Which cast bullets work best with a S.M.L.E. in .303?

Iwould try a Lyman 314299. It is a bit heavy, but load data is out there. Additionally, the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook lists the 311466, 311299, and 311284, with load data for each of the three.

The biggest caveat is bore diameter. You will have to slug the barrel and go from there.

Try the Cast Boolits site. The site is dedicated to shooting cast bullets and numerous members shoot the SMLE and post loads etc. With the right touch Enfields can be made to shoot very well.



http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

Which gun???

.303british.com is the website of a man who lives .303... .303 Epps and some cast bullet data too.

The P14s were bore around .309... I would not hesitate to try a .308 bullet that is close to my needs. If you want competition results, then by all means go bug the paper punchers anywhere. Good use for cast and the heavy can often be loaded to duplicate the factory load and the sights work great. LUCK.

If you ever get one to work, please let me know...the two most frustrating rounds to get to work are the .303 with cast bullets and the .577/450 with anything!

Ganyana,

you need to have someone like David Mos make you a mould just for the SMLE throat.

Rich

ISS the problem is the Brits idea of 'precision is rather vague. I have 4 .303's and all are VERY different. Bore form .309-314 and throats , well, from the carbine the cases come out looking like .303 Epps!

I have measured .303 barrels as large as .318.

Funily enough the most consistent are the US made 2 grove No 1 Mk !*

quote:

Funily enough the most consistent are the US made 2 grove No 1 Mk !*

I have two of those and they are both pretty tight chambered and have a throat that consists of a taper from the chamber to the bore and the one I have used shoots very well indeed with Highland 180 grainers. That one has a .3175 groove Ø and .304 bore. The bore is a bit rust textered. In fact, it's very rust textured!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Ganyana,

you need to have someone like David Mos make you a mould just for the SMLE throat.

Rich

If you going to have somone make you a mould, I would suggest Mountain Moulds in Rich's home state of Idaho. I have had much better success with them than with David Mos.

I sent David sample bullets, the form of which I wanted copied but at a slightly heavier weight. It took many months to get ANYTHING from him in the way of a mould, and the final mould looked nothing at all like the bullets I sent as a model. Result was I now have a totally useless .30 mould which is so long it would take about a 1-in-6" or 7" twist to stabilize it, at a cost of about $125 12 years ago (and I supplied the uncut mould blocks, which I bought from Magma!).

On the other hand, when I ordered a mould from Mountain Moulds, I had it sooner than promised, at less cost, and it was exactly what I ordered.

You can design your own mould on line, BTW, at Mountain Moulds, including such details as gas check base diameter and base length, lube and crimping groove(s) shape, width and depth, # of bands and their widths, etc.

As "a Brit" I never used cast bullets in any of my Enfield rifles...except ONCE.

However I knew a few that did! All emphasised the need to use a correct cast bullet expander button when reloading AFTER the cases had been resized in the standard resizing die.

Otherwise you will get no accuracy at all. But I am sure that you knew this.

As others have said, the early SMLE's had widely varying bores, so the bore size must be determined before expecting successful cast bullet shooting.

I have a #4 Mk II. I bought a 185 gr. Lee mould-cheap, a piece of junk, but it seems to make good bullets, and they shoot into ~2 MOA, which is about as good as Enfields shoot. My rifle is a Fazakerly (sp.?) arsenal rebuild and has a new-looking BSA barrel that measures 0.311".

I use a black powder lube with a light load of 4759 powder (15 gr.). I use a 0.314" sizer to set the gas-check and apply the lube.

With the adjustable sight set 24 clicks up from the bottom, I hit point of aim at 100 yds. I have shot this load at targets to 300 yds., and it holds its accuracy in calm conditions.

Clarence

Ganyana: Keep in mind the .577-450s can be a lot larger than .458 or even .460. And I finally found love from a .577 Snider when I found a .592 conical mold!

I have had very good luck with cast bullets out of my NoI Mark rifles.
First thing you must do is to slug the bore. Failure to to do this is just a waste of your and out times.
I have a "few" Enfield rifles in my collection and NONE of them have the same bore size. I have seen bores like the other members have in the above post.
Use a hard alloy.
NEVER use a cast boat tailed bullet.
Slightly flair the case mouth when seating the bullet. Any leads shaving will destroy any accuracy.
The bullets base M U S T be perfect. No wrinkles, no slag, no cuts, nothing.( Read A Bullets Flight, by Dr. Mann.)
Gas check the bullet if pushing faster than 1,200 fps. You bore has wear. Lead will build up quickly. The Gas Check will help keep it clean.
Try Paper-Patching. It is not hard, and your rifle with it's type of rifling will love these bullets.
I have loaded thousands of plain and paper-patched bullets out of my rifles. When done right, the rifle can be very accurate out to 600 meters.
As for your larger charcoal burner, buy the book " Loading the Black Powder Metallic Cartridge"
I use to be crazy over these old rifles and wasted many years of my life perfecting the perfect load. You cannot just cast up a lead bullet, dump in a charge, and expect any real accuracy. There is a science to loading these old cartridges.

You guys should see the original models with the one-piece stock.

Just tried, for the local gun club, some cast loads. Loaded with an old set of Lyman 310 dies and the Lyman tong tool.

Used Lee's C309-113-F with 5.5 Trail Boss and 7.0 Trail Boss. Both in a 25" standard length barrel Lee Enfield No4.

Got good accuracy, 1" group, at 25 yards. 1100fps for the 5.5 gain lad and 1200fps for the 7.0 grain load.

Didn't bother with a gas check and in both cases no signs of leading either.