303 Brit Bullet Question

[Duster340]

Hey Folks,

Got my deer stands up and cleared the firing lanes yesterday morning. Then met my brother at the range to sight in the rifles. Got my old, self Bubba'd, 303 dialed in with a load of 43.5 gr, IMR4895 pushing a 150 gr Hornady Spire Point Interlock. This is a straight shooting round and the bullet has a good reputation as a deer killer. Ordered up another batch of the Interlocks, and saw some PRVI 150 grain SPBTs which I also ordered. The "Lil Ugly" shoots these same bullets in the factory prvi partizan loading very accurately. So I'm gonna work up a load to see how well I can make them shoot. Now for my question, does anyone know what brand those PRVI 150gr SPBT bullets are? Safe to say they are true hunting bullets?

Any experiences and/or insight is much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Patocazador]

I think those Prvi cartridges are made in Serbia .. probably the bullets too. They had a lot of practice manufacturing ammo during the Bosnian War.

 

[Duster340]

I think those Prvi cartridges are made in Serbia .. probably the bullets too. They had a lot of practice manufacturing ammo during the Bosnian War.

Thanks for the reply Patocazador. They seem to produce a good product at a good price. I like there factory loads and the brass has been good for multiple reloads. Just not sure how the actual bullet would perform on deer.

Be well,
Pat

 

[horsey300]

Thanks for the reply Patocazador. They seem to produce a good product at a good price. I like there factory loads and the brass has been good for multiple reloads. Just not sure how the actual bullet would perform on deer.

Be well,
Pat

I have thrown tracers, OLD armor piercers once upon a time, and plain old sp lead noses outta ye olde enfield, as for partisan, I slung some outta a 7.62x54r and my conclusion is that same ammo in the Brit chambering will be fine, they're not a match bullet and they expand.....they work on deer.

 

[RPRNY]

My understanding from a chat in about 2008 with a fellow named, as I recall, Ted Aillers or Aylers, who worked for Prvi Partizan or their US importer, was that PPU makes all their own components. Having said that, I cannot suggest that a nearly 10 year old somewhat vaguely recalled conversation is conclusive...

 

[desidog]

A few years ago i used a .243win Prvi SP 100gr on a spike. I have a picture of what it did to the deer that may be a little too graphic to post here. It was a quartering away shot. The bullet went in behind the last rib, and i recovered it under the skin of the far side in front of the shoulder. It had mushroomed nicely, and weighed 53.4 grains...so not the best weight retention... but it had done the job just fine.

Also worth noting, I'd check the rifling in your Enfield and see if it has a 4- or 5-groove barrel. (This is also a problem in some 1903A3's) There were a lot of barrels made mid-war with only 2-grooves; they don't stabilize boat tail bullets. (just checked my picture and the .243 100gr SP Prvi has a flat base.)

 

[Duster340]

A few years ago i used a .243win Prvi SP 100gr on a spike. I have a picture of what it did to the deer that may be a little too graphic to post here. It was a quartering away shot. The bullet went in behind the last rib, and i recovered it under the skin of the far side in front of the shoulder. It had mushroomed nicely, and weighed 53.4 grains...so not the best weight retention... but it had done the job just fine.

Also worth noting, I'd check the rifling in your Enfield and see if it has a 4- or 5-groove barrel. (This is also a problem in some 1903A3's) There were a lot of barrels made mid-war with only 2-grooves; they don't stabilize boat tail bullets. (just checked my picture and the .243 100gr SP Prvi has a flat base.)

Thanks for the real world feedback Desidog. That's encouraging info. I too heard the some 2 groovers don't shoot BTs well, but fortunately my old beater shoots them quite well, as good and in some cases better the the flat base ones. Now if I could develop a 180 gr load that hits at the POA like the 150 grainers I'd be a happy camper. They group well, but hit way low. Considered adding some height to the front sight but never got around to it.

Thanks again man

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Thanks for the real world feedback Desidog. That's encouraging info. I too heard the some 2 groovers don't shoot BTs well, but fortunately my old beater shoots them quite well, as good and in some cases better the the flat base ones. Now if I could develop a 180 gr load that hits at the POA like the 150 grainers I'd be a happy camper. They group well, but hit way low. Considered adding some height to the front sight but never got around to it.

One of the reason the PRVI projectiles shoot so well when loaded into the .303 cartridge, may be because the 7.62 Soviet aka the 7.62x39 shoots .311 or .312 bullets, and so does the .303. The .311 bullet in the longer versions of 150 grain + tend to be very forgiving of poor bore, so long as the last few inches near the muzzle are good. Lots of old SMLE's and No.4's still shoot pretty well with erosion at the chamber, and damage due to corrosive primers from WWII.

