1st CB's in 303 British

[taco650]

Finally got to the range to test my very first CB loads EVER for my #1 Mk 3 303 British. Load was 16.0 of Longshot under a custom version of the 314299. Mine drop around .315-.316 at 224 grain from water dropped range scrap sized to .314 and pan lubed with RCBS pistol lube and an aluminum check. Range was 50 yards from the bench with stock sights and my 50+ year old eyes. I'm pretty satisfied with the results.
95793

This is how they looked after cooling.
95795
I also tried 16.5 gr and 17.0 but the groups kept growing and the 17.0 was a completely vertical 6" long string. Never experience that before. Will be staying with the 16.0 for now.

The last pic is of the mold itself. Nothing fancy, just a brass single but it works. :-D

[Scharfschuetze]

Lookin' good Taco. I don't know what it is about old Lee Enfields, but they can sure be fun. It looks like yours is living up to that reputation.

[JeffinNZ]

Try backing off to 14gr too.

[taco650]

Try backing off to 14gr too.

That is the next step-going down on the powder.

Recoil was nice, report sounded healthy but not obnoxious. No leading that I can see but did find residual smoke in the barrel after each set of four shots. They also feed from the magazine. That big long boolit should penetrate well for hunting. Overall, I think I've found a keeper for my $65 gun store, mixed serial number reject rifle. It was sold me as "parts" because the firing pin was broken. Headspace is also off so I have to neck size all my cases. Just a really fun beater rifle!

[Junior1942]

I'll give you $75 for it and you can make a good profit :-)

[taco650]

I'll give you $75 for it and you can make a good profit :-)

Sorry Junior, its a keeper and I'm keeping it!:wink:

[Scharfschuetze]

Is your primer protruding after firing? Most 303s will blow the shoulder of the case forward even if their head space is OK. Reloading dies will set the shoulder back and contribute to the legendary short life of a 303 case if you full length resize, so you are on the right track in just neck sizing.

[taco650]

Is your primer protruding after firing? Most 303s will blow the shoulder of the case forward even if their head space is OK. Reloading dies will set the shoulder back and contribute to the legendary short life of a 303 case if you full length resize, so you are on the right track in just neck sizing.

I have had the primers back out a few times in the past but these loads didn't. It seems to happen at a certain pressure level but also varies with the powder used. Thankfully it hasn't happened often enough that I can determine a pattern and I think neck sizing helps.

I'm still really happy with the group size. The only other loads I've had in this rifle that came close to this is 40 gr of RL22 under a HDY 150gr j-word but even it wasn't as tight.

[Shooter6br]

2400?

[Larry Gibson]

Lookin' good Taco. I don't know what it is about old Lee Enfields, but they can sure be fun. It looks like yours is living up to that reputation.

Don't understand why, with a name like yours and your heritage, you like those Brit rifles:confused: So you should just bring all those Brit rifles down here next month for me:roll: After all, I have a proper Canadian/British heritage and name..........:bigsmyl2:

I have a full bottle of "Gibson's Finest" now:drinks:

Larry Gibson

[Scharfschuetze]

Save some of that "Gibson's Finest" Canadian whisky for when I get down there in March!

And yes, I'll bring some Enfields if you insist.

[taco650]

2400?

Shooter, that's not a typo in my post. I did use 40 grains of Reloader 22 (RL22) under a HDY 150 gr j-word. RL22 is a slow burner used mostly for things like 300 Win Mag, 7mm Rem mag, etc. I got some when I loaded for my brother's 7mm Rem mag. He quit hunting and I moved 2500 miles away so decided to try it in the 303. Works good, low recoil/noise and decently accurate. Only negative I see is it leaves unburned powder in the barrel.

Don't have any 2400 and couldn't find it in the GS I was at so got Longshot instead. They have similar burn rates and I read some load data here in another post that led me to the 16-17 grain loads I used. This site is full of great information!

[Larry Gibson]

Save some of that "Gibson's Finest" Canadian whisky for when I get down there in March!

And yes, I'll bring some Enfields if you insist.

Powder's dry.....it's the "whistle" that need's wetting..........:drinks:

Larry Gibson

[Bad Ass Wallace]

These "old war horses"never cease to amaze me. I bought this 1900 BSA which was the ugliest piece I've ever seen in a dealers racks and fitted it with a range sight. The bore was black with crude but I lapped it with green dilux and steel wool until some resemblance of polished metal appeared. I use a boolit sized to .314 with 28.5gns 3031 to get this 100yd group!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/LE1900ActionampMag_zps7098e5ee.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/LE1900ActionampMag_zps7098e5ee.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/QMECastBullet150913_A_zpsd83d3326.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/QMECastBullet150913_A_zpsd83d3326.jpg.html)

[taco650]

BAW,

Thanks for sharing. What rear sight is that? Also, what is that protrusion on the right side of the receiver?

The bore on my rifle was filled with packing grease but once that was cleaned out, nice sharp rifling appeared.

[Larry Gibson]

Okay, have to confess to having a .303 rifle; a Canadian Ross M10.....goes with the Canadian whisky:guntootsmiley:

Larry Gibson

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Taco,
The rear sight is a Parker Hale 5A. The "protrusion" is a standard magazine cutoff fitted to the SMLE up until 1915.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/LE1900RearSight_zps58e9de61.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/LE1900RearSight_zps58e9de61.jpg.html)

I have a Martini 303 dated 1896 that will eventually be fitted with a folding Meus Special range sight to take full potential of it's accuracy with cast boolits also

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/IMG_0081_e_zps6d1cd49c.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/IMG_0081_e_zps6d1cd49c.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/LECastBullet150913_A_zps0f00adc0.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/LECastBullet150913_A_zps0f00adc0.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/Meues_folded.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/Meues_folded.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/Meues_rear.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BAWallace/media/Meues_rear.jpg.html)

[taco650]

BAW, one of those rear sights would probably help my accuracy.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

BAW, one of those rear sights would probably help my accuracy.
My 60+ eyes certainly can't focus on rear sights any more and most of my working rifles have target peeps! Even telescopic sights with too fine a crosshairs just can't focus on the darn things.

Returning to your OP, I notice that is a brass boolit mold, who makes them as I have always wanted to get one that duplicated the old copro-nickle round that would have been common use in my old 1900 vintage rifles!

[taco650]

My 60+ eyes certainly can't focus on rear sights any more and most of my working rifles have target peeps! Even telescopic sights with too fine a crosshairs just can't focus on the darn things.

Returning to your OP, I notice that is a brass boolit mold, who makes them as I have always wanted to get one that duplicated the old copro-nickle round that would have been common use in my old 1900 vintage rifles!

Mine is a one-off made by a top-shelf machinist who I met here. I was searching for something for this rifle and he offered to sell it to me for cheap. It was made from scraps he had laying around and I robbed the handles from a Lee mold I have. He wasn't happy with how it turned out, saying one side is .315 and the other .316. I don't care about that 'cuz they get sized to .314. I don't know what the original slugs looked like for the 303 but I read they ran something around 220 gr. Mine drop at 224 with a range scrap/WW mix so I'm in the neighborhood. I don't know where you might find what you're looking for unless you order a custom unit.