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Old March 24, 2000, 01:10 PM   #1
Adamantium
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Join Date: June 6, 1999
Location: El Paso, TX
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Hi, I recently got a reloading press and now I'm just about ready to move up to the rifle platform, my only problem is I really don't know too much about the different bullet companies, and what kind of bullets do the specialize in, the quality of them and so forth. The rifle I'm going to reload for is my .303 Brit(being the only centerfire rifle I own at the moment) and I'm looking for is some kind of softpoint. FMJ's would obviously be cheaper but with all the mil. surplus around I don't really see the point.

So if any of you have any input on Hornady, Speer, Sierra, Winchester and Remington, I'd love to hear it. They all seem to have similiar prices in my Midway catalog. Right now I'm looking into thier 150 Gr. SP bullets as sort of a starting point. I'd probably use them for some close range varmint hunting and just seeing if thier accurate out of my gun.(if I like 'em maybe deer season when it rolls around) And also of course to say to my self "Cool, look what I made" .

Sincerely,
Adam


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Old March 24, 2000, 02:46 PM   #2
Coinneach
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For .303, I use Sierra 125gr Spitzers (make sure you get .311", not .308"), new Winchester brass and primers, and 45gr of Reloder 15. This is a stout load, just below max, and your Enfield may not be able to handle it. This is *not* my plinking load, BTW; this is for serious work.

I pay ~$11 for 100 bullets at my local shop. You should be able to get a better deal from Midway (http://www.midwayusa.com).

Final note: this really should be in the Loading forum.

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Old March 24, 2000, 05:27 PM   #3
Adamantium
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Coin: Yeah, I thought about putting this in the reloading forum, but I figured more hunters stop by here than there. What gun do you use? I've never really heard of any other .303's besides Enfields and the P-14. And I'm not even really sure what that is.

Sincerely,
Adam

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Old March 24, 2000, 07:29 PM   #4
bergie
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Adam,
the 150's would be a good choice for deer hunting, maybe the 125's that Coinneach suggests for varmints, whatever shoots well in your rifle. Considering that the original round was a 215 grain bullet over blackpowder either of these are plenty lighter/faster. I believe that the 125 grain bullets really were more meant for reloading the 7.62x39R, also .311 diameter. A couple of other cartridges that use the .311 diameter are 7.65x53 Argentine Mauser, and the 7.7 Japanese Arisaka.
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Old March 24, 2000, 08:07 PM   #5
Coinneach
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I have a No 4 Mk I. For just fooling around and making noise, I buy milsurp with 174gr FMJs and cordite (yes, really). The 125gr Sierras that I use are more accurate than any other weight *for my gun*. Yours may prefer the 150s or 180s.

The load I gave above does some unreal things at the wrong end, both accuracy-wise and performance wise.

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Old March 24, 2000, 10:16 PM   #6
Schmit
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> this really should be in the Loading forum.

Yeah Yeah Connich... is that what you call a hint? Just log on so I'm a little behind.

And with a wave of his wand the Topic was moved to the Reloading Forum. The Members gasped in amazement.

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Old March 25, 2000, 09:55 AM   #7
Stephen A. Camp
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Hello, Adamantium! In my No.4 MkII, I use the following load and was amazed at near MOA groups at 100 yards. It is toward the top end, but I get no pressure signs. You might work up to it just to be safe and sure that you don't damage anything. Here goes:
Sierra 150 gr Spitzer/45.0 gr IMR-4895/Frontier cases/ Remington 9 1/2M primer. LOA~3.03" (How 'bout that!). I trim cases to 2.21". Velocity is a bit better than 2600 ft/sec. As you probably know, chambers tend to be loose in the SMLE rifles for wartime conditions and full-length resizing will eventually lead to case separation. Since I have but one such rifle, I use a Redding neck sizing die and suffer no problems. This load has worked nicely on Texas Whitetails. Best.
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