Lee Enfield range report

[Amy]

So yesterday I got my .303 brass prepped and primed, loaded it with my 180 gr. gas checked bullets I'd cast up for it, used 35.5 grains of IMR4895, and went outside to try it out.

Well, I gotta tell ya, where accuracy is concerned this rifle is a big disappointment. It was all over the place at 100 yds.

Then I took my SA garand out there and shot 3 in. groups with that, so quite obvioulsy the Garand has it all over the Enfield where accuracy is concerned.

One thing I did note with the Enfield however, my cast bullets for it punched nice clean holes in 1/8 in. steel at 100 yds, which I didn't expect.

Amy

 

[Bullet Bob]

Have you shot factory or surplus ammo in it yet to use as a baseline?

 

[iamkris]

Well, I gotta tell ya, where accuracy is concerned this rifle is a big disappointment. It was all over the place at 100 yds.

No offense but you are judging the accuracy of a rifle from 1) one type of ammo and 2) ammo that you loaded? Most firearms have a preference in ammo and any handloader will tell you that you often have to go through MANY loads to find one that is right. I've had the same rifle shoot 6" groups with one load and 1" loads with another.

 

[BruceB]

iamkris is absolutely right.

Want an example? I took my (7.62 NATO/.308 WCF) M1A out with some cast loads a couple days ago. Using three different cast-bullet designs and two powder types, most of the groups were poor with one bullet (up to five inches at 50 yards for ten rounds), showed some serious promise with the second bullet (placed seven or eight under an inch, plus a couple of flyers).... and with the third design, grouped TEN rounds into 0.60" at 50 yards. All rounds functioned the rifle perfectly.

Your load is pretty warm for an untried cast bullet in your .303. One of the more-successful powders for the job is H- or IMR-4198, and I suggest starting the testing at around 18 to 20 grains. Another item is that the bore must be RIGOROUSLY cleaned to remove all traces of copper fouling from jacketed bullets, before shooting the cast types.

Cast bullet shooting, SUCCESSFUL cast bullet shooting, is a very different breed of cat from loading jacketed bullets. The variables are infinite, and we simply can NOT expect wonderful accuracy with the first load tried. Don't give up!

Visit this website, where over 1500 shooters hang out to talk about cast-bullets:

www.cb.gunloads.com


It's a whole new handloading world, once you take up cast-bullet shooting.

 

[BruceB]

Sorry, double-posted.

 

[armoredman]

I am quite fond of my Enfield Number 4 Mk1*, and maybe 2 inches at 100 yards with Fed power Point ammo, and dissapointing results with my first handloads. No big deal, I got more brass, more bullets, differant powder, and have a bunch of testers put together for next range trip...which was supposed to be yesterday, but my back got screwed up temporarily.
I do like the Enfield, it's my backup SHTF rifle.

 

[dm1333]

With a shoddy looking bore in a No. 4 I get decent accuracy from Remington and Winchester commercial loads. The surplus British and Greek ammo I have is not as accurate. I think experimenting a little might surprise you, especially if you handload some good jacketed bullets also.

 

[DougW]

Mine works!

I can constantly get 2" at 100 yards from either my #4mk1 Ishy Fazakerly or my #5mk1 Fazakerly with 150gr spitzer, 40gr IMR4895, Remington brass and primers. I have found that I can get 1 1/2" 5 shot groups using 180gr Matchkings with 38gr IMR4895 in the #4. I think with the peep sight, that is good accuracy. I have never tried cast bullets, so I can't comment on their accuracy.

 

[seeker_two]

A few things you might want to check....

1. What diameter are your bullets? .303 Brit uses a .311-.312 bullet...and with cast bullets, it's good to err to the larger diameter.

2. I'm with BruceB: that's a pretty warm load for a cast bullet. You probably want to back off a bit from that much powder. If powder position is a problem, use a small pinch of Dacron (pillow stuffing) pressed LIGHTLY against the powder charge.

3. Make sure you start with a clean barrel. With one day's worth of intensive cleaning, I transformed my inherited 6MOA SMLE sporter into a 2MOA rifle.

4. Some rifles just don't like cast loads. If yours doesn't, try some of the surplus FMJ bullets used in AK/SKS rifles for some cheap & fun loads.

 

[cracked butt]

If you don't have your bullet matched to the groove diameter in your enfield, it won't shoot well no matter what you do. Even if you have your cast bullet matched well, it might not shoot well if your lube isn't performing correctly. If you used the same bullet in the 30-06 as you did in the .303, its VERY unlikely that the .303 will shoot well with it.

I would try 15-18gr of 2400 behind your cast bullet- if it doesn't shoot well with that powder, it probably won't shoot well with any or as someone else mentioned, try 4198.

BTW, I have a No.4 and a No.1 enfield, and both are good shooters.

 

[mustanger98]

I'm another Enfield fan (No.4 Mk2 Faz) and I've had good results with PMP's 174gr SP offering... I asked around about those and found out PMP loads those to the old MkVII ball spec as PMP was the South African supplier of MKVII ball before the change to 7.62NATO.

Now, that said, I have some 170gr LaserCast with gas checks I'm fixing to try in my Winchester .30-30 and my '03A3 (2-groove RA 8-44 barrel), and I've been thinking about trying those in my Enfield. However, while I've read from one or two Enfielders who said some light .308" dia. lead bullets made good plinker loads, I also know one of my online buddies on another board said he had to cast his own 215grainers in .318" dia. because .312's weren't cutting it at all. That said, having eyeballed the diameter in the muzzle and knowing it's a snug fit in the throat, I'm half a mind to go ahead and try four or five and just see how they do. My starting charge would be about 12 to 15 grains of 2400 as was mentioned. I figure putting those first few on paper at 25yds would tell me whether I should bother to load more and run it to 100yds or not.

Editted to add: Those 170grainers I'm talking about are .310" diameter. And while it seems snug in the Enfield's throat, I won't say for sure whether they're right for that particular barrel or not.

 

[armoredman]

My baby.