What ammo matches the sights? (enfield)

Power Pill

Power Pill

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Im not sure if this belongs here or in the ammo section...but here goes.

the Mark VII 303 brit round was 174 grain bullet and had a velocity of ~2 440 fps. (wikipedia)

I hand loaded some rounds to match these numbers. Using my no1mk3, I put my sights on the lowest setting. At 100 yards my rounds hit ~12 inches low of point of aim. In order to get my point of impact to match my point of aim. I have to set the sights to the 300 yard mark.

I find this very frustrating as I want to get my ammo to match the sights as well as possible.

Anyone have any advice or imput on this matter?
 
interchangeable front sight blades....I never thought of that

You've saved me a lot of unnecessary hair pulling! Thanks!
 
Your accuracy will tend to improve greatly if you load to 2250 ft/sec, the most-accurate-by-test velocity for the .303.

I use Sierra flatbase Pro-Hunter 180s with 37 to 38 grains of 4895, seated to 3.05" - COAL for a Ball round.

I find that these shoot pretty much to point of aim at 100.

What load are you using to get 2440? NONE of my books list one for pressure reasons.
 
The BT is a part of the problem in most rifles with Enfield rifling.

It is the 1896 version of "5R", just left-hand, 1 turn in 10 inches and quite deep. It requires a good amount of bullet deformation.

It has a VAST preference for flat-based bullets, which is the reason for my recommendation.

The BT is dandy in a good Moisin-Nagant, 7.65 Mauser or some Rosses. Works fine in Vickers Guns, too, but a tad expensive.

The Lee action does have some twist in it when the pressures get up, this in addition to the normal bolt compression. I would be saving the hot-rock loads for a P-'14 or a Ross.

Lee tends to shoot its best with slightly-mild loadings.

The 2250 ft/sec figure was arrived at during experimenting toward the Mark VII round at the Royal Laboratory.
 
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Have you tried the rifle with Mark VII Ball ammunition to see where it is shooting with that?

Reloading to match a certain round can be frustrating at times. It sometimes takes a fair bit of experimenting to find a good load, and the variables are many. The powder, primer, case, and bullet all affect the characteristics of a round. In other words, not everything is equal.

Bullets, for example, can vary in bearing surface within a barrel. An example of this is the amount of bore contact between a spitzer and a round nosed bullet, and this has an effect on the flight of the bullet downrange. In many cases, you can come close enough to approximate the original round and a small sight adjustment will put you on target, but other times things can get wild.

It is best to have a "control" round to start with, and then go from there when attempting to duplicate ammunition. In this case, I might be a good idea to take a box of factory Mark VII Ball rounds and fire FIVE groups of FOUR rounds at targets. This will give you an idea of just where the rifle is shooting, and an idea of what adjustments you have to make to your ammunition.
 
smellie said:
The BT is a part of the problem in most rifles with Enfield rifling.

It is the 1896 version of "5R", just left-hand, 1 turn in 10 inches and quite deep. It requires a good amount of bullet deformation.

It has a VAST preference for flat-based bullets, which is the reason for my recommendation.

The BT is dandy in a good Moisin-Nagant, 7.65 Mauser or some Rosses. Works fine in Vickers Guns, too, but a tad expensive.

The Lee action does have some twist in it when the pressures get up, this in addition to the normal bolt compression. I would be saving the hot-rock loads for a P-'14 or a Ross.

Lee tends to shoot its best with slightly-mild loadings.

The 2250 ft/sec figure was arrived at during experimenting toward the Mark VII round at the Royal Laboratory.
Click to expand...

i suspect that with some of these new powders, much of the pressure problems could be solved and still get a fast, accurate round.

IMR 4007 SSC gives 2441 fps at only 39300 cup, your 38g of 4895 with 174g bullet shows 43600 cup according to hodgdon

i wish hornady would make their AMAX bullet in a .312 174g flatbase, it probably would replicate the mk 7 quite well, but they wont listen
 
Lee Enfield Sights came in 12 different heights;

01) -0.045
02) -0.030
03) -0.015
04) 0.0
05) +0.015
06) +0.030
07) +0.045
08) +0.060
09) +0.075
10) +0.090
11) +0.105
12) +0.120

The last time I was able to find any surplus sights was on ebay.

The front sight on the No 4 rifles is of the
vertical blade type. All adjustments to vertical
displacement of the MPI are made by changing
the front sight blade. The blade is available in
12 sizes ranging from -1.14 millimetres to
+3.05 millimetres (-0.045 inch to +0.120 inch) in
increments of 0.38 millimetre (0.015 inch). The
size of the blade is stamped on the top flat. If the
stamping is illegible the size can be determined
by measuring the sight. The blade is supported in
the lateral dovetail slot of
the front sight band block, and secured upon
assembly by a set screw. The front sight block
may have integral front sight protectors or it may
be fitted with a removable front sight protector.
The majority of these front sight protectors are
roughened on the top and rear faces by knurling
or serrations as a means of reducing glare from
reflected light.
 
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