Red Dot reloading .303 british

C

Coolguy435

BANNED
BANNED
Rating - 100%
63   0   0
Hello, I have ordered some red dot to Load my 123grain 7.62x39. What grains should I use for powder. I see some say 10-13 or 13 grains right in. Anyone ever loaded it for a reduced load. I did some 4064 powder 26 grains and shot less than an inch at 50 yards. Seeing if Red Dot and the Plated berrys bullets work.
 
Last edited:
It should work, BUT be very careful as you can get at least two, maybe three, 13 grain charges of red Dot in that case, ruin your day for sure.
Pressures can go way up with even minor increases in powder charges with pistol/shotgun powders
Double check,double check!
I use Unique in .308win and 45-70 for reduced loads.
I'm real careful.(really really)
 
Red Dot works great for a reduced load. That being said , it is used with cast bullets only in this use, unless i am mistaken. Google "The Load" is 13 Grains of Red Dot". It works well. Very light recoil.
 
I'd go 10 to start and work up to 13. Watch for leading and keyholing. They should obturate well but if your rifling is badly worn they may not work well. I'll echo what flyr said, the charges are very small. I seat right after charging rather than batch charging to help me avoid mistakes. Red Dot can make big pressure quick, a double charge would be scary, triple would be a hard nope.
 
howard2 said:
Red Dot works great for a reduced load. That being said , it is used with cast bullets only in this use, unless i am mistaken. Google "The Load" is 13 Grains of Red Dot". It works well. Very light recoil.
Click to expand...

It works well with jacketed bullets as well with a slight drop in velocity. I've sent hundreds of jacketed bullets down range with The Load and other light Red Dot charges. And to add, Berry's bullets are plated and are closer to cast than jacketed.
 
"The Load" is meant for full-size battle rifle cartridges, so I'd back off quite a bit and figure out something different with the much smaller 7.62x39.

Sunday I was firing "The Load" in .303 British, 13 grains Red Dot under a Hornady 123gr plated bullet (a cast bullet could be even more appropriate there). This was a pleasantly mild load compared with what I normally expect from my Lee Enfield.
 
old303 said:
"The Load" is meant for full-size battle rifle cartridges, so I'd back off quite a bit and figure out something different with the much smaller 7.62x39.

Sunday I was firing "The Load" in .303 British, 13 grains Red Dot under a Hornady 123gr plated bullet (a cast bullet could be even more appropriate there). This was a pleasantly mild load compared with what I normally expect from my Lee Enfield.
Click to expand...

Now I'm confused. The thread title states .303 but OP states 7.62X39. But the load of 26 grs 4064 is odd since X39 doesn't normally use a powder that slow. Hodgdon doesn't list a load for it, not sure on other data. I assumed he meant he is loading the Berry's .310 123gr plated bullet in a .303 Brit rifle. OP is that correct? If it is for a 7.62X39 then old303 is absolutely correct, The Load is not for cartridges that small.
 
supernova said:
Now I'm confused. The thread title states .303 but OP states 7.62X39. But the load of 26 grs 4064 is odd since X39 doesn't normally use a powder that slow. Hodgdon doesn't list a load for it, not sure on other data. I assumed he meant he is loading the Berry's .310 123gr plated bullet in a .303 Brit rifle. OP is that correct? If it is for a 7.62X39 then old303 is absolutely correct, The Load is not for cartridges that small.
Click to expand...

762x39 bullets are .311 which are good for 303. Many people used pulled bullets from 762x39 for plinking rounds, or 762x54R. Since those are cheaper than 303.
 
supernova said:
I'd go 10 to start and work up to 13. Watch for leading and keyholing. They should obturate well but if your rifling is badly worn they may not work well. I'll echo what flyr said, the charges are very small. I seat right after charging rather than batch charging to help me avoid mistakes. Red Dot can make big pressure quick, a double charge would be scary, triple would be a hard nope.
Click to expand...

I batch charge specifically to prevent double charges and mistakes.
 
Red Dot has a wicked pressure curve. Diligence in ensuring charges are accurate is extremely important. A double charge almost certainly would produce very nasty effects.
 
The easy way to prevent double charging is to batch charge. Keep the primed brass in a loading block, add powder charge to all of them. When they're all charged, eyeball the powder levels - double charges show up like a neon sign. Now you know beyond doubt and it took 10 seconds. Put away the powder start seating bullets.
 
Last edited:
Another simple way to check for a double charge when batch loading is to use a short piece of wooden dowel, drop into a charged case, put a mark on the dowel, and check all the cases in your reloading block. If you want to get fancy, you can put a small adjustable collar on the dowel. I've used this method when reloading reduced cast loads for various rifle calibers, for 30+ years. Quick, easy, cheap.
 
I'll assume we're talking 7.62X39 with Red Dot.

1. if this is for an SKS, no Red Dot load with any bullet will cycle the action;
2. I've used 4.0 grs of Red Dot with bullets up to a 247 gr cast bullet. That bullet achieved a consistent 725 fps with that very heavy bullet; and
3. With its small case, "The Load" of 13.0 grs of Red Dot is too much. I'd start at 8.0 grs and work down to 4.0 grs.

I don't suppose you have a Chronograph...... If you did I'd suggest that you stay above 700 fps with a jacketed bullet, but I'll just suggest that you remain at 4.0 grs or higher with the 123 gr bullet, and at that small a load monitor the bore to ensure that every bullet exits.
 
^ as described in the OP he is wanting to use pulled x39 bullets in .303b with Red Dot. It is a bit confusing if you don't take the title into account.
 
B said:
^ as described in the OP he is wanting to use pulled x39 bullets in .303b with Red Dot. It is a bit confusing if you don't take the title into account.
Click to expand...

Yea - a "bit" confusing. Now that it's "clear", here's what I've done with Red Dot in the 303 Brit. All the bullets are heavier than 123 gr, so the loads would all be safe with the 123 gr bullets. I'd work in the 4.0-15.0 gr range with that bullet with the same cautions I gave before.

OAL3.075"2.725"3.175"
174gr RN178gr Cast247gr Cast
6.0 grs625 fps
10.0 grs950 fps
11.0 grs1100 fps
12.0 grs1225 fps
13.0 grs1350 fps1600 fps

What I found interesting were the large increases in MV with each additional grain of powder, and the difference in MV between the Hornady 174 gr RN Jacketed and the slightly heavier 178 gr cast bullet.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom