Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada 303 Brit loads?

You guys presumably have a lot of experience with Enfields, spill the beans on your go-to 303 hunting loads. favorite bullets? powders?

180 gr Speer Hot Core PSP
H4895 powder. Accurate and moose capable.

Don't push the envelope -- case head separation may follow.

40-3031 150 Norma
47-4350-174 Hornady
44-4350-216 Norma
I also use 25 of 4198 behind the 150 for a plinking load. GD

Not Canadian but lived close enough to the border an errant bullet could have crossed the border.

Shoot mostly 174-180 gr bullets of any make over 41 grs of IMR 4064 or Varget. Get decent case life in Smellys and an 1895 and very good in a P-14.

Tried150 gr bullets briefly but they shot further off the sights than I liked. Need. To find some reasonably priced 215 gr bullets for an SMLE built for that ammo. Probably need to go with lead bullets though, at the velocity needed, would make no difference.

auk1124;
Good day to you sir, I hope the day's a good one for you and this finds you well.

Over the years we've had a few loads work really well in a few Lee Enfield rifles, if memory serves most were No 4 Mk 1 variants, a couple of them the ones sporterized by Parker Hale.

If one wants to solve the case stretching issue in a Lee Enfield, it's not that much of a hurdle, but the brass must be segregated and kept separate for each rifle if one chooses to go this way.

We'll take a fresh case and open it up to .338" with a .338 Win Mag die that I tapered the entry side of the expander ball on. Then it's a matter of necking the case back down a wee bit at a time, checking it with the arm it's intended to be used in. The condition we're hoping for is to be able to just so close the bolt with a little pressure. We're making a second false shoulder on the case so it'll headspace there instead of the rim.

Once it's fired, the shoulder will move forward without stretching the case as usually happens and then as long as one doesn't move the shoulder back down during subsequent resizing, the brass can last for decades and multiple reloading.

The "moose and deer" load that's the favorite is 47gr of WW760, 180gr Sierra Pro Hunter, CCI 200 primer and for this particular rifle a COAL of 3.00"

We've had decent success with different powders in the 3031, 4064 burning range and while I'd think 748 would be dandy too, I've not found data for it thus far.

When looking through my notes I wasn't able to locate the 150gr Hornady data I loaded for another one now long gone, but recall at the time it was about as fast as we were pushing 150gr out of a .308 with an 18½" barrel, so more or less .300 Savage speeds.

Hopefully that was useful for you or someone out there. Good luck with your .303 loading whichever way you decide and all the best to you this summer.

Dwayne

auk1124,

For 150 gr bullets of any kind, the older powders still seem to perform the best. IMR 4064 is very accurate, and 4895 is almost as good. You want them moving around 2500 to 2600 fps. No more. This velocity range seems to be the sweet spot. My favourite load with Hornady 150 gr. SPs is 44.0 grains of IMR 4064. 3.000 OAL. It prints about 1.5 inches @ 100 yd, and is deadly on whitetails. It moves about 2600 fps, or a bit more. This is a soft recoiling load that is 1 or 2 ft/lb more than a 30-30.

For 180s, it's hard to beat either Re 15 or Varget. If either of these won't shoot, chuck the rifle. They produce velocities around 2450 fps. IMR 4350 is almost as good, and very accurate, but velocities are down about 100 fps. My moose load with 180 gr. Sierras is 43.5 gr. of Re 15. OAL 3.075 inches. I like this load because it works with the original iron sights, and produces 2450 fps.

The trick with 303s is to load them to the platform's original design specs. Keeping velocities in the areas above mitigates case stretching and recoil is very manageable. The rifle was designed around the 303 cartridge, not the other way around.

I have a P-14, so I just use 308 data.

It'd be nice to see some pictures of the Enfield's.

My 303 is one I made on a 1900 Irish Constabulary Lee action in the style of the Speed Sporters.
I used a .310 barrel in it. I shoot regular .308" bullets and 40.0 grains of 4074 and it shoots as well as I can hold it with iron sights. I have express sights on it for 100, 200 300 and 400 yards and at 100 firing the bullets that are supposed to be .002" too small I get 1.3" groups at 100 yards. I have hunted with it and killed some game. Works very well. My chronograph shows me 2333 FPS Average.
I am using 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt bullets now, but I am almost out of them. I do have some 180 grain Winchester Power Points I'll try next.

It is also excellent with 180 grain Nosler Partitions, but they are pretty costly and I have not seen them do any better on deer sized game then the better cup and core bullets with thicker jackets when shot at under 2400 FPS. So I get to shoot more using the Remingtons for the same price, and the gun is deadly on deer and antelope. Always gives me exits and good sized wound channels

Good tips above. Don't get all grumpy if your bore slugs up around .315'' or .316. (5 grooves ain't fun to measure). Unbelievably, counter to common wisdom, I got acceptable results with issue sights with the 174 gr Hornady roundnose (.312") loading to 2460 fps.(Mark Vll velocity) 3031 may have been the best for pure accuracy but 44 gr of 4320 (a published load) took the cake. Uniform round groups of 5 shots in 2.5 inches. This was a #4mk1 made by Savage. Only alteration was a little glass bedding on the 'draws'. There have been volumes written on bedding, which may have more to do with accuracy than all the component juggling in the world.

you also have to remember to say "Good shot, Eh Wot" after a successful shot.

41 grains RL-15 pushes the 215gr Woodleigh to a beautifully accurate 2165 fps, regulates perfectly in my 303 double, cant see why that load wouldn't fly well in the Enfields, have only hit deer and a few pigs, no bullet recoveries and always quick kills with a lot of damage and massive penetration at any angle.

In my 1914 Enfield, I used listed loads for a 308 Win as a guide. In my SMLE, I use IMR 4064 with 150 grain Speer. But I think Steve R. might have tons more experience than me with this cartridge.

I am down to 2 Lee Enfields. One is a Savage and the other is a NO 4 T. Had more at one time but getting old. This thread has me getting them out and stretching their legs. Been a little while.

I am down to 2 Lee Enfields. One is a Savage and the other is a NO 4 T. Had more at one time but getting old. This thread has me getting them out and stretching their legs. Been a little while. I always liked the 180 grain but I never really experimented a lot. I had a Long Branch but sold it. I have regretted selling it.

I use 4895 and Varget in all of my Enfields , From 150 to 215 grain bullets .
I never found them fussy to load for even when going out to 1K with a 174 Match King
Cat