I'm new here. Joined just to learn about Lee Speed rifles.

I'm planning to build a rifle mimicking the Lee Speed using a new unissued No4 MkI receiver I have. It will be highly modified to make it sportier. The barrel will be from a No4 that I will have bored out and chambered for .375 2 1/2 NE. I have a gunsmith lined up to do that work. He actually has the chamber reamer. I take my inspiration from here: http://www.lee-enfieldrifles.com/nitro.html I also have a gunsmithing friend giving me advice who has built a .375 on a Lee-Enfield action.

Everything was going along smoothly until last night, when I read on-line that Kynoch round nosed loads won't feed from a military .303 magazine. I note at the ballistics page at the above linked site loads are given for spire point bullets. I haven't been able to get hold of my friend to learn what bullets he might have used. Has anyone here experience getting .375 NE rounds to feed from a .303 magazine. I actually have several Santa Fe five-round magazines for Lee-Enfields, both numbers one and four, and will be using one of these for my project. I intend the rifle mainly for shooting round nosed cast bullets, if they can be made to feed.

Has anyone modified the military Lee-Enfield butt plate to have more of a sporter shape? I'm wondering if I do it what problems I might encounter. Or, should I just go with a classic orange recoil pad?

I'll modify the safety lever to make it easier to throw. Also, I will use what I can a button type cocking piece, one of the round ones, to give it more of an authentic look. I'm still consideering what to do about a stock and sights.

Any thoughts or advice on this project would be greatly appreciated.

I've been studying the archives and see a lot of very knowledgeable folks here. I look forward to dredging for more info on these beautiful rifles.