Sks bullets in 303 reloads - success!'

TomZ

TomZ

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Well, that was exciting! I just tried some pulled sks 125 gr bullets over 41 gr of 4895 in my #4 at 50 yards....about a 0.5" group and a blast to shoot. COL of 2.91 and they even worked in my mag and are within 2" point of pact of my 174gr reloads at that range. Happy dance! This was the first time trying something like this. Fun! Now I need to negotiate a "bullet pulling rate" with my teenager ;-)



 
This article is an interesting read on the topic of copper vs. steel jackets: http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/
It appears that steel jackets could cause roughly double the barrel wear as copper jackets. Do realize we're talking about 6000 rounds to kill a barrel vs. 12,000 rounds; not numbers many people put through a single rifle in their lifetime. We're also talking about a higher velocity and higher pressure round than the 303 British so this article is more of an example than a rule.

If it was a collectors grade rifle I wouldn't shoot it much with any ammo. If it's a shooter grade rifle I wouldn't worry about bimetal/steel jacketed bullets unless you are shooting thousands of rounds and have a matching barrel. If the barrel isn't original and replacing it wont decrease the value of the rifle, it doesn't matter either way.
 
I shoot the 7.62 Hornady 0.310" bullets in my mosin with great success. They'd probably work as good in your Enfield. They are only about $25/100 and easier than pulling.

They won't work in my enfield as it needs 0.312".
 
It is a shooter not collector...likely shoot a few hundred rounds a year max so likely not an issue. Also trying to source lead bullets...;-) Thanks all!
 
Have you thought about casting? It's the way to go, just need to find a way to make gun powder and priming compound and your set.
 
TomZ said:
....Also trying to source lead bullets...;-) Thanks all!
Click to expand...

That'll be fine for either low velocity plinkers or small game round. Otherwise you'll want to find some gas checked bullets. Or look into paper patching. Paper patching is a bit of an art but when it's done right you can shoot full velocity lead bullets with no fear of leading the bore.

With the surplus bimetal bullets I know that my Mosins get serious copper fouling almost immediately from shooting the copper washed bullets. I don't know if that is affecting the accuracy or not but it sure is there. And it's a bugger to clean it. A 40 round session takes about 5 to 6 applications and waiting between applications to soak of Wipe Out to get the copper mostly out of the bore.

I'm hoping that proper copper jacketed bullets won't produce that amount of coppering. If this proves out then the copper washed ammo is going to become scarce around my place real fast.
 
Is there a source of .311 FMJ or plated bullets anywhere?

I have a stash of Hornady .312 174gr SP that I don't want to touch...

Edit: time to start casting. Anybody know of a good mold - NOE perhaps?
 
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Which mold you use depends on the groove diameter of your barrel. You'd have to slug your barrel and mic the slug to find out. They vary from .311" to .317" or more. Just because your rifle can shoot .311" jacketed bullets doesn't mean much.
 
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