Perhaps...still not bad for 3 years of continuous use in multiple rifles. Remington can make good brass.
Where do you buy your British .303
- Thread starter Nelson84
- Start date
Neck size & you case life will be extended 10 fold. Shoot cast & cost goes down to about 10 cents per rnd & your case life is almost infinite. Folks at my range who don't handload shoot 20 rnds then leave. I shoot 300 before I run out of light. Decide which situation you would rather be in & go with it.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
yep oring trick and neck sizing annealing every few firings and cast loads about 30 reloadings on my prvi brass so far with the cast load i have not even had to bump the should back much at all
The last of the 'cheap' .303 I saw was back in 2007 or so, for roughly $16 a box of S&B. That was before it shot up to $24-$30 for most of the regular brands.
The S&B is great stuff though. Probably the best of the factory brands. About the closest you'll ever get to Mk VII Ball.
I've pulled, weighed, and measured a bunch of Federal and Winchester ammo, and I can say it's not worth what you pay for it. The crimp strength and powder weight varied with every round, and to top it off; most bullets are .310 to .3105 in diamater. Not much good when most Enfield barrels are .311 to .312, going up to .314's.
Handloading is far from a hassle. It's the only way to go with old calibres. My $120 Lee reloading kit has paid for itself almost ten-fold by now with all the ammo I've made, and my group sizes have shrunk to boot. I love showing up at the range with hundreds of rounds, while others shoot a box or two, chuck their brass, and go home. How lame is that?
The S&B is great stuff though. Probably the best of the factory brands. About the closest you'll ever get to Mk VII Ball.
I've pulled, weighed, and measured a bunch of Federal and Winchester ammo, and I can say it's not worth what you pay for it. The crimp strength and powder weight varied with every round, and to top it off; most bullets are .310 to .3105 in diamater. Not much good when most Enfield barrels are .311 to .312, going up to .314's.
Handloading is far from a hassle. It's the only way to go with old calibres. My $120 Lee reloading kit has paid for itself almost ten-fold by now with all the ammo I've made, and my group sizes have shrunk to boot. I love showing up at the range with hundreds of rounds, while others shoot a box or two, chuck their brass, and go home. How lame is that?
Save your brass and even if you never reload you can sell it to these guys^^. 
Watch where you buy though, there is a local "Hunting and Fishing" store here where they charge from 29$ + tax to 36$ + tax (depending on the brand) I personally check the prices at all the stores within a 45 minute drive and I can save up to 12$ a box depending where I go.
I love my old Enfield, I bought it last year and I don't think I will ever sell.
Watch where you buy though, there is a local "Hunting and Fishing" store here where they charge from 29$ + tax to 36$ + tax (depending on the brand) I personally check the prices at all the stores within a 45 minute drive and I can save up to 12$ a box depending where I go.
I love my old Enfield, I bought it last year and I don't think I will ever sell.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
Save your brass and even if you never reload you can sell it to these guys^^.
Watch where you buy though, there is a local "Hunting and Fishing" store here where they charge from 29$ + tax to 36$ + tax (depending on the brand) I personally check the prices at all the stores within a 45 minute drive and I can save up to 12$ a box depending where I go.
I love my old Enfield, I bought it last year and I don't think I will ever sell.
i will never buy once fired brass from anyone for use in my lee enfield it dose not last long what i do buy gets converted to .410 brass or dummy round and i buy it real cheap
Realod if you want affordable .303. I got lucky a few years back. Snagged 30 mixed boxes of 180 grain Winchester Powerpoint and Federal Powershock with an additional box of 215 grain Dominion ( 620 rounds total) for 300 bucks, came with a mastercraft tool box for free too. Now I'm keeping the brass and reloading it. My 3 Enfields need a good supply of food.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
is that dominion in a blue in yellow box and does the head stamp say dominion just dont want to see anyone shoot up some old round nose military ammo that stuff is really rare
I saw some S&B locally cheaper than any of the other brands, was wondering how it was. Are their cases suitable for reloading?Where is it made?
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
i have one in .32 S&W/.32 acp id not use surplus 7.62x25 in a lee enfield seems like a good way of putting more wear on a old rifle (there is steel content in the jackets estern bloc and chinese surplus)
It's made in the Czech Republic.
It's 'hotter' than your standard underloaded commercial ammo, which is to say it will shoot standard velocities (2440fps) comparable to that of the MK VII ball ammo that was meant to be used in our Enfields.
Here's a link: http://www.sellier-bellot.cz/rifle-ammunition-detail.php?ammunition=12&product=186
Out of the box I found it shot better than any other type of commercial ammo I put through my enfields. I haven't shot any 'new' S&B ammo in some time, given that I reload; so if things have changed since the company was bought out in 2009 I would be unaware. Perhaps someone who has shot from a newer lot can chime in?
As for reloadability, from what I have heard and experienced, S&B brass is a bit more brittle than other brands. So that's going to hurt you if you don't neck size your spent casings. I had a few case head separations from it and I've just been working on my Federal, Winchester, and Remington stocks ever since. After getting a neck-sizing die I have yet to try it again, so we shall see.
RememberTheSomme
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
I shoot S&B 180FMJ through a No1 and a No4. The ammo is accurate and reliable with nice brass to reload. It chronies right around 2500fp in my No4MkII a tad over MkVII ball spec at 2440fps for a 174fmj and it's a 180gr. Locally here I pay $19.00 for 20 rounds, so with tax it's just over $1.00 per squeeze, still worth every penny, just make the rounds count.It's not an ammo burner for the 50yd line like an SKS, shoot at 200meters and out, putting the rifle into its comfort zone, and make them count. 20 rounds will take up more time this way is more satisfying to me than a 100 rounds at 100yds with the SKS.
My SVTs fluted chamber destroys the case necks and when sized they split. Guess you're just lucky or I'm unlucky either way my SVT doesn't see brass anymore.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
well it is fluted because it was ment to be used with steel cased ammo you know ive never even looked in the chamber that well not too may marks on my cases maybe its pluged with cosmoline cases dont last long though because of the F/L resize
My brass life in the Parker Hale is with o-ringing and neck sizing only. I use only Privi brass. The bolt head I have is as close to the round as you can get. The chamber on it is way to loose and the brass grows so much that all the tricks won't work. The case seperates, so shooting it is a waste of brass.
If I was that partial to shooting it, I would have it rechambered. In the meantime, when I want to shoot .303, it'll be the P14.
Use fresh brass & make the first firing cast. The front will expand to fill the chamber without stretching the brass to hell and back. You can revert to jacketed after. If you want to talk about stretching brass, think of how much brass expands when you use 7.62x54r to form 8x56r.
You're seeing it as a "hassle", when you should be seeing it as a rewarding and enjoyable hobby in it's own right. And as an added bonus, not only do you get cheaper ammo, you get better ammo. That's the real benefit to reloading- you find the load that your specific firearm likes best, and presto! Match quality ammunition tuned to your rifle, for less than what you'd pay for commercial ammo.
And the relaxing warm glow of making it yourself.
Should you be married, remember: "Honey, I can make my own for half the cost. That's like a 50% off sale." Always frame it in terms she'll understand.
