Ok. I'm Brand new to Reloading... what should I use for my .303

L

LomondK

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
78   0   0
Location
Edmonton Ab.
Like the Title says, I'm new to reloading. I just bought the Lee Anniversary kit and the 3 piece die set for my .303 (me and all 3 brothers use SMLE .303 for deer hunting so this made sense to start here). obviously I know that there are a lot of far more advanced kits with more toys and I will have a lot of building to do but as I understand it this will get me going.

I'm thinking I'm going to stick to the 150gr bullets for now just because that is what I'm used to shooting. (will experiment later but want to start basic and familiar) I'm wondering what powder should I buy. Also if anyone has a particularly good load already worked up for a 150gr .303 I'd love to have somewhere to start. Any other tips, tricks or pieces of equipment that will make life easier for me I'd love to know.

Thanks Kevin
 
You have bought a very good kit and die set to reload the .303. There are some significant issues in reloading the .303 though. The chamber sizes from gun to gun vary considerably. Are you going to be reloading for only one gun?

In any case you will be well advised to separate the brass and keep an individual set of brass for each gun. After it is fired once, then only neck size the cartridge and don't push the shoulder back. And, only use that brass in the gun it was fired in. The neck resizing die in your Lee set, should do a good job on the neck resizing only. Here is a good article to read about reloading the .303.

http://www.303british.com/id28.html
 
The SMLE was built for 174gn bullets. Does your rifle shoot commercial 150s well now? If so, then continue. Sometimes accuracy can go up with a heavier bullet closer to the design specs, but most times it is irrelevant. The best thing to do, as has been posted above, is separate your brass and only fire one brand in one rifle. That way, it will always work and your brass will last longer. However, some tips to the beginner...
Full length resize all your brass before you start, even if you think it was fired in your rifle or if using new brass. Now, TRIM all the brass to length. Lee makes a great tool for this. Now continue with the loading process. Once finished, cycle ALL rounds through your rifle to ensure they will fit the magazine and that all will chamber in the rifle.
Now, find yourself a dozen small o-rings big enough to fit on the brass right against the rim of the case and about 1/16" thick. This will help you to properly headspace your brass and extend the length of the case by pushing the brass against the bolt face and basically setting it up so that you are changing where the headspace is. This works with ALL rimmed cartridges and after that the cartridge will headspace on the shoulder.
 
you will definitly want to neck size for longer case life and a little better results....I started with the Lee kit and still use it, just added more toys.

I am using 43.5gr of IMR4350 with a federal 210 primer under a Hornady 150gr spitzer for 2350fps at the muzzle from my SMLE with very good results and under 2" groups at 100yds. I am sure I can get better accuracy with a scope and all, just havnt had the time to fool with it any more.

Hope this helps and enjoy the 303, one of my favorite's for sure.

Matt
 
Kevin. I use Varget 39.0 under a 150 FMJ Also Varget 38.0 Under a 174. Have yet to load for the 180's yet. Pehaps this spring

Cheer
 
mbogo3 said:
I'm using 42gr RE15 and a Sierra 150gr getting under 1 MOA at 100 yards.............Harold
Click to expand...

Out of an SMLE? That's frickin' awesome. Best I can manage is 2". Is it scoped? I am looking fwd to getting to the range soon, just got a few hundred bullets from 303british.com for Christmas. Make up some rounds for my 1898 LEC since these are .3135" bullets they should be more accurate in that old barrel. I would love to have a 2" group with those lLman peep sights, if I can still see through them. Right now it is closer to 4" so I only use it in dense brush.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom