bren 303 rreceiver for bren 8mm build ?

[dherb]

can a 8mm bren be built with a receiver from a 303 cal. bren gun?

Information

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[Joe H]

dherb,

Yes. Obviously you need a 8mm barrel. A .303 barrel can be re-bored and re-chambered for 8mm Mauser, not a cheap date. It must be head-spaced consistent with the rear face of the .303 round so you can use the .303 bolt without modification. If you find a 8mm barrel that was made for the Bren I'm pretty sure you will need a 8mm Bren bolt, neither of which is easily found. The ZB39 8x56r barrels will fit the receiver but cannot be modified to 8mm Mauser.

The .303 receiver will accept the Zb26-30 8mm 20 round magazine with a little modification to the lower rear of the mag well. The mod can be done with a dremel. If you use one of the Zb26-30 mags be careful as to what ammo you are using. Some 8mm is longer than the WW II ammo and will cause jams. I've found Privi Partisan FMJ is the correct length.

You will also need an extractor for the rimless case. A Bren L4 made for the 7.62 x51 NATO works fine.

I've built a Bren semi as noted above. Works well. No experience with full auto.

Joe

[dherb]

hello, forgot to mention i have a complete 8mm bren parts kit ,less receiver, but do have a cut 303 cal. receiver,wondering if i weld up receiver if i can use to build up a 8mm bren gun.

[truck1]

hello, forgot to mention i have a complete 8mm bren parts kit ,less receiver, but do have a cut 303 cal. receiver,wondering if i weld up receiver if i can use to build up a 8mm bren gun.

Are you interested in selling an 8mm barrel ? If so please PM me. Thanks.