303 british reloading

[bighoss]

iam trying to fig out what powder to use for a 165 gr cast boolit for my 303 #4 mark1 i have some h4895 now but i was thinking about getting some trailboss if i go with that what is a good starting load for around 14 1500 fps
i was also looking at the unique to if i go with that what would be a good starting point for the same fps
somebody told me for the unique 13grs would be a good load and it would be about 1500fps if i go with the unique would i need a filler or no

[leadman]

Yes, Unique is good for the velocity you want. Should not need a filler. I would start at 12 grs and go up.

[bighoss]

thanks and do u think i would have good accuracy with that
i have tried 26 grs of the h4895 behind a 115 gr cast boolit and the accuary was poor i know that it is like a 1.5 inch high at 50 yard with a 174gr store bought ones
so i know iam dead on with those
let see how i can word this ok i sluged the barrel if i put the mic were the groves are it is like a 313 and if i put the mic were there aint no groves its like a 303
so what size dia boolit
should i go with

[runfiverun]

my lyman 314299 makes a boolit that hits 313x304 which would be a good slip fit for you.
you might be better off with a noe 316299 which has a 305 nose and a 316 body spec. sized to 315 or 316.
i am seriously considering going with it for my argie that seems to have a bottomless throat,
the 314 can be seated all the way out of the case...
once you find a boolit that is a fairly good throat fit,
28-28.5 grs of the 4895 and a tuft of dacron should give you good accuracy and a velocity in the 1900fps range.
16-17 grs of 2400 is a good load also.

[bighoss]

what all do i need if get one of the molds the cast booilts i am getting are pre made from hunters suppy company
how do u slug the barrel i did it from the muzzel down is there a dif way to do it

[303Guy]

bighoss, you don't mention whether it's a five-groove or two groove. Depending on what you want to do with it, slower powders can deliver higher accurate velocity. I like the idea of Trail Boss because it fills the case but it's a fast powder and so velocities attainable are lower - at least with heavier boolits. Might I suggest you look into 2400 or 4227? JeffinNZ has done some work with cast in the Brit and gotten good results. You might send him a PM?

[bighoss]

its a 2 grove

[Haggway]

I use trail boss with my 303 #1. the range is 11.3 - 16.2

[bighoss]

for what size boolit grs and dia

[303Guy]

Two-groove, right. They seem to be a little more challenging but there are those who have reported good results with them.

This is pretty much the boolit that fits my two-groove.



It is a paper patched boolit which has a little 'give' so it might be a little bigger than the ideal plain cast boolit..

[bighoss]

ok i might sound a lil dumb here but what size is it
its hard for me to see the numbers on there sorry

[303Guy]

Aah yes, sorry. Horrible colors!

Base diameter; .318
Start of ogive diameter; .307
Parallel bit; .315
Length 1.13
Length of tapered bit .6

[bighoss]

what does your barrel slug at mine slugs at like a 303.5 between the groves and on the groves like a 313 314 just depends on were i mic it at
those booits that big fit in the case ok
i was looking at getting the lee 314dia mold and running then through at 311 sizer die

[curator]

bighoss,

The most challenging aspect of getting the Lee Enfield 2-groove barrel to shoot cast is the throat which is often .316-.318 and the fact that the grooves are only .010" wide. If you use a boolit that is wide enough to seal the throat, the extra-large land area will deform the slug to create "tail-feathers" on the base which affect accuracy. Several of my 2-groovers also have varying groove depth from .006 to .008". This makes getting a good gas seal from chamber to muzzle nearly impossible. Plain base J-word bullets work OK because they will self-center in the bore and are not affected badly by gas blow-by if they fail to obturate enough to seal the bore. Cast boolits need to be the proper shape, hardness, and diameter to work successfully. Ordinary store-bought moulds are almost never the correct size. Paper patching is successful because the paper "jacket" protects the bullet sides from the erosive effect of gas leakage. So too can various fillers which form a gas-tight plug behind the boolit.

Read my article here: http://www.303british.com/id37.html

[bighoss]

so how do i get the the dia of the throut what do i use to do it

[curator]

bighoss,

To make a throat slug: Fill a fired case with bird shot or even sand up to the shoulder. Get a piece of 1/4" pure lead wire about one to 1.5 inchs long. Chamber the filled case and close the bolt. Drop the lead wire down the barrel. Using a brass or steel rod (I use a 1/4 inch rod wraped in several places with masking tape to center it in the bore) take a heavy hammer and tap it until the lead slug swells to fill the throat. You will know when that happens because the sound will change and the rod will not move any more. Then carefully open the bolt and tap the case and throat slug out of the chamber. It often helps to take the bolt all the way out since the case and throat slug will sometimes stick firmly to the end of the rod. You should end up with a perfect impression of the throat and rifling origin. Measure the space just in front of the case mouth.

[303Guy]

You wouldn't want to size a .314 boolit down. Do slug the throat - lube the throat and chamber with something like STP or case lube so the slug comes out easier.

A groove diameter of .314 is good because it doesn't require as much swaging of the boolit in the throat. In mine with a .318 groove the swaging down as it enters the bore results in a cupping of the base which can't be good for accuracy. A gas check design boolit should overcome that problem.

[bighoss]

i dont see any 313 or 314 sizer dies
and i know when i put the 313 in the case it is a tight fit

[303Guy]

.314 being a tight fit in an unsized case is just fine. I load mine (paper patched) so the neck actually contacts the chamber wall. Requiring 'expansion room' to release a bullet applies to hard bullets like jacketed. For lead alloy cast boolits, the boolit will push out the same as it pushed in. In fact, with a very fast powder and a softish alloy, the boolit will expand in the neck then swage down again as it passes through the throat. I load mine to full power but with moderate pressure using rifle powders. As long as the boolit does not protrude into the shoulder, then we enter unknown territory. I have managed to get signs of boolit base riveting but it could be mistaken identity.

[bighoss]

i can get a 314 sizer die but dont see any 313