Lee 312-155 for 303???

[Markopolo]

Has anybody tried this boolit on the Enfield number 4??? Just wondering....

Marko

[Kegcaissy]

Yeah, this was my first mold. Without modifications the lee offering in 0,312" molds are in fact large 30cal molds. If you want to shoot 150gr in 303 look at the noe website in the 314-316 section. Look for plainbased molds, with shotgun powder and some load developpement and good reloading procedure you should be able to get under 2" at 100y

[truckjohn]

Always slug your Enfield barrel before buying a mold. Barrel dimensions are all over the map - you can find sharp shiny barrels that slug at 0.321".

[Kraschenbirn]

My Longbranch #4Mk1 slugs .3125 and my 315-155 originally dropped .312+ from my home-brew #2 alloy. Beagling gave me almost .315 from the same alloy so I tried tumble lube andshooting them 'as cast'. Also tried PC (w/o beagling) and sizing to .314. Neither shot particularly well for me but Lee's 312-185, PC'd, sized .314, and loaded over 32.0 gr H4895, will equal or better ball ammo for accuracy in my gun.

Bill
.

[Outpost75]

If your No.4 has a 2-groove barrel you will need a .316" bullet. See NOE website.

[Markopolo]

I have the 5grove... I am trying not to buy a mold until I know how this thing shoots. It is the No4 MK 1/2 FTR... but I hate to buy a mold when I have this left over lee mold from my K31 days that I could simply beagle up to the right size.. cash is very tight in the winter.

Maybe I should clarify....

ASSUMING I can get the boolit beagled to the appropriate size, has anybody shot this in the 303???

[Outpost75]

I have the 5grove... I am trying not to buy a mold until I know how this thing shoots. It is the No4 MK 1/2 FTR... but I hate to buy a mold when I have this left over lee mold from my K31 days that I could simply beagle up to the right size.. cash is very tight in the winter.

Maybe I should clarify....

ASSUMING I can get the boolit beagled to the appropriate size, has anybody shot this in the 303???

In my tight-bore Fazakerly 5-groove it shoots well with 16 grs. of Aliant #2400, crimping the GC on in a .314" die and leaving thebullet unsized.

[RU shooter]

I've shot it in a tight bored 303 , my ancient Lee single cav. Dropped them at .314 .beagle it try using a harder alloy so it casts as big as it can and but the GC on with the biggest sizer you got to match your groove dia. As Outpost said 16-17ish grs of 2400 is usually a good spot to be . Give it a go and see what happens .

[Markopolo]

That is what I am thinking.... soon as the die’s get here, I will give her a go...

That’s the thing about these old military rifles. I got all excited about an old Milsurp once and got all tooled up for the cal, worked the whole rifle over and spent a ton of time on the stock, bullet molds, dies, and who knows what else, only to find it wasn’t a shooter for me with cast.. I know, who would have figured. It was beautiful, but in the end, It went Bye Bye, and I got rid of all of the tooling and so on. I did take a bit of a bath on something that I fully intended to have for the rest of my life.

This time, I want to make sure the gun is a shooter before I start really lovin on the weapon. I have a weakness for old military surplus guns. Something about them just calls my name. But before I agree to love yet another one, I better hold up its side of the deal. If I am gunna love it, it has to shoot. I own ZERO safe queens.

Here is a picture of the last one I loved on that didn’t love me back...

Before


After


I did all that before I knew it wouldn’t Group cuz of barrel issues.

Marko