Newly Discovered Paper Patch Gem!

[303Guy]

Reading a thread on Lee Enfields that just won't shoot I decided I should check the bore dimentions of a rifle I have in waiting. It turned out to have a .3084 bore! [smilie=w:
All it needs is polishing and it's a good bore! http://castboolits.gunloads.com/images/smilies/customs/happy%20dance.gif

This one is a gem I didn't know I had. It has the perfect throat and bore size to for paper patching and I already have a mould and castings for it at the right size with patches. So, I'll be fire-polishing it this morning. The bore is dark but otherwise has good sharp and deep rifling. It's not a well used gun. Probably someones new barrel which wouldn't shoot. It wouldn't with a bore of those dimensions - not factory ammo anyway.

I've also discovered a good metal polishing compound called "Autosol". Last night I discovered that my hunting buddy knows it and swears by it too - not for bore polishing but as a metal polish.

[303Guy]

Started fire-lapping and polishing this gem's bore. Oh yes. She has a beautiful bore - just very mildly rust textured which seems to be a good thing. It's a very old 'new' barrel. WWII surplus. I still can't believe my luck in getting a .307 bore good as new SMLE barrel!:-D And on a L.E.I. action (the original Lee Enfield action).:cast_boolits:

[303Guy]

[smilie=w:

It gets better! (More better-er!) :mrgreen:

The barrel has a tight chamber too! :happy dance:

I shall be entering this gun in the boolters paper patch postal competition now on in the iron sights catagory.

If it embarrasses me I'll work on it and try again!:Fire:

[DIRT Farmer]

Isn't it great to find one that defies the normal. I hope that it shoots, then keeps improving as the magic of paper polish shoots in.

[MBTcustom]

your the only guy I know who is thrilled to get a rifle with a rusty bore. I tell you what though, the best thing you said was the chamber is tight, that means it probably wont eat brass so fast and it will be easier to get it to fire-form concentrically, witch means it will be more accurate.
I would like to participate in the boolters PPP competition myself, but I'm having a hard time finding a place to shoot! The local gun range got hit by a tornado and is closed.

[303Guy]

The bore is not rusty - just mildly textured which is not the same thing but not what I would chosen. I'm just glad the bore is not worse. It will polish up just fine with a few more polishing rounds. However, I'm thrilled because it's oversize - made that way. Patched boolits seat nicely into unsized cases. I will be lapping the mold out a little to tighten up the neck grip a bit. As it is I'm pushing PPCB's at near operating speeds. I might go up a bit or stay where it is. I've found the min load that seems to burn the powder completely. Lighter boolits behave differently to heavy for caliber ones. With AR2209/H4350, 30grs burns well under a 206gr boolit in a short barrel but 37grs does not burn well under 183gr boolits in a long barrel. 40grs seems to burn completely so that will be my starting load.

[MBTcustom]

Wow, that is a gem! seems like no one would ever intentionally cut a chamber to be the right size for PP, but with these old military guns, sometimes you get lucky. The real bummer is that you can have a chamber that is perfect for PP and you can have a chamber that is perfect for GG but it is very hard to get one chamber that shoots both equally well "with the same charge of powder etc.".
I guess you got to pick your pisen'.

[303Guy]

Well, I don't know that it'll be good for plain cast. I'm just guessing that it will be. I won't be trying until the bore is properly polished up. Although, light rust texturing (rust staining really) might just hold lube and be of benefit. When I first got this rifle I put a few lapping rounds through it to get the patches to survive the trip down the bore. Looking through my notes I see I had already measured the bore and throat and found a boolit to fit. At that time I was under a lot of stress and forgot those things.:-|

[303Guy]

Being at home with a dose of flu I've had time to ponder this oversized bore rifle again. I'm not really well enough to do a bore cast or throat slugging but I did rummage through my odd castings and found one or two boolits this fit OK. One of them being the original one I cast for it. I also have a boolit that fits as plain cast. I'm not sure the bore is smooth enough yet but at least I was able to use it to put numbers on the correct boolit size for this gun.

[303Guy]

I've found a boolit or two that actually fits this rifle. My favourite one is the same as for my 1902 'Sporter' but using a slightly thicker paper which I found hidden somewhere.

The patched boolit base is 8.12mm (.3197") and that slips lightly into case mout and seats against the 'dough-nut'. The boolits gets firmly held between the 'dough-nut' and the rifling leade. Perfect!

It's a 192gr boolit and needs sizing in my two-diamer push in/ push out die I made. I tried a 40gr charge of AR2209/H4350 and that gave a pretty mild pressure going by the primer (and it should be - it's a starting load).

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/006.jpg

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/004.jpg

The boolit base appears undistorted and sharp so that's a good start. All I have to do is find a source of that paper!

Well,, the next step will be range testing this new load. The first test tube shot left a clean bore with no discernible patch fragments visible in the catch rags or sand.

(Notice that there is no primer reseating. The case is a snug fit).