hand loading a 303

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bangshead

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Hey everyone, I'm new here. I have a mark 4 number 1 enfield with the 5 groove barrel. I replaced the stock with a synthetic atk (?) I think. It's been years. It has an awesome Leopold gold ring scope and a somewhat dubious scope mount that I " fixed " with a small piece of angle iron to stiffen it up.The rail of the mount was suspended and oscilIated a lot after firing. I'm hoping to come across a proper #24 ph mount one day. I used to put groups smaller than 1 inch together at 100 yards. I do have neck resizing only equipment and a lymans manual. What I'm looking for is your experiences with hand loading. I realise there's probably no such thing as the ideal universal handload but seeing how it''s been many years since I went to the range, I've forgotten what the hell I did.
 
You should post this in the Reloading or Reloading Recipes sub forum, I feel like you might get more responses there. Maybe a Mod can move it for you?

Reloading for the Lee Enfield has it’s own set of challenges depending on your rifle, you’ll want to start with new or once fired brass out of your particular rifle. Slugging the bore to see what size of bullet is needed is a good idea. They can be .310”-.314”.
 
I personally use 40.0gr of IMR4064 for the last few 180gr CamPro projectiles I have. Once I switch to the same weight Speer, I assume I'll need to rework a load. As noted above, you'd probably get more traction on this thread in the reloading section. Here's just a sample of threads from the "Reloading Recipes" section for you to browse depending on what you have on hand or available to you for bullets and powders

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/h335-in-303-br.2337028/
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/303-174rn-and-4064.2439018/
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...-311-180-gr-bullet-and-ginex-primers.2420333/
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/303-brit-200gr-cast.2354491/
 
If you reload used .303 Brass check each and every one by the Wire method and immediately get rid of the ones indicating starting Head separation for which the .303 is Famous for.

Beware of the Claim "Fired only once", more often then not it is BS and there is no way to proove one way or another.

If you use a .303 for Hunting away from Tools, allways carry a Case extraction Tool with you becouse if you experience Case Head Separation that Tool will safe the Day, weights nothing, takes up no space, is literally unbreakable, lasts forever in Stainless Steel, and is available for just a few Bucks.

Cheers
 
I WAS hand loading guys. I had a small booklet which I made notes in but who knows where it is, as it's been many years. Started out with whatever factory boxed ammo I could find and once fired I neck sized. I can't even remember what bullets I was using, but a 174 grain boattail might have been a posibility.
 
I remember usig several types of powder, 4350, 4064 and at least 2 types of bullet. I believe there was a 180 grain round nose, and a 174 grain boat tail. Oh btw where can I buy a 10 round factory magazine? I have one but would like a second. I also remember having trouble with feeding into the chamber, likely the tabs on said magazine.
 
Well, things have changed a lot, Powder and primers are in short supply, powder goes for 100$ a pound, primers about 20$ per hundred, Hodgdon and IMR are whats available in select types , Varget, 3031 and 4064 can be found, Good luck with your quest,
 
Garand said:
If you get 4-5 reloads out of a .303 cartridge case, you are lucky. Before you reload your 1st rd, buy a broken case extractor. After you have reloaded .303 for a while you will understand.
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With ppu cases im on my 6th loading. Hot hunting loads to. No signs of failure. 5 Grove no4 mk2.

Don't screw around with any brass but PPU. Winchesters and S&B are particularly horrible and fail after 2 or 3 firings. Some milsurp brass is good to.
 
Lee collet neck sizing die set gets better life out of Enfield brass. Here's a good source of data just add the dot.

hodgdonreloading com
 
Kevin32 said:
With ppu cases im on my 6th loading. Hot hunting loads to. No signs of failure. 5 Grove no4 mk2.

Don't screw around with any brass but PPU. Winchesters and S&B are particularly horrible and fail after 2 or 3 firings. Some milsurp brass is good to.
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I’ll second that. As far as new production cases go the PPU stuff is tough to beat . Their 174gr load is actually unfortunately a copy of the Mk8z load meant for MGs, it’s a bit hotter than Mk7 and uses a boat tail bullet. But, the brass is fantastic as it actually has a proper thick rim on it.

To help keep brass alive longer you can use the hair tie trick too, small rubber hair elastics from the dollar store set down just in front of the rim. This forces the cartridge to fill the chamber on firing without causing brass run at the head end of the case.
 
bangshead said:
I remember usig several types of powder, 4350, 4064 and at least 2 types of bullet. I believe there was a 180 grain round nose, and a 174 grain boat tail. Oh btw where can I buy a 10 round factory magazine? I have one but would like a second. I also remember having trouble with feeding into the chamber, likely the tabs on said magazine.
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Intersurplus (site Sponsor) sells 10 Shot Mags for the .303. I think I paid $ 40.** or so few weeks ago.

Cheers
 
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