I was thinking about reload recipies that closely match the original service cartridge load when I found this info on Jay Currah's Lee Enfield site:
During the course of World War I, as with the production of the P-14 rifle, Britain turned to the United States to help with ammunition production. This call was answered by Dupont and their IMR 16 single based nitrocellulose powder, which was officially adopted for use in 1916. IMR 16 closely duplicated the performance of the cordite loading, but had the advantage of not burning as hot. As this powder offered the same ballistic characteristics as the cordite loaded round it kept the Mark VII classification, but with the addition of a "Z" (Mk VIIZ) to denote the propellant change. The nitrocellulose powder also offered the added benefits of not having to alter existing or future rifles sights changing bullet weights and because of its cooler burning, prolonged the normal service life of the Enfield barrel. After the war, this powder was offered for public consumption as IMR 3031.
I figured that if this is the case then there should be a bunch of recipies on the net using 174 gr match bullets and IMR 3031 but I haven't found much. Is there a reason why? From what I've seen shooters tend to like slower burning powders for their lee enfields but have a hard time getting the velocity to where it should be. Is IMR 3031 innacurate or nor as accurate as other powders? Are there other powders that can reach the magic 2440fps that burn better but won't blow up my precious #4mk1?
During the course of World War I, as with the production of the P-14 rifle, Britain turned to the United States to help with ammunition production. This call was answered by Dupont and their IMR 16 single based nitrocellulose powder, which was officially adopted for use in 1916. IMR 16 closely duplicated the performance of the cordite loading, but had the advantage of not burning as hot. As this powder offered the same ballistic characteristics as the cordite loaded round it kept the Mark VII classification, but with the addition of a "Z" (Mk VIIZ) to denote the propellant change. The nitrocellulose powder also offered the added benefits of not having to alter existing or future rifles sights changing bullet weights and because of its cooler burning, prolonged the normal service life of the Enfield barrel. After the war, this powder was offered for public consumption as IMR 3031.
I figured that if this is the case then there should be a bunch of recipies on the net using 174 gr match bullets and IMR 3031 but I haven't found much. Is there a reason why? From what I've seen shooters tend to like slower burning powders for their lee enfields but have a hard time getting the velocity to where it should be. Is IMR 3031 innacurate or nor as accurate as other powders? Are there other powders that can reach the magic 2440fps that burn better but won't blow up my precious #4mk1?
