonal_vs_normal_rifling.svg.png

When it a barrel fails it is in the thicker area and not the thinner area. The pressure builds and reflects of the thicker areas with more velocity.

Confused now? :rolleyes: :biggrin:

Here is a photo I took inside a "larger" barrel of a bigger gun! :biggrin:

[Bob_VT]

22 cal military is the current 5.56 mm (aka .223) AR type. Yes water filled barrels can explode but it is rare. It is harder to drain water from a .22 cal then a .30 cal. The water will act an an obstruction and create a barrel blockage

The worst part of people reloading for the .303 is the mistake of a reloader using the wrong bullet. FYI a .303 bullet is actually a .311 diameter and people routinely use .308 bullets which do not properly engage the barrel and keyhole with wild fliers.

In my lifetime I have seen 5 weapon incidents/accidents and none involved a 22 caliber.

I saw a M-60 machine gun blow up and scar the shooter up, I have seen a .44 pistol blow a cylinder in half, a 50 cal machine gun blow a barrel off and split the receiver in half, I have seen the breech blow off a tanks 105 mm main gun and break the gunners legs and I had a sear spring break inside a 45 ACP pistol which emptied all 7 rounds in a split second.

[GeneW]

that's chinese to me , :iono:
i know weapons at an intermediate level and i don't shoot regularly , so you would have to explain the phenomenon to me Gene

The M-16 series of firearms come with a caution regarding water in the barrel. If you shoot them "wet" they may burst.

"uring testing in March 1958, rainwater caused the barrels of both the ArmaLite and Winchester rifles to burst, causing the Army to once again press for a larger round, this time at 0.258 in (6.6 mm). Nevertheless, they suggested continued testing for cold-weather suitability in Alaska. Stoner was later asked to fly in to replace several parts, and when he arrived he found the rifles had been improperly reassembled. When he returned he was surprised to learn that they too had rejected the design even before he had arrived; their report also endorsed the 0.258 in (6.6 mm) round. After reading these reports, General Maxwell Taylor became dead-set against the design, and pressed for continued production of the M14."

No, I don't know why this effect occurs. I do know that I was warned NEVER to shoot the rifle with water in the barrel. The "procedure" after fording water is to aim the barrel towards the ground and allow it to drain.

Gene

[SailDesign]

No, I don't know why this effect occurs. I do know that I was warned NEVER to shoot the rifle with water in the barrel. The "procedure" after fording water is to aim the barrel towards the ground and allow it to drain.

Gene

Any water in the barrel is likely to become steam very quickly a the pressures involved, especially if it is behind the round. I.e. any water that is in the chamber is likely to increase in volume by a few thousand percent. That increases the pressure big-time, resulting in bursts. Steam engines have used the principal for years. :smile: The bigger the barrel, the greater the capacity to survive this kind of abuse, since the amount of water per inch is a "unit" ratio, and the volume that can absorb the over-pressure is a "square" ratio (per inch of barrel). So, twice the calibre, four times the volume to absorb.

[SailDesign]

lol we were posting at the same time lol. but doesn't it have to do with the density of water ?

Not that I know of. :smile:

[GeneW]

lol we were posting at the same time lol. but doesn't it have to do with the density of water ?

I am not exactly sure. What I've heard is that the clearances inside of a 22 caliber bore are small enough that water there is subject to capillary action and will cause fractures or damage to the bore great enough to initiate a rupture if one attempts to shoot down them "wet".

I don't know. I make sure that the bores are clear of water before I shoot.

Gene

[SailDesign]

we need a fluid dynamics engineer or a phd

A Naval Architect is not good enough for you? Pah! :cry:

[firemachine69]

I am not exactly sure. What I've heard is that the clearances inside of a 22 caliber bore are small enough that water there is subject to capillary action and will cause fractures or damage to the bore great enough to initiate a rupture if one attempts to shoot down them "wet".

I don't know. I make sure that the bores are clear of water before I shoot.

Gene



Good point you bring up, however, I would only be concerned with a late-model rifle, particularly one using an octogonal barrel.

I leave a heavy oiling in the barrel for the storage my rifles endure (usually a month at the minimum), and all I do is shoot it out point-blank of my .22wmr rifle with a cheap round of ammo (safely, usually a nearby pit of sand and dirt), and away we go hunting (either paper or furry creatures).