303 brit

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Last Post 05 February 2014

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21gun posted this 01 January 2014

I'm looking for load data to load some 303 brit for my Lee Enfield No 1 Mk 3.

bullet- a cast CTL312-160 2R with copper gas check.

powder I have on hand- titegroup, power pistol, 700x, bulls eye, IMR4227, h335 and IMR 4064

:coffee

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delmarskid1 posted this 01 January 2014

20g of 4227 would make a nice start. I'm betting Mr. Harris can tell you how much bullseye to use. I think power pistol might make a load but as to charges I have no clue.

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CBA Member

Ed Harris posted this 01 January 2014

Start load on Bullseye is 6 grains, no GC needed, 1000 fps Max. without GC in .303 British is 7.2 grains, 1250 fps. With GC you can go to 8.4 grains for 1400 fps. Do not exceed.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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onondaga posted this 01 January 2014

H335 gets exceptionally nice low pressures with cast bullets in .303 Brit. 29 grains of H335 with your gas checked CTL312-160-2R should be a fine shooting load at about 2,000 fps. A filler like *BPI Original to bring load density to 105% will end choking with H335 at this load level if your rifle chokes on it.

Your rifle might choke on IMR 4064 but if it doesn't about 32 grains will get you about 2,000 fps with your bullet. A filler like *BPI Original to bring load density to 105% with the 4064 would end the choking problem.

H.Titegroup ignites very well with small charges in large cases and is a good candidate to try. Ask Hodgdon for a charge recommendation to get you about 1400 fps . I bet it would work well at that velocity gas checked, But it is a hot fast pistol powder and likely to spike hotter than than the usable pressure range of cast bullets at about a 1600 fps load in a rifle or even earlier. Use caution with this hot stuff H.TiteGroup. Hodgdon is just recently beginning to recommend this powder for light rifle loads in bigger cases because of it's superior ignition in small charges with large cases. Don't try this without checking with Hodgdon, but I think about 6 to 8 grains of TiteGroup will do it with your bullet.

*BPI Original Filler: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/695248/bpi-shot-buffer-original-500cc-approximately-1-2-lb

Gary

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mckg posted this 01 January 2014

Hodgdon Data Manual Nr25, 1986, gave 17.0gr of H4227 with both 150 and 180 gr GC bullets. Speeds were 1602 and 1554 fps in a 24"bbl (max loads...). H4227 is now packaged with the IMR brand if the container says “made in Australia".

Lyman's 48th Reloading Handbook (2002) gave 20gr of IMR 4227 for 1555fps with the 200gr 314299 (starting load...). The Cast Bullet Handbook published in 1980 has 700X data: starting load 10 to 9gr for bullets 150 to 210gr; 1445 to 1165fps.

http://www.303british.com/id16.html>http://www.303british.com/id16.html for IMR 4064

Also some interesting reading here: http://www.303british.com/id37.html>http://www.303british.com/id37.html

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21gun posted this 02 January 2014

Thank you all for the help. I am blown away on the information I get from you guys, I guess as a new guy to reloading (2years) and casting (1year) where do you find this info.

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21gun posted this 02 January 2014

Hey Gary,

I'm a little lost when you say choking, Is this like a hang fire? Also with the BPI at 105% load density are you talking about a compression load?

I'm new to casting as my main source of projectile. So if you know of any books that would be good or web address that my help me learn more about casing it would help me out.

Thank you,

Garry

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CBA Member

Mike H posted this 02 January 2014

Hello Gary,Perhaps because I come from a different country,I am not familiar with the term choking in regard to rifle accuracy,could you try and enlighten me?18 to 20 grains of 4227 would be a good start for a .303 load.Mike.

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CBA Member

tturner53 posted this 02 January 2014

Not sure what others mean but around here if you 'choke' it means to fail, not do well.

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onondaga posted this 02 January 2014

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=7218>21gun Choking is any of the type of misfires, hangfires from using slow powders or low volume position sensitive charges with an ignition problem. Yes 105% is a mildly compressed load with a filler and the BPI is a very light, low density filler that is a high heat resistant plastic particulate. BPI is a favorite because of that very light weight having minimal to no effect on ballistic pressure apposed to many other fillers that are much heavier or contraindicated for bottleneck cartridges.

BPI also acts as a quasi gas check to extend the pressure range of a cast bullet alloy with cast plain base or bevel base bullets.

Gary