Differences in .303 bullets help needed

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skylerjames13

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Hi there, I am extremely green to reloading. I still have lots of books to read, and pieces to put together but I mostly have my reloading kit.

I am just sourcing supplies now and I have a question about reloading .303 Brit. The picture I have here are two different brands of the same diameter and grain, one says it’s for .303 cal, one says it’s for 7.62x39.

I know it seems like a dumb question, I just want to make sure there isn’t something I’m missing. Both can be used for 7.62 and/or .303 correct? They are essentially identical in weight/diameter as far as I can tell


I am just reloading for plinking because I live in northern Manitoba and closest place to buy ammo is 800km away. UPS/purolater doesn’t service here, only CP, so can’t order things like primers/powder/ammo. I can only source it when I am in the city so I try to stock up. I can order a few things like brass and bullets but that’s about it.

Thanks for any help, and apologies for the likely very dumb question. I’m new to this so I want to make sure I take the time to do things right, and safe.
 

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Look at the bullet diameter, you can shoot 0.311 123/125gr bullets in the 303 Brit, there is published data for it, you can also shoot 0.311 303 Brit bullets in a 7.62x39, there is published data for them too.

You want to match the bullet to the bore.

If you are shooting an old No 1 Mk III Lee Enfield your best bet will be a flat base bullet, they work better with corroded bores. If you are looking to match the original sights look in to the Sierra 180gr flat base soft point bullet, this is as close as the military Mk VII bullets, which were a flat base 174gr bullet.

Campro has some 180gr plated bullets for 303 as well but unsure how they will actually work.
 
skylerjames13 said:
Hi there, I am extremely green to reloading. I still have lots of books to read, and pieces to put together but I mostly have my reloading kit.

I am just sourcing supplies now and I have a question about reloading .303 Brit. The picture I have here are two different brands of the same diameter and grain, one says it’s for .303 cal, one says it’s for 7.62x39.

I know it seems like a dumb question, I just want to make sure there isn’t something I’m missing. Both can be used for 7.62 and/or .303 correct? They are essentially identical in weight/diameter as far as I can tell


I am just reloading for plinking because I live in northern Manitoba and closest place to buy ammo is 800km away. UPS/purolater doesn’t service here, only CP, so can’t order things like primers/powder/ammo. I can only source it when I am in the city so I try to stock up. I can order a few things like brass and bullets but that’s about it.

Thanks for any help, and apologies for the likely very dumb question. I’m new to this so I want to make sure I take the time to do things right, and safe.
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You are correct. Both bullets ate .311 diameter and could be used for both calibers. Depending on your specific 303 rifle , it may not perform the best with the lighter and smaller diameter.311 bullets. They're a decent plinking round though. If you're look for better accuracy/hunting rounds I'd suggest looking at the hornaday .312 , 174gr flat base bullets.
 
KyleSchenk said:
You are correct. Both bullets ate .311 diameter and could be used for both calibers. Depending on your specific 303 rifle , it may not perform the best with the lighter and smaller diameter.311 bullets. They're a decent plinking round though. If you're look for better accuracy/hunting rounds I'd suggest looking at the hornaday .312 , 174gr flat base bullets.
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Both cartridges not calibers, both the 7.62x39 and 303 Brit use the same caliber bullets (0.311)
 
Okay, thanks everyone for confirming what I figured. I just like to play it safe. I won’t be hunting with this, just plinking. I would prefer a heavier bullet but most are SP and pretty expensive for what I want to do with them.

I’ll keep searching for more options too and keep the info in mind.

Thanks again
 
To make things more confusing a lot of x39 bullets are .310, and some 303brit bullets are .312 lol

OP the easiest thing to do is look at the weight. Generally speaking anything 123/125gr in weight is going to be designed for the x39, whereas the 150+gr stuff is for the 303brit (and other similar cartridges like 7.7 Arisaka).


Also keep in mind that 0.001 difference in bullet diameter is a TINY amount. That difference isn't going to make things dangerous.
 
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Suther said:
To make things more confusing a lot of x39 bullets are .310, and some 303brit bullets are .312 lol

OP the easiest thing to do is look at the weight. Generally speaking anything 123/125gr in weight is going to be designed for the x39, whereas the 150+gr stuff is for the 303brit (and other similar cartridges like 7.7 Arisaka).


Also keep in mind that 0.001 difference in bullet diameter is a TINY amount. That difference isn't going to make things dangerous.
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Yeah I’ve been trying to find 150+ grain, but most are SP, and pretty expensive. Hard to find some FMJ, though I haven’t looked too hard yet. I’ve checked out budget supply, and I’ve picked some up from auctions and off GP. Just trying to stock up as I’m trying to setup my reloading room and trying to get everything sorted.

I do have x39 and x54r, so while they are a lighter bullet, I can make use of them for those calibres and experiment with .303.

Thanks
 
skylerjames13 said:
Yeah I’ve been trying to find 150+ grain, but most are SP, and pretty expensive. Hard to find some FMJ, though I haven’t looked too hard yet. I’ve checked out budget supply, and I’ve picked some up from auctions and off GP. Just trying to stock up as I’m trying to setup my reloading room and trying to get everything sorted.

I do have x39 and x54r, so while they are a lighter bullet, I can make use of them for those calibres and experiment with .303.

Thanks
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For plinkers I have taken the 7.62x39 surplus corrosive rounds, broken them down and used the bullets in 303 plinking rounds, they were accurate enough and they were cheaper than FMJ bullets, not cheaper than campro though.
 
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