.303 Brit surplus. All dried up?
- Thread starter 251251
- Start date
Where you are matters. Add it to your profile.
"...Surplus ammo dried up years ago..." Hi. Yep. NRCAN isn't letting any more in either. There's lots of commercial hunting ammo, but it's not cheap. Prvi Partizan is loading 174 grain FMJ's plus 150 and 180 grain SP's.
Reloading is your friend. You'll need to slug the barrel first though. Hammer a cast .30 calibre bullet or suitably sized lead fishing sinker through the barrel with a 1/4" brass or Al rod and a plastic mallet, then measure the bullet/sinker with a micrometer. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure from .311" to .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" the barrel is shot out.
Commercial ammo and bullet makers use .311" or .312" bullets. They won't shoot well out of a .313" plus barrel.
Check the headspace on your rifle before you do anything else. Thousands of both models have been assembled out of parts bins with zero QC. A matching S/N doesn't mean the bolt head hasn't been changed at some time either.
"...Surplus ammo dried up years ago..." Hi. Yep. NRCAN isn't letting any more in either. There's lots of commercial hunting ammo, but it's not cheap. Prvi Partizan is loading 174 grain FMJ's plus 150 and 180 grain SP's.
Reloading is your friend. You'll need to slug the barrel first though. Hammer a cast .30 calibre bullet or suitably sized lead fishing sinker through the barrel with a 1/4" brass or Al rod and a plastic mallet, then measure the bullet/sinker with a micrometer. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure from .311" to .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" the barrel is shot out.
Commercial ammo and bullet makers use .311" or .312" bullets. They won't shoot well out of a .313" plus barrel.
Check the headspace on your rifle before you do anything else. Thousands of both models have been assembled out of parts bins with zero QC. A matching S/N doesn't mean the bolt head hasn't been changed at some time either.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/mms-smm/expl-expl/cart-cart-eng.htm
"...need to be educated..." One thing at a time, but yep. Harper needs to stop civil servants making law by regulation.
NRCAN has decided that no corrosively primed, tracer or AP ammo can be imported. Despite there being no law that says any of those are illegal.
"...firearms organizations doing..." Likely nothing. Suspect they've been concentrating on the long gun registry.
NRCAN has decided that no corrosively primed, tracer or AP ammo can be imported. Despite there being no law that says any of those are illegal.
"...firearms organizations doing..." Likely nothing. Suspect they've been concentrating on the long gun registry.
boltonscouter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- parts unknown
Watch the EE as there's once fired 303 brass on there regularly. Powder & primers are easy. The harder part will be finding projectiles (bullets) your rifle likes! Not as common as 308 but thery're out there if you look! Reloading is the only way to go though!
- Location
- windsor,ontario
i have about 1300rd of BCMK7 made by DAC right here in ontario have about 1500 brass too im not selling but its out there just look around
i had 2 full crates of it + 300RD and shot about 1000 of that my self
right now .303 brass is getting up there so is ammo reloading is about the only way to go any more i got a good mold for my shooter rifle should work well in my non shooter too but im not shooting that gun it has not been shot since 1945 when my great grandfather brought it back
i had 2 full crates of it + 300RD and shot about 1000 of that my self
right now .303 brass is getting up there so is ammo reloading is about the only way to go any more i got a good mold for my shooter rifle should work well in my non shooter too but im not shooting that gun it has not been shot since 1945 when my great grandfather brought it back
Periodically there are ammo preorders. I just got a case of PRVI 303 Brit 174gr FMJ, Case of 500 for $437.95 Just under $1 a round but then they get reloaded with 150gr Barnes TSX over 43 gr of IMR 4350 and re worth their weight in gold as hunting rounds...
If you are looking for brass check the range near hunting season. There are lots of Lee Enfields out there and many guys will buy a box to practice before the moose/deer hunt.
You'll usually find 10-30 each time in the brass barrel if you look. Those have to be Full length resized but if they have been fire formed in your rifle I only neck size and can get 10+ reloads from each case.
If you are looking for brass check the range near hunting season. There are lots of Lee Enfields out there and many guys will buy a box to practice before the moose/deer hunt.
You'll usually find 10-30 each time in the brass barrel if you look. Those have to be Full length resized but if they have been fire formed in your rifle I only neck size and can get 10+ reloads from each case.
Quite frankly, anyone who locates .303 surplus at a "fair price" will be buying all that they can of it. We old farts have a case or three squirreled away for special occasions, and most of it is those prized reloadable Canadian 44 or 45 dated rounds.
Reloading is the way to go. For under 200 yards, a cast bullet with a developed load is just as accurate as Mark 7 Ball, or maybe a bit more so. Some sight adjustment may be in order, but a good cast bullet load will do the trick, and is easy on cases and powder too. Lighter 123 grain bullets for the 7.62x39 can be made to work with a bit of load development, and out to 300 yards are quite accurate.
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Reloading is the way to go. For under 200 yards, a cast bullet with a developed load is just as accurate as Mark 7 Ball, or maybe a bit more so. Some sight adjustment may be in order, but a good cast bullet load will do the trick, and is easy on cases and powder too. Lighter 123 grain bullets for the 7.62x39 can be made to work with a bit of load development, and out to 300 yards are quite accurate.
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- Location
- windsor,ontario
yep good old mk7 ball
im not shooting any more of mine its a part of canadian history so far ive shot my cast at 500 and im still getting 12" groups at that yardagei got to work up a good load my mold was made by CBE in australia its a 220gr GC bullet with a flat nose ive cast some in WW and some in lino/pure (cast soft nose) should be good enough for deer or black bear
right now my hunting load is with hornady .312 174gr InterLock round nose
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Mercury in the primers, you know. Its bad. Fish die when exposed. Makes hatters go mad. You would be luckier asking for a half-pound box of powdered arsenic at the apothicary.
The argument I heard was a chicken and egg - employees have to test fire the ammunition lots (for public safety, you know), but aren't allowed to be exposed to mercury without good reason. My question would be, why bother test firing ammunition being imported?
