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Posted: 1/14/2011 6:21:34 AM EDT
| a friend is asking about reloading the 303 for an enfield .I read something about head spacing varies because there were made in may countries, is it doable? , he's new to reloading and hasn't bought any equipment ,what are the pros and cons ,what problems should he look out for |
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http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu97.htm
This should get you going... or at least can forward it to your buddy... |
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I use to load 303 for my jungle carbine. I would get about 3 to 10 reloadings the key is not to load it too hot the brass latest longer. I had better luck with hornady heads. IMR powders seemed to work pretty well.
The savage (American made) mk4 seem to have better chambers than the British models. |
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Quoted: This is the key factor!... the key is not to load it too hot. The brass will last longer. ... I've had good succes with Norma 202 and Vihtavuori N140. I know, they're rather expensive compared to other brands, but IMHO it's worth a try. Using PRVI bullets and PMC/PMP brass, I've been able to achieve MOA-groups at 100ft/100m. |
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Quoted:
Have the gun checked by a gunsmith first to see if the head space is correct. Use a head space gauge to check his ammo to make sure it is correct. If both are correct there should be no problem. If the gun is okay, we also have the luxury of adjusting the cartridge headspace to make handloads fit perfectly, as long as the gun doesn't have other related issues, such as locking lugs that are damaged or set back. |
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The blogger Carteach0 has some articles on .303 reloading (and other good illustrated guides that helped me alot), look down the left side of his page.
I loaded some .303 for my first foray into rifle reloading, they worked fine. Another thing not mentioned by people yet is to segregate cases from different rifles, so you can neck size only for the next load and thus reduce how much you work the brass. |
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Quoted: The blogger Carteach0 has some articles on .303 reloading (and other good illustrated guides that helped me alot), look down the left side of his page. I loaded some .303 for my first foray into rifle reloading, they worked fine. Another thing not mentioned by people yet is to segregate cases from different rifles, so you can neck size only for the next load and thus reduce how much you work the brass. This. I have one #4 MK1 and I only neck size. A fired case will drop right back in the chamber and go into battery fine. I would say that not working the brass by not having to FL resize will have even more effect on the longevity of the case than using light loads, but doing both are good ideas. I would suggest a go/no-go gauges if you doubt the headspace. If you find it not to your liking simply change the bolt head to alter the headspace. These are rimmed cartridges, so they HS off of the case rim. |
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The British were fairly generous in their chambering. They wanted to be able to chamber a cartridge despite trench mud etc.
They also had some issues with out of round or banana shaped chambers, or chambers not concentric to the boreline. Remember they made a lot of these during wartime conditions. If you got one of them with a really sloppy chamber you'll always have issues reloading for it. I have a No4.Mk1 and I partial size with a FL die for it. I really should pick up a neck only die but haven't got around to it. |
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