In fact if you want a pretty flat shooting round in your .303 you can load 123 grain .311's in BTSP's meant for reloading AK ammo, and really reach out with them without much adjustment between 100-200 yards. 123 grain SP's will work fine on white tails. Especially with that short barrel and you doing reloads, you can adjust the powder choice to a faster burning powder to better the performance rather than a slower burning load that results in your burning a lot of the powder in the air in front of your muzzle.

IF your grouping is low, adding height to the front sight will push your aim point downward, thus making you shoot lower. You can either raise the rear sight, or shorten the front sight to compensate.

LD

 

[Duster340]

Thanks for the info Loyalist Dave. I'm fortunate to have a really nice bore and rifling in all 17.5" of that stubby barrel. Haven't shot a load yet that wouldn't group nicely out to 100 yrs. I'll definitely look into those light bullets....any excuse to work up a load is a good one! And thanks for correcting my brainfart moment on sight adjustments...Doh! Contemplated having it drill and tapped for some optics, but those peep sights are just about perfect in the close confines of the cedar wetlands and dense hardwoods I hunt. The longest shot wouldn't exceed 50-60 yards in most case.

Take care

 

[MidRoad]

Hole in the boiler+ mushroom effect = dead critter

 

[Loyalist Dave]

then you REALLY want to check into your handloads, 'cause in them deep woods in low light, the fireball from the normal .303 Brit loads will be spectacular and bright.

LD

 

[Duster340]

then you REALLY want to check into your handloads, 'cause in them deep woods in low light, the fireball from the normal .303 Brit loads will be spectacular and bright.

LD

LOL ummm, yes, there is a notable muzzle blast. Who knows, if I miss that 1st shot, perhaps I'll get a "deer in the headlights" follow shot opportunity. I'll have to try it out at night some time and have my wife snap a few pictures. Ha!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I was thinking more like you would get the "blue camera-flash dot" in the middle of your field of vision. Personal experience BTW..., I like Enflied Jungle Carbines... the aftermarket ones actually fixed some of the problems of the originals.

LD

 

[Speedo66]

Hey Folks,
Got my old, self Bubba'd, 303....... The "Lil Ugly"..........
View attachment 761837

Looks to me like Bubba did a really nice job on that one. Good looking rifle!

 

[Duster340]

Thanks Speedo66, here's a link to how Lil Ugly came to be. Really pleased with how it turned out. The old sporter stock was laying around on another rifle, so I threw it on there for hunting purposes.... gotta love "freecycling"

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?263020-No4-MK1-quot-Brush-Gun-quot

 

[GooseGestapo]

I've used quite a few of the Privi bullets to shoot deer. They work well. Very much like Sierra's, though their profiles more resembles RWS offerings.

I've killed deer with:
55gr Spt .224"
100gr .243"
100gr .257"
139gr BtSpt .264"
150gr .308"
165gr .BtSpt 308"
Expansion was adequate, penetration such that I've never recovered a spent bullet.

 

[Duster340]

Thanks for the info GG. Appreciate it! Assembled some test loads this past weekend. Gotta get to the range to see how they shoot.

Be well

 

[Sunray]

"...because the 7.62 Soviet..." Very not true that PRVI projectiles have anything to do with 7.62 x 54R.
Brit rifle barrels can be .311" to .315" and be considered ok. Over .315" is shot out. One must slug the barrel and check the headspace of any Lee-Enfield before shooting.
Prvi uses .311" for the .303 Brit bullets they make. The 150 grain SP's will drop Bambi like a brick. Use their 180's for Bullwinkle.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I've actually shot a lot of the Privi in .303, just never killed anything except paper. They and Hornady are all my gun likes. (Arsenal rebuilt in '50's Fazerkerley #4mk1, very good barrel at .3115" grooves)
My match load is 174gr Hornady .312" over 43.0gr BLC2 for 2,440fps. Duplicates MkVII load. I can make the Springfield and Swiss M43 shooters cry! 2moa or better. It hates the Speers! My lot# 150's measure .3095", shoot patterns, not groups..
For a hunting load, substitute the 180gr PPU BtSpt over same load, or up charge to 45.0 to duplicate the PPU factory load. (Yes, the factory PPU are warm!, great brass, too.) Both ammo and components are available from Grafs.com.

The 150gr PPU over 46.5gr BLC2 should make an awesome deer load. A friends grandsons have used some over 45.0gr of RL15 from a #5 Carbine to kill a BUNCH of deer. After being given a Savage Axis in .308 for Christmas, one grandson went to grand pa asking if he could still hunt with the .303! Had to load him up another 100rds!! This load shoots +3" high and groups best of anything we found in the Carbine.

 

[Duster340]

Thanks again GG. I really like Grafs. They have a nice variety, good prices And reasonable freight. I order the PRVI and Hornady 150 grainers Sunday night, were in my hands on Tuesday.

And thanks for the load data. While I really like IMR4895, I've been thinking about trying RL15 when I get my hands on some.