| BillfromOregon |
| (.333 member) |
| 04/01/16 08:55 AM |
Lee Speed chamberings
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Am I off in assuming the only two factory chamberings were .303 British and .375 Flanged NE 2 1/2?
| Roy |
| (.300 member) |
| 04/01/16 10:35 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Yes,
I have one in 8mm.
Roy.
| BillfromOregon |
| (.333 member) |
| 04/01/16 11:38 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Roy, just bloody lovely.
| Roy |
| (.300 member) |
| 04/01/16 11:49 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Thanks Bill,
Just eye candy though as I haven't yet found any suitable ammo to give the old girl a try. At least that's not the problem with my .303's..!
Cheers, Roy.
| BillfromOregon |
| (.333 member) |
| 06/01/16 02:19 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Roy, looking at the illustration in my old BSA catalog, that 8mm round looks a bit like a Lebel, but without as much taper. Seems the BSA sporting rifles were chambered in .375 Flanged, 8 mm, 7mm Mauser, .303 and .32-40, but these are not necessarily Lee Speeds are they?
| Roy |
| (.300 member) |
| 06/01/16 07:21 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Hi Bill,
I'm no expert on calibres but have it on good authority that the 8mm in question is not the French Lebel round but the 8x54R Mannlicher.
As to these being Lee-Speed rifles well that's a bit of a can of worms, as I know some folks don't consider such rifle to be a 'Lee-Speed' unless it is marked as such. I disagree with this train of thought as the term 'Lee-Speed' was never an official name for these rifles and is just a name we collectors/shooters have adopted. The original term was 'Sporter', so in my mind any earl BSA (or other make) rifle originally manufactured as a sporting rifle using the Lee-Metford action (i.e. the Lee-Speed patents) is indeed a Lee-Speed be it marked or not. A good example is the wonderful 8mm I showed earlier, clearly a Lee-Speed but no marked as such. In fact out of the four such rifles I have only one is actually marked with the Lee-Speed patent details as it is quite early (mid 1890's as I recall).
Hope that makes sense?
Cheers, Roy.
| BillfromOregon |
| (.333 member) |
| 07/01/16 01:28 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Makes perfect sense, Roy. Congratulations on owning not one but four examples!
| Roy |
| (.300 member) |
| 07/01/16 02:09 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Thanks for that Bill,
I'm planing on working on a dedicated 'Lee-Speed' section for my website, not totally sorted yet but have created a wants page and also a few private links to share with friends etc. I will add them below for your interest.
Wants Page: http://wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinsonfscollection.com/B.S.A._Lee-Speed_Rifle_Wants_List.html
No1: http://wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinsonfscollection.com/BSA_Lee_Speed_No1_Greener.html
No2: http://wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinsonfscollection.com/BSA_Lee_Speed_No2_8mm.html
No4 (RN): http://wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinsonfscollection.com/BSA_Lee_Speed_No4_%28N%29.html
No4: http://wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinsonfscollection.com/BSA_Lee_Speed_No4_%28a%29.html
Cheers, Roy.
| BillfromOregon |
| (.333 member) |
| 07/01/16 03:47 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Roy, you've a wonderful start. Wishing you every success with the site and finding parts.
I am certainly looking forward to getting my restocked Lee Metford from Von Gruff!
| Roy |
| (.300 member) |
| 07/01/16 04:25 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Thank you Bill,
Make sure to share some photos of your project. Just can't get enough of seeing these wonderful old guns.
All the best, Roy.
| Old_rifle_nut |
| (.300 member) |
| 11/01/16 07:09 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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It was not the 8x54R, but rather the Austrian 8x50R Mannlicher cartridge, aka .500/320 Flanged, as well as the 7x57.
I also have an Alex. Martin commercial B.S.A.Co. C.L.L.E. sporting rifle (post Speed patents) in .256 Mannlicher, aka 6.5x53R, .256 Swift Flanged & .256 Fraser Flanged.
| Roy |
| (.300 member) |
| 11/01/16 07:44 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Thanks for that,
Much appreciated and will make a note for future reference.
Cheers, Roy.
| BillfromOregon |
| (.333 member) |
| 13/02/16 03:19 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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After looking over various case dimensions I settled on Jamison/Captech .40-70 Sharps Straight brass to form .375 Flanged cases from. A dab of Imperial Sizing Wax and they slip right into the CH-4D FL sizing die with scarcely any effort.
I will work with the Hornady 270-grain .375 RN in working up loads, once I get my Lee Metford from Von Gruff and can have the barrel rebored and reamed.
| VonGruff |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/02/16 10:38 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Counting down the days now Bill. Are you going to use Douglas's reamer?
| Old_rifle_nut |
| (.300 member) |
| 15/02/16 04:50 AM |
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Re: Lee Speed chamberings
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Bill from Oregon:
Why not just order the correct 375 fl 2 1/2" brass from Captech like I did?