Some 03A3 results

[jonk]

I've decided to put my 03A3 through the paces with every suitable mold I have, and see what really shoots best. Brass is neck sized only, flared slightly, and crimped only enough to remove the flare. 50/50 lube is used for all tests- though I got some leading with all loads so something a bit better for these pressures might be in order- when the lube sizer is next empty I'll refill with Felix lube. Nonetheless, I thought I would share my experiences thus far. Each was a 10 shot group fired from a bench at 100 yards.

Lee 150 gr FN GC .309, 28.3 gr of surplus IMR 4895. Shot ok, about an 8" group at 100 yards, but hardly great.

Lee 200 gr RN GC, .309. 28.3 gr. surplus IMR 4895. Slightly better than above, but nothing great.

Lyman 311291- best of the lot with this powder charge. About a 6" group. So I tried another test using pufflon filler. Group size shrank to 3", pretty good given the wind that day. Still leads a bit. Further experiments using a chronograph and Felix lube are in order. Sized to .311 (chambers ok in my gun, just slightly tight. YMMV)

Lyman 311291- 20gr SR4759. Second place thus far after the pufflon 4895 load with about 5" group.

Conclusions thus far: it is easy to find a mediocre load with 4895 for the 03A3 with no fillers. Fillers help but pufflon is expensive and I have never been a fan of dacron in bottle neck cases. Also, 4759 is never useless and remains a standby- further experiments with this powder from 16-25 gr are in order.

Next up will be the 185 Lee 311 and 155 gr Lee 311.

[garandsrus]

Jonk,

What type of groups do you get with jacketed or mil surplus loads? I would expect much better accuracy than 6" with 311291 and IMR4895 if the rifle shoots jacketed well.

John

[jonk]

With M2 surplus, though the gun shoots high at 100 yards with jacketed, I get 2-3" groups prone. These tests were from a bench, so if the load was gonna work, it would have.

I still wonder if the lube choice and filler/lack thereof didn't have something to do with it. 50/50 lube isn't bad stuff, but I suspect this load was running a bit fast for it. Additionally the lack of filler might have caused issues with what is admittedly a fairly light load of 4895- and hence the much better results with pufflon.

Alloy was #2, made from wheelweights and 50/50, aircooled with a Hornady gas check.

I did remove all copper before starting these tests.

Bore is shiny, TE and ME both are 2.

[Calamity Jake]

First off double check to see if ALL copper is gone. When you think you've got it clean then soak it for 15-20 minutes with some sweets, if you get any blue on a patch then there is still copper in the bore.

Next, slug the bore just ahead of the chamber then size .001-.002 over that number.

[jonk]

The copper is gone. Sweets is good but a combo of Outers foaming bore cleaner followed by Outers Foul out electric cleaner is better and that's what I did.... also I have slugged the bore; it is .3085.

[garandsrus]

Jonk,

Can you size some boolits to .310 and try them? If you can't, let me know and I will mail you some to try.

.309 might be a little small for a .3085 barrel and may be the cause of the slight leading you mentioned.

John

[jonk]

Well, the 311291s were sized to .311... yes, I could drop them down to 310 but I don't see that as the issue as I did this test in two steps thus far- and the second round was just 291s, and I thoroughly cleaned the barrel between rounds. I'm not saying I got it squeaky clean but did use a bronze brush, Hoppes, and about 20 patches, alternating dry and wet.

On a slightly related note, I've never had entirely satisfactory results using medium or slow rifle powder with cast bullets, but have always done well with 2400, red dot, and 4759. I tried again based on suggestions here and don't know what I'm doing wrong but again- have never had as good of results with slow or medium powders as with fast.

[TCLouis]

Is there a reason you picked 28.3 grains of 4895 and expected it to perform well/best?

Maybe I missed something.

[jonk]

Yes, several members had, in other threads, recommended charges in the 28-35 gr range. I figured I'd start at the lower end and that is where the powder dispenser was throwing them.

[garandsrus]

Jonk,

Sorry about the sizing comment... I saw where the other boolits were .309 so I thought that the 311291 were .309 also. I re-read your note and see that they were .311, which should be fine.

Did you try a different lube yet?

John

[jonk]

No not yet. Next week will be my next chance.

I really think it is the lube. As I said, I've always done fine with 50/50 with light charges of fast powder going out to about 1400 fps, 1500 tops, but I think the 50/50 just isn't holding its own at something approaching 2000 fps, pending chronographing.

In any case it is borderline. It didn't lead so badly as to start keyholing, throwing shots wild, building up on the crown, etc. Just enough to see it, and just too much to scrub out w/o a good bore brushing- and even then it wasn't 100%, just 95%...

[Bret4207]

Just a thought- I've had some guns that seem to demand the bore be "seasoned" after a thorough cleaning. Some even seem to like a particular lube or design after getting 50 or so down the tube. This is most apparent in 22RF, but also in center fire. I think it takes a lot more than 5 rounds to see what a boolit/alloy/powder/lube combo will really do.