What do you shoot in your .303 Enfield(or any other .303 rifle)?

[DMK]

I'm just curious about opinions on price and accuracy with .303 ammo you folks have tried.

Also where do you buy your .303?


I have a few Enfields, have a case of Pakistan "click bang" ammo on stripper clips and some S&B. The Paki doesn't actually shoot too bad for old surplus. I get 4"-6" groups at 100yds. I only tried the S&B in one rifle, but it shot slightly better at 3"-4".

 

[dm1333]

I have bought a lot of surplus from Samco Global and the Sportsmans Guide. The British ammo from SG has been pretty good. For commercial ammo I have been using Remington UMC, Remington Core Lokt(sp?) and a couple of boexes of Norma.

 

[armoredman]

Reload. I have a few good 303 recipies. My backup factory ammo is Fed 150gr Soft Point, but reloading is MUCH cheaper, and fun.

 

[Magnum88C]

I haven't bought surplus in a looooong time. the good stuff is gone, and the stuff that's available now isn't worth the hassle.

If you don't handload, then S&B makes what I'd consider the best ammo right now.

But seriously, I'd reload (and do). 174-gr Sierra Matchkings can show you what a good Enfield can do and their 180-gr Pro-Hunter is a good game-getter.

 

[mustanger98]

For factory .303 ammo, I like PMP's 174gr SP offering. From what I understand, PMP manufactured a lot of British Mk7 ball and this commercial hunting round is loaded to Mk7 ball spec.

I'm fixing to get started handloading this round and I know of several recipes for hunting, match target, and plinker loads. I expect some of my loads will come from the Hornady 5th Edition load manual but as of yet, I have no idea which ones will work best.

What I would like to find is a 174gr SP in either flat base or boat tail and, for starters, load it to the same speed- 2440fps- as Mk7 ball. I'd refine the load from there. My intention would be to use this round for both match and hunting, but I'll have to see how well it works in the No.4Mk2 with micrometer rear sight.

 

[rugerdude]

Wolf gold 174gr. and S&B 174 gr. (I think)

I've never been able to get my enfield on paper at 100 yards (I have the non-adjustable sights) so I can't say how they shot. Now I have a scope and have yet to shoot it.

I've also used some portugese stuff...FNM I believe. Looked pretty clean, shot on paper at 200 meters so I figure it was underloaded. Somehow I had 2 rounds go through the same hole at 200m and the other one was 8" away. It was kinda wierd.

I tried the pakastani stuff, I didn't notice a delay, but i was just happy to be making noise at that point.

I have a 20 dollar Lee loader for reloading that I need to use as well.

 

[jonnyc]

Reload. I buy Igman and PMP factory loads, and HXP Greek surplus when I can find any. All good reloading brass.

 

[db_tanker]

its actually kinda nice...one bag of Winchester 303 brass, a few boxes of Remington 180 gr. CoreLokt sp's...

shot some MkVII and it wasn't too good...not too bad...but I am not sure about stuff loaded with Cordite. lol


Sticking with handloads and Remmy factory stuff for now.


D

 

[DougW]

Like others, I haven't bought .303 ammo in a long time. Using my reloads and usually only shooting one rifle in my collection, makes clean up and reloading a snap. I bought a bunch of Remington brass and Speer bullets from MidwayUSA, and have been reloading for about 3 years now. I have been able to work up an accurate load for my #4mk1 Fazakerly shooter that is pleasant to shoot. I have used 150gr spitzers over 40gr of IMR4895, and getting great groups out to 200 yards.

Outside of reloading, either Wolf, S&B, PMP, or Hot Shot when you can find it is the least expensive. BTW, don't try to reload S&B. The case bases will eventually seperate. But S&B is great ammo. I have fired a lot of it.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I handload, but I'm a special case -- my .303 is an M1905 Ross. These straight-pull Canadian rifles have no caming power, and failed pretty miserably in the trenches in France in WWI. A "quick fix" was to deepen the chambers to promote chambeing and extraction reliability in nasty conditions (didn't work.) As a result, functioning and accuracy is poor and my fired cases look more like .303 Epps. I reload with a Lee Collet Die, using the old washer-on-the-shellholder trick to make the collet activate early, just resizing what neck is left after fire-forming.

I like a cast bullet in this rifle -- I rarely shoot jacketed bullets in it.

 

[DMK]

but reloading is MUCH cheaper, and fun.

Really? How much per round do you guys figure?

I tried figuring it out one time and my figures didn't come out any cheaper than buying S&B or Hotshot ($9-10 a box by the case).

 

[telomerase]

Really? How much per round do you guys figure?

Adding up your time, and a mortgaged house with the space for the reloading stuff, and the $10,000 per year spent by the wife on breakable objects ("after all, you have that weird stuff in the basement": $100/round, plus you lose any hope of starting the next YouTube in your spare time. IF you don't lose focus and overcharge a round, or misseat a case, and blow up a gun (that shouldn't worry you, if you shoot Enfields you obviously have no fear of weak actions ).

But it would be fun.

 

[Fatelvis]

I shoot my cast bullets (Lyman 314299) over 16 grns. 2400. Very mild, very accurate, and no fouling to speak of!

