7.62x39 bullets and powder for .303 british?

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D-BOMB

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Hey all,

So it appears as most people loading .303 british already know that there is a shortage of bullets for this size for the time being...not to mention powder being tricky to acquire in quantity.

I have heard of people making some light plinking loads by pulling surplus 7.62x39 AND dumping the powder in a primed .303 case and seating the pulled bullet over it.
Has anyone actually done this? Any data on this? Velocities? I assume it would be a safe mild round for plinking but you know what they say about assuming...especially in reloading!

Thanks!
 
I've heard of using the pulled bullets but not the powder as well. I would think it would be safe as you are really going to drop pressure with the larger volume case. Just keep in mind that some .303B's still wont work with .310" bullets. I had a beater No.1 Mk.3 LE that slugged .316" or something like that. Even with jacketed .3105" bullets they would tumble almost every shot. I needed minimum .311" jacketed to get it to work.

When I found out I can shoot .308" bullets through my P14 (even boat tails) I was quite happy. Accuracy is the same as .312" as far as I can tell with the iron sights but I'd assume I'm loosing some velocity due to gas blow-by. It's only really a plinking rifle for me anyway so no big deal.
 
Maybe off topic, but I load and shoot tons of .303, and I get great groups with gas checked hard cast loads, and there is far from any shortage on them.

Not sure what you load .303 for: I don't hunt with it, and I'm not concerned with match grade ammo. I get reliable groups past 300 yards that I'm satisfied with. No, they aren't 'MOA', and I'm not worried.

Anyway, something you might consider.
 
I do it all the time, just use the powder and bullet from a surplus x39. make a nice plinker load at around 2000fps

I also do it with X54r, but download the powder.
 
There's no reliable source I know of for cast bullets larger than .312" for .303B. I cast my own using a clone of the Lyman 314299 made by Accurate Molds but a lot of people are hesitant to get into casting.
 
My father brewed up some 7.62 X 39 pulled bullets into 303 Br cases a few years back. Shot really flat, but I've no 303's with glass so it was a waste of time as far as I was concerned...nothing jived with the irons as far as POA to POI.
On a glassed up sportered LE it'd be a great coyote rd though.
 
Hodgdon lists 5 125 grain loads on their site. You still have to slug the barrel, if you haven't already, to find its diameter. Milsurp bullet diameters vary a bit.
A .316" barrel is considered to be shot out. A .3105" bullet likely barely touches the grooves. A .311" bullet will rattle down the barrel too. Isn't in any way unsafe though. Just no accuracy.
Pulling surplus bullets and loading into another much bigger case, is unsafe. You have no idea what that powder is or anything about it. Plus a 7.62 x 39 uses 24 to 31.5 grains of powder for max loads. The .303 uses 40.0 to 54.0. Big enough difference to matter.
 
Have done it before many many times, intact it's the reason I bought an RCBS collet bullet puller... Make sure you push the x39 bullet into the case a little bit before you try pulling it to help break the sealant.
 
MattRidge said:
would it be that unfeasible to swage .308 bullet to .312 ?
Click to expand...
There are dies around that bump up bullet size by a couple thou. I've only heard of them being used with cast bullets, not jacketed, so I don't know how well it would work.

If there is enough demand I wonder if a company like The Bullet Barn would sell .314" cast gas checked bullets as a regular stock item. I just don't know if they have the moulds in their inventory.
 
I have done this with both x39 and x54 , but just the bullets in x 54 , this is usually just plinking ammo , the groove size is generous on my 303 , and even if it was .311 I have never gotten or heard of anyone getting match accuracy from steel core bullets
 
LUTNIT said:
If there is enough demand I wonder if a company like The Bullet Barn would sell .314" cast gas checked bullets as a regular stock item. I just don't know if they have the moulds in their inventory.
Click to expand...

Bullet barn website says that custom sizes are available, so I don't know why they wouldn't - might be worth askign anyway.

I have never inquired to ask - I'm lucky I guess in that the 200gn .313 that they sell as a standard item shoot great in my #4s and my #5.
 
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