303 British question.

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I just got myself my first Enfield (a nice Long Branch one to boot!), and am just ecstatic about loading rounds for it!

While researching what was used in WWII, I see that there was the MK VIII, that was designed for the Vickers gun, but NOT for use in a rifle.

Wiki~
Care must be taken to identify the round properly before purchase or loading into weapons. Cartridges with the Roman numeral VIII on the headstamp are the Mark 8 round, specifically designed for use in Vickers machine guns. Although Mark 8 ammunition works well in a Vickers gun, it should not be used in rifles because the boat-tailed design causes increased barrel wear. The boat-tailed bullet design of Mk 8 ammunition is not in itself a problem. However, when combined with the cordite propellant used in Mk 8 cartridges, which burns at a much higher temperature than nitrocellulose, there is increased barrel erosion.
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I had planned on using a Hornady 303/7.7MM(.3105) 174g BULLET FMJ-BT with Varget (as I already use varget, it makes things easier loading in small apartment). Would this powder be fine to use with this bullet combination? I don't want to wear out was is a next to mint barrel.

For your help, you get eye candy! My new rifle, some surplus rounds, and brass I was given by my father in law.
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You likely will never shoot enough rounds to damage or cause accelerated wear in your barrel unless you start loading cordite. Be carefull to clean properly if you shoot the FN 50 rounds--they are likely corrosive primed and will almost surely be berdan primed.

fwiw, 44Bore.
 
If Varget doesn't burn as hotly as cordite propellant, it won't cause as much barrel erosion as cordite does. Boat tail bullets are quite common and Varget is a popular powder, but we don't hear about barrel erosion problems in other calibres. I think you can use those boat tail bullets with modern powders in your .303 and not worry.
 
In the future you may want to try different diameters of bullets if these don't shoot as good as you want. I have a No.5 that will shoot .311" and .312" diameters equally well, and a No.4 that only gets good results with .312". If you find your group sizes large, try Hornady #3120 (150gr SP, .312") with Varget. It's the combo I use.
 
I also read some reference as to the use of 308 bullets in .303. Is this true or for special circumstances only? I wasn't planning on it, just something I saw.
 
I once had a No. 4 that would shoot 308 dia. 147 FMJ bullets very well. But that is the only one I have ever saw. Give it a go you might get lucky.

Graydog
 
In my experience, most military .303s like bullets that are a bit fatter than .3105. Actually, Hornady makes excellent (and relatively cheap) .312 hunting bullets that are generally accurate in these rifles. Personally, I like the Hornady 150s, but the 174 Roundnose bullets are also surprisingly accurate.

Varget is about the right burning speed for this cartridge. Having said that, I haven't had great success with this powder in the .303, though it is absolutely perfect in the .308. My personal preference these days is to use IMR 4320 in the .303 British. It is excellent with bullets from 150 to 180 grains, both in terms of accuracy and velocity.
 
I had good luck with H414 and Sierra 150gr spitzers as well as 174gr RN Interlock.

Stay away from H4895

Also the 174gr FMJ BT Require some dark voodoo to make fly straight in a lot of enfields... I still have 75/80 of em in the stash.... Not a lot of bearing surface on em compared to the flat base bullets.
 
Hotwheels81 said:
Stay away from H4895
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Now I know that H4895 and IMR4895 are different powders. But they are pretty similar. In my research I've found that they are usually within a few grains of each other for similar pressures etc.

So why do you say to stay away from H4895?

I've used IMR4895 (as per my Lyman reloading manual) in my Enfield 303 with good results. Am I missing something or are you speaking from bad personal experience?

BTW my Enfield really likes IMR3031


.
 
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I use Hornady 174gr .312 HPBT with BLC2. You have to experament with different bullet/powder combinations. Mine will shoot almost any 303 bullet (even 308's with reduced charge). Tried several different powders but for some reason mine only likes BLC2.
 
Hornady 174 RN and IMR4064. Combination of kings.

Tried 150's only the Hornady 174 RN have the proper .312 diameter. I would like to use some FMJBT's but they are only .3105 or .311 max
 
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joedude said:
Now I know that H4895 and IMR4895 are different powders. But they are pretty similar. In my research I've found that they are usually within a few grains of each other for similar pressures etc.

So why do you say to stay away from H4895?

I've used IMR4895 (as per my Lyman reloading manual) in my Enfield 303 with good results. Am I missing something or are you speaking from bad personal experience?

BTW my Enfield really likes IMR3031


.
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I have loaded 150gr and 174gr bullets of many flavours for 6 enfields for myself and for friends, I have talked for many hours with milsurp collectors and been to more then a couple military shooting events... That's my experiance.

What I learned for myself and from excellent old shooters and reloaders was to stick with slower powders, some .303 rifles like H4895 some don't... But you would be hard pressed to find one that won't shoot well with H414, W760 or RL-15...

As always YMMV
 
Hotwheels81 said:
I have loaded 150gr and 174gr bullets of many flavours for 6 enfields for myself and for friends, I have talked for many hours with milsurp collectors and been to more then a couple military shooting events... That's my experiance.

What I learned for myself and from excellent old shooters and reloaders was to stick with slower powders, some .303 rifles like H4895 some don't... But you would be hard pressed to find one that won't shoot well with H414, W760 or RL-15...

As always YMMV
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Ohhhh that makes more sense. What you're saying is stay away from fast powders in general.

I wasn't sure why you singled out 4895 specifically. Seemed like you thought it was the plague or something! LOL

Either way yes, I agree.

Thanks for clearing that up
 
I've loaded many 303's with H4895 and they all performed very accurately this is my favourite powder for a 303 usually around 40gr with 150's.
 
diananike said:
Reloader 15 is the Be-all and end-all of .303 powders.
Great success with Hornady 150gr SPs, and Remington 180gr RNSP. Both .312s I believe.
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I found 43g of RL15 (if memory serves, that's max out of the Lee manual) and 174 fmj to be too hot out of my #4...the primers looked like a hot poker had burned the firing pin indent into them. However, that was in the summer. This same load showed no such damage to primers when I tried some more out of curiousity, vis a vis temperature, a couple of weeks before Christmas. The temperature difference was something like 40C and as stated above, no primer issues.
 
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