Does anyone sell FMJ style bullets for large caliber rifles? I.E. 303 Brit, 30-06.
FMJ for Large Rifles
- Thread starter summerside sniper
- Start date
Yep. Mind you, those are not considered to be large calibres.
Hornady makes a 150 grain FMJ for the '06. And a .3105", that may or may not be of any use in a .303. The barrels can vary in diameter between .311" and .315".
Sierra makes several weights of .308" Matchking. Not cheap though. No bullets for the .303 British at all.
Hornady makes a 150 grain FMJ for the '06. And a .3105", that may or may not be of any use in a .303. The barrels can vary in diameter between .311" and .315".
Sierra makes several weights of .308" Matchking. Not cheap though. No bullets for the .303 British at all.
I use Sierra FMJ boat tail bullets in my M1 Garand (30-06), and they work decently. Haven't worked up a good load for them yet. Easy to find at any sporting store like Wholesale.
I reload for my Enfields in both 174 grain Sierra Matchkings HPBT, and I just got a box of 150 grain spitzers (soft points) to try out. They are both .311 diameter bullets which are perfect for 303 British. I find I get very good accuracy out of the Matchkings especially. Haven't tried any FMJ in 303 yet though, but I'm sure they are out there for sale.
I've heard that if you're shooting a Lee Enfield you should get your barrel slugged, as some of them are tight enough to shoot .308 bullets too-- not sure if this is true though.
Sorry Sunray you're mistaken about Sierra not making bullets for 303.
I reload for my Enfields in both 174 grain Sierra Matchkings HPBT, and I just got a box of 150 grain spitzers (soft points) to try out. They are both .311 diameter bullets which are perfect for 303 British. I find I get very good accuracy out of the Matchkings especially. Haven't tried any FMJ in 303 yet though, but I'm sure they are out there for sale.
I've heard that if you're shooting a Lee Enfield you should get your barrel slugged, as some of them are tight enough to shoot .308 bullets too-- not sure if this is true though.
"...mistaken about Sierra not..." Right you are. They don't show 'em on the 'search by calibre' menu.
"...perfect for 303 British..." If your bore diameter isn't over .312". Still, at least they're available.
"...Haven't worked up a good load..." Try IMR4064. My M1 and '03A4 love that powder. Mind you, I use 168 grain match bullets out of the '03A4. You may find you M1 will shoot 165 grain hunting bullets and 168 or 175 grain match bullets with IMR4064 better than the 150's though. The rifle was designed to use 174.5 grain bullets.
"...perfect for 303 British..." If your bore diameter isn't over .312". Still, at least they're available.
"...Haven't worked up a good load..." Try IMR4064. My M1 and '03A4 love that powder. Mind you, I use 168 grain match bullets out of the '03A4. You may find you M1 will shoot 165 grain hunting bullets and 168 or 175 grain match bullets with IMR4064 better than the 150's though. The rifle was designed to use 174.5 grain bullets.
You're the second person to mention using 4064 for the Garand and heavier bullets, actually. I am planning to try out some heavier bullets for sure (thinking 165 or 168 soft points) as I think it would be cool to take a white tail with my Garand this fall. I tried the 150s with 4895 powder first, because I read somewhere that was the closest you could come to the original M1 ball and it was a historic experiment. Now I'm ready to try for accuracy with heavier stuff.
I keep hearing that Varget is good in a Garand too, but I'm a little skeptical since Sierra's loading book says to make sure you always use a medium burning powder and stay under 2700 fps in order to avoid damage to your op rod... which gives more power to your point that bigger bullets work better.
I've heard about Enfield barrels being all over the place for diameter that's for sure. I guess if your barrel is over .312 you really have to make your own, eh? I hear Lee will build you custom bullet moulds for a reasonable price too. My buddy had some made for one of his rifles, and they work good.
I keep hearing that Varget is good in a Garand too, but I'm a little skeptical since Sierra's loading book says to make sure you always use a medium burning powder and stay under 2700 fps in order to avoid damage to your op rod... which gives more power to your point that bigger bullets work better.
I've heard about Enfield barrels being all over the place for diameter that's for sure. I guess if your barrel is over .312 you really have to make your own, eh? I hear Lee will build you custom bullet moulds for a reasonable price too. My buddy had some made for one of his rifles, and they work good.
Sierra actually makes 4 bullets of suitable size for 303 British. Click the "308" selection in the 'search by calibre' menu, and scroll to the bottom. They make a 125, a 150, a 174 match, and a 180 grain bullet of .311 diameter. The 180's were superbly accurate in both of my 303's - though, after a nasty experience with 3 bullets that failed to expand on a mule deer last year, I will not be shooting any more critters with them.
"...the original M1 ball..." The ammo used in W.W. II was .30 M2 ball at 2800 fps, using a 152 grain bullet. The rifle was designed to use .30 M1 ball with its 174.5 grain bullet at 2640fps. .30 M1 was found to have too much range for U.S. National Guard ranges so the ammo was changed to the 152 grain bullet, originally at 2700fps. Increased, in 1940, to 2800fps to match the ballistics of .30 AP ammo's 168 grain bullet. All of 'em used IMR4895. IMR4064 gives more consistent accuracy than 4895.
Varget is a much newer powder and has a good reputation for giving good accuracy too. Never used it myself though.
"...Enfield barrels being all over the place..." They can vary between .311" and .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" is shot out. Slug the barrel to find out what your rifle's diameter actually is. Hammer a cast .30 calibre bullet(some guys use lead fishing sinkers) through the barrel using a brass rod and a plastic mallet(from the chamber end), then measure the bullet with a micrometer. Use the closest diameter bullet. Most manufacturers make .311' and some a .312" bullet.
Steve at .303british.com is making .313" and .314" 200 grain jacketed bullets too.
Varget is a much newer powder and has a good reputation for giving good accuracy too. Never used it myself though.
"...Enfield barrels being all over the place..." They can vary between .311" and .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" is shot out. Slug the barrel to find out what your rifle's diameter actually is. Hammer a cast .30 calibre bullet(some guys use lead fishing sinkers) through the barrel using a brass rod and a plastic mallet(from the chamber end), then measure the bullet with a micrometer. Use the closest diameter bullet. Most manufacturers make .311' and some a .312" bullet.
Steve at .303british.com is making .313" and .314" 200 grain jacketed bullets too.
Well, as I'm, what I would call a "casual" shooter. I don't hunt, I shoot for pleasure and to improve my abilities. I do a little competition within my range, but thats about it. My major shooting reason is to improve. I see the FMJ or something similar as the way to go as I don't need anything special like soft points or hollow points.
Oh ok. Ya if you're just "plinking" I suppose you could just shoot any bullet you fancy to.
I find though, that the hollow point boat tailed bullets shoot with the most accuracy, not the FMJ. Sierra even says with regard to the 174 grain .311 bullets that they don't recommend them for hunting at all-- they're the ones used in target shooting, so you may consider trying them in your 303 anyway.
I find though, that the hollow point boat tailed bullets shoot with the most accuracy, not the FMJ. Sierra even says with regard to the 174 grain .311 bullets that they don't recommend them for hunting at all-- they're the ones used in target shooting, so you may consider trying them in your 303 anyway.
