I slugged both my No.1 and No.4 yesterday and found the "true" calibre of the barrels. The No.1 was bang on .311 but the No.4 was .315. So does anyone know of a manufacturer that makes a bullet between the .303 British and 8mm Mauser that would fit that barrel snugger? I know that Hornady's 174 Gr RN is .312 but is there anything closer? Thanks.
So I slugged my Enfield.....
- Thread starter Recce21
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That is true. There is a company in Calgary, I can't remember the name off hand, and they were advertising for custom lead cast bullets. I never got a quote back from them which is good becuase I was asking for .311, not .315 (if that makes any difference in price)
Another alternative is to size down some 8mm bullets through a lee sizer. They will make them in any size you want. boardmember Whelen B has some experiance with this, and there is a thread here about it somewhere.
Shoot it with various 303 bullets first, then decide. I've seen larger bores occasionally work quite well with 311-312 bullets. - dan
......Edit, that didn't take long
I've done this and posted on it recently. http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374843
A Lee push-through 0.314" lube-sizer would produce jacketed bullets of about 0.315" by sizing down 8mm bullets - but you need to choose the right bullets. I suggest Speer Hot-Cor (the jacket is bonded to the core).
Your main concern would be chamber neck size, which is the same whether you use jacketed or cast. If you don't have at least two thou clearance with those bullets seated, you risk problems chambering, but much more critical, high pressures csued by the bullet being "pinched" in place. Not usually a problem in Lee Enfields, but I had a Mosin Nagant with a 0.315" bore and it wouldn't chamber 0.316" (cast) bullets. I had to outside neck turn two thou from it.
