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Thread: .303 Bullet and Load

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy TXTad's Avatar
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    .303 Bullet and Load

    I recently got an Uberti Stalking Rifle in .303 British.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for a bullet and load for target shooting or deer?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    I have two .303 British rifles.
    I shoot Cast Boolits molded from 316-299 mold.
    The powder I prefer is Reloader 7.
    I don't have the powder load at hand.
    But it is very accurate.
    I also shoot 198 gr Spire pointed cast Boolits both in plain base and Gas Checked Boolits.

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master
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    https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...Rifles-Article

    This should give you some ideas.

    Robert

  4. #4
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    The Lee TL314SWC 90 gr is a good low velocity plinking bullet.
    I’ll bet that it is a nice rifle.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by Texas by God View Post
    The Lee TL314SWC 90 gr is a good low velocity plinking bullet.
    I’ll bet that it is a nice rifle.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Particularly when loaded over 3.2 gr Bullseye.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
    ― Nikola Tesla

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    I saw those Selous rifles when they came out. Very nice. It will probably be its own thing as far as loads and shooting as hardly any other .303's are newly manufactured. I would wager the groove dia is pretty close to .311 as opposed to the wild variations of most of the guns most of us are shooting. It will probably not require the massively oversize bullets needed to make a lot of the military rifles shoot.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    The only guns with wide variation are the WW2 produced rifles when anything that would fire a bullet was good enough,especially the 2 groove barrels...........the Lithgow 303s were always made to a high standard ,and barrels are exactly to design dimension. I also read the Ruger #1 s in 303 used the correct dimensions ,and I imagine the Uberti s are the same

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    The case capacity of both 7.62/308 and 303 is exactly the same,and in a stronger action than a Lee ,308 loads can safely be used ,with the assurance that the slightly larger bore will reduce pressure slightly........strong action would be a P14,Ross ,any of the single shots ,such as a Farquharson ,Alex Henry ,Ruger ,or a nitro double rifle like a H&H or Westley Richards.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master Thumbcocker's Avatar
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    I have had good results with a 200 grain boolit and 4198. Around 25 grains. Follow book recommendations and work up.
    Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy TXTad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thumbcocker View Post
    I have had good results with a 200 grain boolit and 4198. Around 25 grains. Follow book recommendations and work up.
    Sounds good. I'm thinking something like a Lyman 314299 an 10-12gr Unique might be a good load.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Idaho Mule's Avatar
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    Lyman 314299 cast of 70/30 (coww/pure) and powder coated, sized at .314 over 32 gr. of Varget is doing pretty well for me out of a P14. Also does well in Ruger #1. I am hoping the pc will allow more velocity and it looks promising so far. I am jealous of your Uberti stalking rifle, I would sure like one. For deer and elk I use Speer 150 gr. spitzer with Varget or imr 4895 out of the Ruger. Varget has a very slight accuracy edge in my Ruger.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy TXTad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Idaho Mule View Post
    Lyman 314299 cast of 70/30 (coww/pure) and powder coated, sized at .314 over 32 gr. of Varget is doing pretty well for me out of a P14. Also does well in Ruger #1. I am hoping the pc will allow more velocity and it looks promising so far. I am jealous of your Uberti stalking rifle, I would sure like one. For deer and elk I use Speer 150 gr. spitzer with Varget or imr 4895 out of the Ruger. Varget has a very slight accuracy edge in my Ruger.
    Varget is just such a good powder. It's often been a little more expensive or harder to find than other things since it first showed up in the 90s, but lately is bad.

    I use it in my 7mm-08 to good effect.

    I think your No. 1 may be better than the Uberti. I should have bought one of those in .303 when I had the chance some years ago for far less than I paid for the Uberti, even adjusted for inflation.

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master


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    The Lee C312-185-1R should prove to be an excellent cast bullet in your Stalker. Loaded over 26 - 30 gr of 4895 with a dacron filler should push it upwards of 1900+ fps with excellent accuracy.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
    ― Nikola Tesla

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy TXTad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Gibson View Post
    Particularly when loaded over 3.2 gr Bullseye.
    3.2 gr of Bullseye in the relatively big, for 3.2 gr of Bullseye, .303 case?

    Any other

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy TXTad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Gibson View Post
    The Lee C312-185-1R should prove to be an excellent cast bullet in your Stalker. Loaded over 26 - 30 gr of 4895 with a dacron filler should push it upwards of 1900+ fps with excellent accuracy.
    I'll buy another powder if I have to, but powders I have on hand in good quantities are:

    • WC844
    • WC846
    • WW748
    • WC852
    • WC820
    • RL22
    • Unique
    • 2400
    • WW244
    • BE86

    Powders that I have in limited quantities include

    • H380
    • RL15
    • Varget
    • Red Dot
    • Blue Dot
    • 760
    • RL19
    • H414

    Mostly I'm looking to shoot targets at 100 to 200 yards, but I might also be interested in hunting whitetail. I'm imagining I'd prefer a JSP bullet for that, but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thumbcocker View Post
    I have had good results with a 200 grain boolit and 4198. Around 25 grains. Follow book recommendations and work up.
    This is what I have used. I had trouble finding load data for anything over 180 grain but wanted/needed larger diameter bullet for old milsurp bore and that mold was heavier bullet. Found the Australian powder manufacturer ADI had load data up to 220 grain as I recall, the powders listed are the Aussie names but ADI has an equivalency chart that allows one to see what that powder is called by US brands when they ship it over here to be sold.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

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  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    I use IMR 4064 and my dwindling supply of RL-15 for jacketed bullets in my 303's. For cast IMR 4198 at around 20 grs. and a filler works well with the Lee C314-185-1R.

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by TXTad View Post
    3.2 gr of Bullseye in the relatively big, for 3.2 gr of Bullseye, .303 case?

    Any other
    That was a follow up post to Texas by God #4 post regards the Lee TL314-90-SWC bullet. The 3.2 gr of Bullseye under that bullet in the 303 case will give 900 +/- fps good accuracy and will be relatively quiet with little recoil. A great fun, plinking, small game or vermin load.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
    ― Nikola Tesla

  19. #19
    Boolit Buddy TXTad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Gibson View Post
    That was a follow up post to Texas by God #4 post regards the Lee TL314-90-SWC bullet. The 3.2 gr of Bullseye under that bullet in the 303 case will give 900 +/- fps good accuracy and will be relatively quiet with little recoil. A great fun, plinking, small game or vermin load.
    I understand now. Looking over the 02-19-2007 post by @robertbank (who I see hasn't been online in most of a year), I see that I have a number of powders that will work for loads from 900 to 1,900 fps. I recently bought an 8lb keg of 2400, so I am very interested in seeing what I can do with the 16 gr load. Experimenting with lighter loads using BE86, Unique, 244, Bullseye, and Red Dot are compelling as well.

    Still, a tiny charge of Bullseye in such a big case seems strange, but I'll give it a try.

    Regardless of what faster burning powder I use, I understand that tilting the cartridge up to position the powder near the primer will be helpful. That is where the single shot configuration of this rifle should be helpful. I should be able to just tilt each cartridge before I load it, and then simply be slow and careful when I chamber it.

    Harris' 13.0 gr of Red Dot "The Load" is also going to get run through this rifle.

  20. #20
    Boolit Mold
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    I use a mould purchased from a firm in Australia. Love the bullet. Accurate.
    Cast Bullet Engineering (Australia) 314-190GC They are temporarily not taking further orders while they work on their backlog. you have to go into their rifle mould section, then click on their “31 cal. and 32-20” section and it will come up in there.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check