how many 303 Brit reloads before chucking

If you avoid full-length resizing and just resize the body without touching the shoulder, you should get a better mileage.
Now, if you have several Enfields, consider the option of dedicating specific brass lots for each one and avoid interchanging.
PP.:)
 
I think I'm on number 12.These forty are the two boxes I bought of Winchester 180 PP when I got the rifle.But I only use a Lee Collet die for my P-14.
 
303

The p-14 has a lot better chamber dimensions than the everyday Enfield and therefore the brass will last longer even if the brass is full length resized everytime. :) Collet or neck sizer dies really extend the life of the brass and downloading will extend the brass also.:cool: But I like makin'em go bang real fast and tossin' the brass.:eek:
 
I just adjust the die so that the neck is only resized slightly, leavng a false "shoulder"

I usually get about 2-3 max loads and about the same reduced loads, and then I chuck them.

303 brass is pretty plentiful, I'm sure I've got about 200 once fired factory cases ready to go anyway. Which shoudl last me forever, since I rarely shoot 303 anymore.
 
"...only get 2 reloads..." Hot or not, something's wrong if you only get two. If the cases aren't damaged, why pitch 'em? Even if you get 'em cheap. Mind you, your chamber may be large too.
 
I neck size only and my brass lasts quite a while. Try IVI .303 British brass if you can find it. Nice beefy cases.
 
With heavy loads in a Lee Enfield, evidence of incipient head separation shows up after 3 or 4 firings. This is regardless of headspace -or not- in the rifle. Lee Enfield actions flex too much when fired due to the rear locking lugs.
The P-14, with it's front locking lugs, has no such problem and I don't know what case life might be. I know that after ten reloads the brass for my match rifle doesn't even need trimming. I expect 20 loadings or more to be easily achieved. These are pretty hot loads. Too hot by far for a Lee Enfield.
By loading to moderate pressures in the Lee Enfield, case life can be extended dramatically. Regards, Bill.
 
My P14 has no case life issues. I have some brass that has been fired 7-8 times with loads that duplicate 308 Winchester ballistics, with no sign of any separations. Regards, Eagleye.
 
My Winchester P-14 chamber is the same as my buddies #5,we measured them.The difference is very noticeable,real beefy in the shoulders,I would hate to resize even my P-14 brass much.:rolleyes: I'm loading 44.3gr of IMR-4064 behing the Speer 180 for 2500f/s. With a tighter bore, I should have seen 2600+.
 
303carbine said:
How many reloads do you get before tossing the brass on your .303's ?
I only get 2 reloads but I load them warm.:eek:
Click to expand...

Full length resizing in most .303's will get you two or three reloads before signs of case head seperation, or a seperation.

Partial length sizing in a full length die will get you a few more reloads out of a cartrige case. The best die for sizing .303 British brass is the lee collet die.

The prime problem with reloading for most .303 British rifles is radial expansion, not "springy" Lee Enfield actions. Simply put, the majority of .303 chambers are cut large so as to leave room for dirty or out of spec ammo. This is not to say they suffer from excess headspace, that is a different issue in most cases. Standard reloading dies are made so that they restore cartrige cases to "close to new" specifications. Ever notice the bulge above the case head on most fired 303's? That's radial expansion. When the brass is sized (even partially) the brass is forced back in. The brass fails at the junction of the case head and the case wall due to work hardening rather than stretching lengthwise as is common with most other rounds. These weekened cases will ofen fail on extraction, somehow holding together during firing.

The Lee Collet sizing die only touches the case neck and so prevents over working of the case body, especially at the critical junction between the case head and the case body.

I have three sets of .303 British dies and the collet dies are the only ones I use on a regular basis. However note that if you have more than one .303 you will probably have to dedicate specific brass to a specific rifle.
 
I have found using a relative slow burning powder for close to max. loads results in much longer case life, especially when combined with partial sizing. Case expansion is .001 to .0015 less (measured on the pressure ring) with these loads than with win factory loads or IVI factory Ranger loads.I did use ww-760, have now switched to h-414 and h-4350.

I use enough powder to give 2400 fps with Sierra 174 match bullets or pulled 174 military fmj's or 180 cil kksp's. I use the same cartridges in 5 different lee-enfields, ranging from a 1906 made BSA high velocity sporter to 50's long branch #4's.

My longest lasting cases with these loads are at 12 loadings, this is with Ranger once fired cases from IVI. Win cases don't last as long. The reason I load to 2400 fps is that is what I get from my hoarded 80's vintage FN ball factory loads. My #5 get's 2300 fps with the FN loads and my handloads.
 
I have dedicated brass for all my Enfileds I shoot. No case separations yet, and I would say I have gone through my brass 2-3 times at least. I use H414 and H335.

I also have a case extractor in my shooting kit...just in case..
 
303carbine said:
The p-14 has a lot better chamber dimensions than the everyday Enfield and therefore the brass will last longer even if the brass is full length resized everytime. :) Collet or neck sizer dies really extend the life of the brass and downloading will extend the brass also.:cool: But I like makin'em go bang real fast and tossin' the brass.:eek:
Click to expand...

The shoulder on the brass in my P14 gets blown forward a fair bit. I suspect f/l sizing every time would result in very short brass life.
Send me your brass instead of throwing it out after 2 firings.:)
 
I've seen lee enfields that would show incipient separation on factory loads. Headspace on that rifle was terrible.
I have a nice mint bored late war #III* that will go ten reloads with no problems. The power of the loads, the headspace, and neck sizing all play a big part of brass life with lee enfields.
Check out 303british.com for more info.
 
Once I got the right bolt head on my #4 and switched over to Lee collet die they last as long as anything else. I leave the batch in the range bucket after 10 shots.
 
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