 

[mr.trooper]

S&B

 

[Oohrah]

Shoot in 303

I have not owned a 1914 Enfield that has a heavy solid action.
All the others have a pretty springy action. Due to headspacing
on the rims and most US brass is slightly undersized, treat it like the
above Ross and neck size only. After five or so reloads check for
cracks above the case heads. The heavier brass such as Remington
and the spendy Norma tend to last a little longer.
The only 303 I kept was one of last of their sniper rifles with scope.
No light weight, but accurate. It does have an oddity of about 1 min
of angle 10 round groups at 100. It then goes to sub min, groups
at 200 and beyond. No clue, as what starts out average seems to
tighten down with distance.
This rifle seems to do better with reloads of 180 gr. than their
military rounds. Even shot some .308 cast and ltw. varmit loads
with good success. This rifle has taken a couple of deer off a stand
with a moderate 174 gr. Sierra bullet. It's a fun rifle that doesn't beat
ya to death. Might be due it's weigh !!!!

 

[Limeyfellow]

I tend to go with Remington UMC 174gr and S&B 174gr typically, just because thats what I find the best price on. I shot some Winchester 180gr stuff that was pretty nice but too expensive to do for long.

I shot some surplus stuff. Some of the British stuff is okay. The Greek stuff fires fine. Pakistani surplus tends to have quite a few duds in and lots of hanged firings. Its hard to find some good stuff nowadays unfortantly.

I am not setup for reloading though I have put my brother in law into getting some stuff since he reloads quite alot and I can pay him and hopefully save some money.

 

[iamkris]

Really? How much per round do you guys figure?

If you don't count the equipment or your time (I don't as I reload for over 19 calibers and also happen to enjoy it), reloading with a very high quality bullet will work out to about $0.45 per round or about the same as a box of Hot Shot. The accuracy will, in general, be much better however.

Cheper "plinking" bullets will drive your costs down to much closer to $0.25 to$0.30 a round. Now you are in the $5 to 46 a box range.

Then there is the "self satisfaction" thing of creating something very accurate. Also the "not beholden to buying factory" self sufficiency thing.

 

[armoredman]

One of these days I should take those 18 rounds of 1960 Brit ammo that came with the rifle, and blow them off. Always wondered what cordite actually smells like.
Also, if you reload, make sure you slug the bore. My No4MK1* really likes the Hornaday 174gr FMJ/BT, .3105 diameter, while a bunch of others like .311, or .312 diameter bullets, depending on wear/maker/etc.

 

[cracked butt]

I shoot my cast bullets (Lyman 314299) over 16 grns. 2400. Very mild, very accurate, and no fouling to speak of!

What diameter do these cast to?
I've been trying to find a mould for my enfields and deen one that casts to at least .315" as I have a savage and an ishapore with groove diameter of .314".

 

[Fatelvis]

Cracked, I really don't know what size they drop from the mould, but I size straight wheel weight alloy to .314", lube them with RCBS pistol lube, and use a standard primer of any kind (in a S&B case). I'll tell you, I read an article (in Shotgun news) about loading down with cast bullets for Military rifles, and I've been impressed with thier accuracy ever since. Also, when using a bullet that is sized to groove diameter or .001" more, the fouling is non-existant, and acts like a .22 rimfire.... meaning shoot 'till your heart's content, and dont worry about cleaning. It seems the barrel fouls a slight amount, and THEN it becomes very accurate, and doesnt foul any more. Good shootin'!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Really? How much per round do you guys figure?

Let's assume you get about 150 shots to a pound of powder, and powder costs about $20 a pound. That's about $0.14 or so a round. Primers probably will set you back $0.02 apiece, and bullets -- jacketed hunting bullets -- will cost about $0.15 apiece. Your brass will cost about $0.20 and you can get 5 reloads -- so that's about $0.04 per case per reload.

Total is $0.35 per shot, or $7.00 per box of twenty. Of course, you can buy more expensive components -- the sky is the limit.

Now if you shoot cast bullets, the powder charge will be much smaller, and if you cast your bullets from wheel weights (and can get them for free), you pay only for the lube -- which is a fraction of a cent. This allows you to reload for about $0.07 or $0.08 per shot, or $1.40 to $1.60 per box of twenty.

Of course a real accountant will tell you, you have to amortize your dies, moulds, press, etc., etc.

 

[DMK]

Thanks Vern. Folks always say it's cheaper to reload, but nobody ever qualifies it. Not knowing the best prices for components, it's hard for me to judge.

Total is $0.35 per shot, or $7.00 per box of twenty.

That's pretty close to a box of the cheaper commercial stuff like PMP, Hotshot or S&B if you buy in bulk. It seems to me that the best economy would be to buy a case of loaded ammo, shoot it then reload the brass four times.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I find the "savings" are in locating good prices for components (buying in bulk always helps) -- it's how well you shop that determines if handloading is all that much cheaper, especially when you factor in press, scale, dies, etc., etc.

But one benefit that's overlooked is that you can tailor your own ammunition. For example, I have a .45 ACP load with cast bullets that shoots to the same point of impact as my carry load. For my .22 Hornet, I have developed a load and loading technique that turned a 2" rifle into a 1/2" rifle.

And I have some rifles -- such as my .303 Ross with the "hogged out" chamber and my .35 Brown-Whelen -- that can only use reloaded ammunition.

 

[sumoj275]

I have quite a bit of the surplus that came in about a year ago, the British re-pack and it has been pretty good with the exception of a few rounds that took to hammer strikes to fire. Commercial I have is the S&B and ZBosnian Century moniker that is non-corrosive. I have also kept my brass, picked up some Lee dies, and found a box of Hornady 174gr .311 bullets at a fun shop for 7 bucks (wish they had more) and will be putting some of them togeather in a couple weeks.

Take care

 

[jonnyc]

Vern's got one major point. I load fairly mild 150 grain loads for use in my No.5 JC. Heavier factory loads aren't that much fun.
Another major point for reloading is availability. You can always find powder, primers, and bullets, but affordable shooting ammo is sometimes very scarce.