.303 British with a .310 bullet?????
- Thread starter kuziwr
- Start date
Is it safe? Yes. Will it be accurate? Maybe. If you look around here, you will come across threads where people have tried .308 bullets in their Enfields. Results are mixed, some report good accuracy, some no so good. The only way to know is to try it.
Mark
Mark
I can't imagine .001" being at issue for that, the interference on sized brass is more than that. Hopefully, one of the guys who have tried the .308 bullets will come along and confirm that for you.
Mark
That is a perfect bullet for your 303, unless it happens to have a big worn out barrel.
When a lump of lead (jacketed or not) gets kicked in the ass with 45,000psi, it gets compressed to fit whatever barrel it is in.
The danger of a too small bullet is gas cutting. that is, the gasses squirt past the bullet. A 308 usually works and i would expect a 310 to work all the time.
When a lump of lead (jacketed or not) gets kicked in the ass with 45,000psi, it gets compressed to fit whatever barrel it is in.
The danger of a too small bullet is gas cutting. that is, the gasses squirt past the bullet. A 308 usually works and i would expect a 310 to work all the time.
I have experimented with using pulled bullets and powder from Czech 7.62x39 to load for the .303. Most of the bullets measured around .310". I found that the neck tension was inadequate and I managed to lodge a bullet in the rifling throat twice before discovering the problem (the second time was with pulled bullets and BL-C(2) powder).
What happened was the primer fired, driving the bullet out of the case neck into the throat, but not enough pressure could build up to ignite the powder. Fortunately, the stuck bullet was easily removed with a 1/4" steel rod with tape at two points to prevent contact with the bore.
I use an older set of RCBS dies, so individual results may vary. The solution was to size the neck without the expander ball in place. If you want try .310" bullets for yourself, start by seating bullets in a few sized cases and pushing against a hard surface to see if there is any bullet setback.
What happened was the primer fired, driving the bullet out of the case neck into the throat, but not enough pressure could build up to ignite the powder. Fortunately, the stuck bullet was easily removed with a 1/4" steel rod with tape at two points to prevent contact with the bore.
I use an older set of RCBS dies, so individual results may vary. The solution was to size the neck without the expander ball in place. If you want try .310" bullets for yourself, start by seating bullets in a few sized cases and pushing against a hard surface to see if there is any bullet setback.
Slugging bore
I'll tell you my method of slugging a bore. Some other members may tear me apart over this method but it works for me and has never given me a problem.
1. Lube the bore with a very light oil of some kind, I just use WD 40.
2. Muzzle up, butt on the floor, for a .30 caliber bore (308, 30-06, 300 savage, 303, 7.62 x 39, 7.62 x 54, 7.65, etc) place an 00 buck pellet in crown of the barrel. Gently tap in in to the barrel with a plastic mallet.
3. Tap the pellet down further with a short piece of 1/4" dowel. Once it starts to move it moves more freely.
4. Gently tap it thru the barrel with a cleaning rod with a flattened jag on the end.
5. Catch the pellet as it exits the rifling and measure it across the grooves (The grooves of the barrel make the raised ridges on the slug) with a mike or caliper.
Now you know what the groove diameter of your bore is.
I'll tell you my method of slugging a bore. Some other members may tear me apart over this method but it works for me and has never given me a problem.
1. Lube the bore with a very light oil of some kind, I just use WD 40.
2. Muzzle up, butt on the floor, for a .30 caliber bore (308, 30-06, 300 savage, 303, 7.62 x 39, 7.62 x 54, 7.65, etc) place an 00 buck pellet in crown of the barrel. Gently tap in in to the barrel with a plastic mallet.
3. Tap the pellet down further with a short piece of 1/4" dowel. Once it starts to move it moves more freely.
4. Gently tap it thru the barrel with a cleaning rod with a flattened jag on the end.
5. Catch the pellet as it exits the rifling and measure it across the grooves (The grooves of the barrel make the raised ridges on the slug) with a mike or caliper.
Now you know what the groove diameter of your bore is.
Slugging the barrel of a .303 Enfield can be tricky in regards to measuring the slug as there is 5 lands of rifling so you end up measuring the slug across a valley and a land resulting in an inacurrate measurement, close but not totaly accurate. No probs at all if you have an even number of rifle grooves but difficult with an odd number.
The one I have is a 5 groove so I had a problem to obtain an accurate reading. A guy who has all Lee-Enfields at the gun shows confirmed this and he said a .314 or .315" bullet is the best size when reloading. I didn't persue any more reloading as I'm going to trade in my .303 towards a 6.5x55.
Hi-Standard
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Newfoundland
Savages for the most part and I believe some Long Branches, but everything else should be 4 or 5 groove. Usually for the five grooves I rotate the slug in the calibres slightly forcing open the calibre to the actual groove diameter. May be off slightly, but pretty darn close just the same.
The Remington 180s .311 are .3105 as was the last box of Speer 180. The correct size is .313 for 303,with grooves of .0055,according to Steve. With my P-14, it's noticable,while the Speers are accurate,they run a little slow.
