Cast Loads for the Lee Enfield

[Farmall 1066]

Settled on the Lee 312-185 mold, as the Lyman 314299 is near impossible to find right now. I figure I can Beagle the Lee if more diameter is needed. This may just have to work, until the availability situation improves.
My question now turns to loads. I have ample supplies of Red Dot, Unique, 2400, and most other popular cast bullet powders, along with many others.
What do you reccomend? Not looking for speed just accuracy! I'm loading in R-P once fired, neck sized brass.
Would the universal load of 13gn Red Dot, that I have heard so much about be a good starting point?
Andy

[Recluse]

Settled on the Lee 312-185 mold, as the Lyman 314299 is near impossible to find right now. I figure I can Beagle the Lee if more diameter is needed. This may just have to work, until the availability situation improves.
My question now turns to loads. I have ample supplies of Red Dot, Unique, 2400, and most other popular cast bullet powders, along with many others.
What do you reccomend? Not looking for speed just accuracy! I'm loading in R-P once fired, neck sized brass.
Would the universal load of 13gn Red Dot, that I have heard so much about be a good starting point?
Andy

I bought that mould not too long ago and have been very pleasantly surprised.

First off, I "size" my boolits at .313 and install the gas checks at the same time, plus I use my own homemade lube. I use straight WWs that have been water quenched--I gas check/size them within 24 hours of being cast/water dropped. Usually do it all in the same night.

My best load to date has been 35.0 W748 with a CCI LR primer and a slight roll crimp on the boolit. You can easily cover the three-shot group with a penny shot from 50 yds, and when my hands and eyes are steady, you can cover the three-shot group with a half-dollar at 100 yards (I don't use a ransom rest, or grips or holders--just sandbags). That's plenty good for me for that good for that boolit.

Worst loads I experienced were with 2400. I was getting pie-plate sized groups at 30 yards. Fooled around with some Unique loads. Dirty and a pain to clean up, but made that old heavy Enfield shoot like a bolt-action .22. Accuracy was okay at close ranges; non-existent beyond 25 yards.

BUT, that was just for my gun. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands of old Enfields out there and it seems like each one is different. Mine was made in 1941, has "Australia" stamped on it, and had zero evidence of the barrel ever having had a round fired through it. Bolt and receiver had ample evidence of firing--but the barrel appeared to be brand new. I've had the gun over 20 years, gave $25 for it from a wholesaler, and have fired less than 150 rounds through it.

:coffee:

[curator]

13 grains of red dot, 10-12 grains of Unique, 14 grains of WC820 or WC680, 15-17 grains of 2400, 18 grains of SR 4759, 20 grs IMR4198 or Reloder7---all are good starting loads with the Lee .312-185. Make them HARD (BHN22+) and as large as you can chamber. .315 is not too large. Seat them out to "kiss" the rifling and don't crimp them.

[Buckshot]

..............It'd be nice to know what you're dealing with in that Enfield. Why jump through a bunch of needless hoops or waste components? Use a set of side cutters and snip the nose off a bit ahead of the drive bands. Upset it a bit in a vise or place it on a flat hard surface and give it a rap with a hammer to fatten it up.

Remove the bolt, raise the butt and drop it into the chamber. Follow it with a few smacks via a hammer on a 1' piece of .250" steel rod (wrap some tape around it to keep it off the barrel). Then use a 30" rod to push it back out. Mike it and NOW you'll know what you're needing. The 2 Lee C312-185-R's I've had all drop about .312" on the drive bands and .302" or so on the nose.

................Buckshot

[Farmall 1066]

Thanks, guys. I have slugged my bore using a few sinkers, and come up with .311'" -.312", but the bore is tight on both ends, and noticeably looser the middle. No way that I can think of to measure the middle, since the slug will be sized back down when pushed out either way.
The throat also measures .3.11-.312" As I found using a method similar to what Buckshot reccomended, but I modified a Berdan case to guide a Lee 100gn 32 cal pistol bullet, and drilled out the primer pocket to accept the "punch". Worked pretty well.

[yodar]

Thanks, guys. I have slugged my bore using a few sinkers, and come up with .311'" -.312", but the bore is tight on both ends, and noticeably looser the middle. No way that I can think of to measure the middle, since the slug will be sized back down when pushed out either way.
The throat also measures .3.11-.312" As I found using a method similar to what Buckshot reccomended, but I modified a Berdan case to guide a Lee 100gn 32 cal pistol bullet, and drilled out the primer pocket to accept the "punch". Worked pretty well.

Lee's mold 311-155-2R produces 313 bullets if a pound of antimony rich magnum shot is added to your 10 lbs of wheelweight alloy. Even without the Antimony a substantial population will be 'large" toward 312

I have successfully used bullets from this mold in SKS, AK, .303 No. 4 mkI, Finn Mosin Model 39 and I am trying it for the K-31 Swiss

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1229/6309647/12253703/233048100.jpg

yodar

[madsenshooter]

I've often seen 13gr of Red Dot given to SMLE shooters. Here's what Ed Harris had to say about it:

"The Load" of 13 grs. of Red Dot is intended for modern strong actions like the Springfield and 98 Mausers, and is too much for a weaker action like a Krag. In the .303 Lee Enfields I would use the full 13 grs. only in the later Long Branch and Savage No. 4 rifles and not in other wartime No. 4s or in any No.1s.