No1Mk3- .303 British Reloading

Wolfgang7

Wolfgang7

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Hey i am going to start reloading 303 British for my No1mk3 Lee Enfield. Any advice or tips on powder or bullets etc?? Also where is a cheap place to be buying bullets to reload for my .303??

Also how many times ballpark should i expect to be able to use my brass?? Thanks in advance:)
 
depends on how hot you load, what your headspace is, what kind of brass you are using, Whether you fire-form your brass, whether you FL or only neck size, if you anneal....
There are lots of threads here on reloading for the .303. If you need more specific, PM me and I can answer questions you don't get answered here.
 
You are looking at about 4-5 reloads on your brass.

I started out with a lee loader and then moved on to lee neck sizing dies.

I get my Bullets from WSS and a couple of local shops. The nicest ones I have ever got were from MysticPlayer. Hornady 174gr HPBT. They shoot really nice in my No.4.
 
Thanks guys. rookieW I will PM you at some point here thanks.

More than anything i am just looking for a good place to start, as well where a good place to buy cheap bullets is even if it's online. How much did they cost at WSS??
 
Your brass cases are important for reloading the military .303 British.

Headspace is governed by the cases you shoot and not the rifle when you reload. In plane simple English this means commercial American SAAMI cases are not designed by the British and Commonwealth military. These commercial cases when loaded by the factory are kept at or below 43,000 cup due to all the older Enfields still being used. The rated chamber pressure for the .303 Enfield is 45,000 cup and if you load your cases above 43,000 cup they will fall apart quickly.


Buy Prvi Partizan cases, they have a larger base diameter, thicker cases walls and thicker rims than American made SAAMI .303 cases. These Prvi cases are built like a tank compared to American made commercial cases.

Fireform your cases using a rubber o-ring around the rim to hold the case against the bolt face.

IMGP6290.jpg


Or create a false shoulder on the case to hold the case against the bolt face when fired.

IMGP7189.jpg


Below an exaggerated false shoulder on a 30-06 case showing how the false shoulder looks.

falseshoulder.jpg


Do "NOT" oil or lube your cases to fireform them, this doubles the bolt thrust or the force on your bolt and can damage your rifle.
 
Wolfgang, you can buy berry's cheap plinker bullets from Henry N. He's one of the traders on this forum. There are lots of good powders out there. I've tried RL15 and Varget with good success. And lately Bullseye for reduced loads.

BigEd, how did you create that bulge on the case and what does it do to help in 303 case life? I like the O-ring method, but all my brass is once-fired stuff. I FL-Resize them once and then they are neck-sized only.
 
"...Headspace is governed by the cases you shoot and not the rifle when you reload..." Nonsense. Headspace is a rifle manufacturing tolerance only.
Slug the barrel first. Hammer a cast .30 calibre bullet or suitably sized lead fishing sinker through the barrel and measure it with a micrometer. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure from .311"to .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" the barrel is shot out. Then use the closest diameter bullet.
Commercial bullet makers use .311" or .312" diameter. Speer and Sierra use .311". Hornady uses .312". Steve at .303british.com, seasonally, sells .313" and .314" 200 grain FMJ's too.
 
sunray said:
"...Headspace is governed by the cases you shoot and not the rifle when you reload..." Nonsense. Headspace is a rifle manufacturing tolerance only.
Click to expand...
Headspace on a rimmed cartridge, is measured at the rim, however, the reloader, can through neck sizing change the headspace position, to the case shoulder, thereby, it becomes adjustable, depending on how much the reloader moves the shoulder during resizing.
 
OEM said:
Wolfgang, you can buy berry's cheap plinker bullets from Henry N. He's one of the traders on this forum. There are lots of good powders out there. I've tried RL15 and Varget with good success. And lately Bullseye for reduced loads.

BigEd, how did you create that bulge on the case and what does it do to help in 303 case life? I like the O-ring method, but all my brass is once-fired stuff. I FL-Resize them once and then they are neck-sized only.
Click to expand...


OEM

On my Enfields with the headspace above .067 I like using the rubber o-ring method. On the tighter Enfields I have been unable to find a small enough diameter o-ring that doesn't cause hard closing of the bolt. In these cases I create a false shoulder by using a Sinclair neck expander die with interchangeable mandrels.

IMGP7245.jpg


Sinclair.jpg




I increase the neck diameter of the case up to .35 caliber and then use a neck sizing die to set the headspace created by the false shoulder.

Below the .303 case with the false shoulder which holds the case against the bolt face during fire forming.

IMGP7189.jpg
 
sunray said:
"...Headspace is governed by the cases you shoot and not the rifle when you reload..." Nonsense. Headspace is a rifle manufacturing tolerance only.
Click to expand...

sunray

Did you ever notice that military cases are thicker in the web area of the case to withstand the stresses of being fired in a "larger" military chamber.

Did you ever notice what happens to commercial SAAMI cartridge cases when they are fired in a military chamber.

Did you ever notice the headspace settings for military and commercial rifles are different, with commercial standards being smaller than military.

Therefore headspace is governed by the cases you shoot and not the rifle when you reload.

This means tighten up your headspace "OR" fireform your commercial cases to fit the military chamber. ;)

headspacestretch-1.gif
 
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