Rolled my own

S

Skaal-tel

Regular
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Location
Ontario
Just thought I'd share - cooked up some ammunition today with the help of the forum.

2013-03-14202336_zps6d28fc78.jpg


I used IMR 4350, once fired winchester and remington .303 brass and hornady #3131 174gr FMJBT bullets.

What I wanted was IMR4895 and hornady 3130 174gr bullets.. but powder is out of stock, backordered, and the bullet order I placed got miscommunicated... somehow!

I loaded rounds at 41, 43 and 46gr of powder. Even if 46gr turns out to be most accurate, I don't think I'll load it again - not enough room in the case.

This was my first run at reloading, so a proof of concept and tooling run.

Now that I have the bare minimum tools and technique I intend to get some better brass (PPU) powder and bullets to try!

Stay frosty
 
I don't know anything about the .303, but why load in the ranges you loaded? If that's pressure testing I'd suggest you look at this differently. I don't know the max gr with that powder but truthfully with a 3gr jump I'm somewhat concerned to look.

Make sure you are within ranges and still, be cautious and load up in smaller increments. (.5 is use more often)

Disregard this if tests have been done and you are well within safe levels.

EDIT:

Ran downstairs to grab my manual and for 303 british, 180 gr, IMR4350 it has 43-47.0C. The manual is the SPEER #14. Generally lighter the bullet, more powder, heavier, less.

If you haven't already, best to pressure test, and double check figures from multiple publications.

Have fun. I enjoy load tailoring and development almost as much as shooting.
 
You cannot get enough IMR 4350 into a 303 case and still seat a bullet to cause any grief.
Even in a Lee-Enfield, 46 grains behind a 174 hornady anything will be mild.
Eagleye.
 
I didn't know any better - hence the 3 grain jump.

I did check several pubs - I have the lyman book, and copies of several others. All listed ranges between 41 and 46gr for this cartridge. I believe it is a slower powder than what most people use. It is the ONLY rifle powder I could lay my hands on.

OAL is 3.075" which is the standard dimension. I could go longer and still not hit the lands, but I'd run into problems with the magazine.
 
Skaal-tel said:
I didn't know any better - hence the 3 grain jump.

I did check several pubs - I have the lyman book, and copies of several others. All listed ranges between 41 and 46gr for this cartridge. I believe it is a slower powder than what most people use. It is the ONLY rifle powder I could lay my hands on.

OAL is 3.075" which is the standard dimension. I could go longer and still not hit the lands, but I'd run into problems with the magazine.
Click to expand...

I pretty much only shoot and handload .303, with a little 8x57 thrown in here or there. 3.075 is the max OAL for a .303 Brit cartridge. That being said some of my .303's will chamber cartridges of max length but my Ross likes them at 2.90 give or take. Usually I load a dummy round with the bullet seated way out and then push it in when chambering it. This way I have a true measurement of how long of a round my gun can chamber. I then subtract around ten thou off which will gives me my max OAL, most of the time it is slightly shorter then the max listed in the books. I usually start at the min charge with my .303's but I'm running IMR 4895 with my 174 gr bullets, and up the charge in .5 grain increments. My Ross loves a 35-36 grain loads and actually groups tightest with this load.
 
I'd love to get a .303 Ross!! I have a very nice .280 M10 sitting in the safe and can't afford the $300 just to pick up the dies and brass. Yet.

I tried the dummy bullet test and while I struggled with it a bit, 3.075 did not hit the lands in my no4.
 
Skaal-tel said:
I'd love to get a .303 Ross!! I have a very nice .280 M10 sitting in the safe and can't afford the $300 just to pick up the dies and brass. Yet.

I tried the dummy bullet test and while I struggled with it a bit, 3.075 did not hit the lands in my no4.
Click to expand...

I'm jealous, I REALLY want a .280 ross! I love reloading for my Ross, the extra barrel length vs. an Enfield makes it shoot very well even with reduced loads. I've found .303 to be pretty easy to develope loads for as long as I've stuck to .5 increments. I've found sometimes that the difference in 1-2 grains can be the difference between 1 moa and 3 moa. Who knows, you may hit a good combo on the first try with the loads you have already made.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom