303 Lee loader

Crispy1988

Crispy1988

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I have 2 Lee enfields and was looking into reloading I was curious how many rounds would a 1lb container of powder make
 
That depends on the powder, the bullet, and what your rifle shoots best with.
I see a lot of load data with jacketed bullets between 35-42gr of different powders, that's 200/lb and 166/lb loads each respectively.
Personally I shoot a lot with reduced cast bullet loads and use Unique which allows me to get 480ish loads to a lb.
 
One pound of powder should be 7000 grains. Just looking in my Hornady 9th Loading Manual - 10 different powders listed for 150 grain bullets - similar listed for 174 grain bullets - loads shown from 30.0 grains per round to 49.6 grains per round. No doubt other powders not listed can work, as well. Your question, as phrased, can not really be answered - is like asking how high is "up". You will have to decide what bullet you will use, which will probably lead you to some choices about which powder is suitable, and then the amount of that powder will vary the pressure and velocity of the round that you create. So will the brand of primer that you will use. So will the case that you use. Do not think that you will simply "copy" what a factory or a military uses - chances VERY GOOD that you will not likely be able to source the same components as they used.
 
I started reloading with the Lee Loader for 303 Brit.

Was an excellent way to learn the process, I highly recommend it. As always, get a reloading book or two.
 
Crispy1988 said:
The Lee loader has an scoop for the powder but I couldn’t find out how many grams the scoop was so I was curious on average
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That Lee Loader system is based on "volume", not "weight" of the powder - so you probably might be concerned with how many cubic inches or cubic centimeters are in that scoop for the 303 British cartridge - is probably going to be a different scoop / different chart provided in the Lee Loader for 22 Hornet, 243 Win or 45-70. Ultimately that "volume" does relate back to a weight in grains or grams for a particular powder that Lee lists, but, at least back in the day, one did not need a weighing scale to load rounds using that Lee Loader system.

The "Improved Powder Measure Kit" that I have has 15 scoops in it - all are different size to each other - one of them will likely be what is in your 303 British set.
 
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Potashminer said:
One pound of powder should be 7000 grains. Just looking in my Hornady 9th Loading Manual - 10 different powders listed for 150 grain bullets - similar listed for 174 grain bullets - loads shown from 30.0 grains per round to 49.6 grains per round. No doubt other powders not listed can work, as well. Your question, as phrased, can not really be answered - is like asking how high is "up". You will have to decide what bullet you will use, which will probably lead you to some choices about which powder is suitable, and then the amount of that powder will vary the pressure and velocity of the round that you create. So will the brand of primer that you will use. So will the case that you use. Do not think that you will simply "copy" what a factory or a military uses - chances VERY GOOD that you will not likely be able to source the same components as they used.
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would you be able to lead me in the right direction of what I would need to start reloading with a Lee loader for say 150g
 
There is a chart for the scoops. You take the size scoop 2.3cc or something then go across the chart to the power you are using and it tells you the GR of the scoop for that power when full and level.
 
It is possible that Lee Precision changed their scoops over the years - the "kit" that I have has 15 yellow scoops that are marked in "cc". The Lee Loaders that I bought in the 1970's had red scoops - ID'd with numbers like 205, 190, 141 - from somewhere I had found a cross reference from that older series of ID numbers to cc's - so I have the 205 marked as 3.36 cc, the 141 as 2.31 cc and the 190 marked as 3.11 cc - I understand some Lee Loaders came with black coloured scoops - I have no idea how they were marked. There is a sliding chart within the "kit" of scoops that will tell you the grains weight of a particular scoop full of a particular powder - so the 2.50 cc scoop will give you 34.2 grains of Hodgdon Varget powder. The 4.30 cc scoop full will give you 58.8 grains of that Hodgdon Varget powder. That same 2.50 cc scoop will give you 23.5 grains of Bullseye powder and the same 4.30 cc scoop will give you 40.4 grains of Bullseye powder.
 
With the lee loader you have the scoop it should tell you on the load data card how many scoops equals what grains(that’s what GR stands for not grams) of powder each scoop should equal out too.
I’d still recommend a scale also the lee loader only neck sizes rifle brass so you will have to keep brass separate for each rifle and only use brass that you have fired.

The data chart will tell you the bullet weight and brand/type of powder to use as well as how much of said powder. Bullets for the .303 are .311/.312 that’s what you should look for.
 
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If the scoop that came with your kit is marked in cc, then it's easy to determine the powder charge it can throw.
Use this reference: 1cc =15.4 grains.
Simply multiply cc's by this number. The result is the powder charge, in grains. Not precise, but close enough.
From there, you can calculate the approximate number of powder charges to expect, from one pound of powder.
If your Lee Loader scoop isn't marked(Mine aren't), the Lee scoops generally throw a mid-range powder charge. As mentioned, refer to the data card supplied with the kit, for number of scoops per charge. In your case, likely only one. Likewise, number of gains per powder type.
If no data card, in the end your likely best recourse is to purchase an accurate scale. Lee's inexpensive version works pretty well.

Al
ps: What powder do you have on hand? Knowing that might be useful in figuring out an answer for you.
Also: If you don't have load data on hand, refer to the online Hodgdon Reloading site, for guidance. Has a pretty full selection for .303.
 
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Alex McKr said:
If the scoop that came with your kit is marked in cc, then it's easy to determine the powder charge it can throw.
Use this reference: 1cc =15.4 grains.
Simply multiply cc's by this number. The result is the powder charge, in grains. Not precise, but close enough.
From there, you can calculate the approximate number of powder charges to expect, from one pound of powder.
If your Lee Loader scoop isn't marked(Mine aren't), the Lee scoops generally throw a mid-range powder charge. As mentioned, refer to the data card supplied with the kit, for number of scoops per charge. Likewise, number of gains per powder type.
If no data card, in the end your likely best recourse is to purchase an accurate scale. Lee's inexpensive version works pretty well.

Al
ps: What powder do you have on hand? Knowing that might be useful in figuring out an answer for you.
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Lee has powder vmd’s available as well as their dipper chart online. the new lee loaders have the yellow scoops while the old have the red/black. The new yellow dippers are in CC and the old red/black are in cubic inches. There is a slight issue with getting accurate scoops down to the the tenth of a grain but you can make accurate hunting ammo with a lee loader. I load for .458 win mag with a lee loader and am getting good enough groups to hunt with but I did use a scale scoop and weigh each charge trickling the powder to get an accurate measurement.
 
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Antique guy: That's the same method I also use, when loading with Lee scoops. Use them, all the time. Works very well.
I hunt with .458 Mag, too. Surprisingly versatile cartridge. A real thumper.
Lee does a good job of providing data for their loading products. I've used plenty of their gear, over the years.
 
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