Reproduction .303 reload with pulled bullets.

LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1

LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1

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Anyone have a recipe that would best take advantage of some pulled surplus mk7 303 ammo? A while back, for some reason I pulled 40 or so corrosive rounds of cordite surplus for the bullets. Would like to through some reloads together and shoot them but don't want to waste them .

Any recommendations? I don't really have enough to build a load thus the reason I'm asking.

Thanks.
 
39 grains of W748 over CCI 250 primers works very well in in several different rifles, all loaded to the same length as military specs.

This load is on the hot side but not over max IMHO.
 
Imr4064 or 4895 are perfect for 303, no need to get anything else unless you want to.

Lyman 46th manual, for 303BR/180gr JSP:

(powder: min, max)
IMR4064: 38gr, 42gr
IMR4895: 39gr, 43gr
 
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All of the powders listed here are in the same appx speed/burn ratings. They will all work well.

I like w748 with magnum primers because it's extremely consistent accuracy wise/velocity spreads and it burns clean.

The other powders are every bit as good but I just happen to have a lot of W748 on hand for cartridge cases of similar capacity and I understand its virtues when it comes to my needs.

The other powder I like is also a Ball type powder. BLC or BLC2. Great powder, good for cartridges as small as the 223rem up to 30-06 and 8x57.
 
kawicrash said:
Don't you have a reloading manual?
Hodgdon also has all their data on line for free..
I kind of didn't understand what you were getting at with the original post, but I think you want to use the bullets, correct?

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle
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I only have a few of these bullets, only about 40. So not enough to build a load. Manuals only give you a range, and I didn't want to waste these bullets one a bad load.
 
That's tough because there's no perfect load that works best in every single rifle, every one has it's likes, dislikes and quirks.
But I get what you're saying, you want a proven load.
 
kawicrash said:
That's tough because there's no perfect load that works best in every single rifle, every one has it's likes, dislikes and quirks.
But I get what you're saying, you want a proven load.
Click to expand...

I was looking for a load similar to mk7 performance since that's the round enfield were made to shoot so it would probably perform decently. Not looking for a match load just something decent.
 
That's like asking how long is a piece of string? If you aren't doing any load experimentation then just use a minimum/middling load for a powder you have and leave it at that. It'll be good enough and close enough for what you're doing. IMR4064 or IMR4895 are good powder in 303brit.
 
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Hodgdon lists a starting load for BLc2 that starts at 2440 fps and can go up from there. I have had some success in the few loads I have tried so far but not enough to really evaluate it.
 
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So, Managed to find all the Cordite cases. I think I will just re-seat them and shoot them out of one of my less valuable rifles. Is Cordite stable when exposed to open air or could it have degraded after being open for a while?
 
LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1 said:
So, Managed to find all the Cordite cases. I think I will just re-seat them and shoot them out of one of my less valuable rifles. Is Cordite stable when exposed to open air or could it have degraded after being open for a while?
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Depends how long they were open and how humid the air was. Cordite is like any other powder, it attracts and collects moisture which is why powder companies recommend storage in sealed containers. A few days - probably ok. A few weeks - maybe ok. Who knows.

What was it that turned you against your original idea to use new powder? I don't follow your reasoning.
 
Powder will have degraded a bit but small surface area exposure so probably ok. Definitely not a good practise.
 
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