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.303 bullets?? |
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ArcherSix 
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Joined: March 05 2009 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 317 |
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 Topic: .303 bullets??Posted: December 19 2013 at 6:12am |
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Has anyone had any luck finding .303 bullets for reloading lately? Everywhere I look is out. I'd like Hornady 150gr SP and 174 FMJ, but right now I'd be happy finding anything close to those.....
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SW28fan
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Posted: December 19 2013 at 10:08am |
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Nope. I got out bid for a box on Gun Broker. Sneaky fiend waited until 5 min before the auction was over an topped my bid by 50 cents.
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303Guy
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Joined: July 10 2012 Location: Auckland Status: Offline Points: 495 |
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Posted: December 19 2013 at 3:00pm |
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If you could find some 180 gr Highland/PRVI bullets, they seem pretty good. Accurate in my rifle and work pretty well on game. Trouble is, I can't find any!
Funny thing thing is we have Hornady in 150 SP and 174 RN and Sierra in 150 and 180 spitzers on our shelves. Not cheap mind you but fine for hunting where they might last for several years.
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303Guy
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Jon287
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Posted: December 19 2013 at 3:27pm |
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I just bought a box of Hornady SST 303 150 gr. .312 from Graf and Sons. They were not cheap but it was all I could find.
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Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their planet!!
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Frenchieboy
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Posted: December 19 2013 at 3:36pm |
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Seems to be quite a shortage of them over on this side of the pond too. I had to search high and low before I could find any and had to settle for just one box of Hornady 150g Spire Points. Need some more pretty soon too!
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Wounding is not an option!
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Shamu
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Posted: December 19 2013 at 8:49pm |
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Hornady has "temporarily suspended" .311/.312 bullet production so there is a shortage.
I've been snagging what I can find from various shooting forum swapshops & for sale posts. |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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A square 10
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 12:16am |
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did they say why they suspended it ? did production get diverted to 308 ?
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Shamu
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 3:52am |
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I don't really know. It was part of a much wider suspension of less popular calibers so they could concentrate on high volume sellers.
Here is the direct link: http://www.hornady.com/support/availability |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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SW28fan
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 5:17am |
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Sierra has a bunch of Government Contracts and they said atleast six months before we see any more .311" bullets. I am pretty much Match Use Only on their 180 grain I have maybe 200 left.
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paddyofurniture
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 6:10am |
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At this rate I may have to buy a mold and cast my own.
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Always looking for military manuals, Dodge M37 items,books on Berlin Germany, old atlases ( before 1946) , military maps of Scotland. English and Canadian gun parts.
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Canuck
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 6:50am |
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Speaking of casting your own...do you use wheel weights or do you have a more pure lead source for making bullets? I read that modern wheel weights have other alloys mixed in and would not make good bullets.
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Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually
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paddyofurniture
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 8:42am |
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I was going to the scrapyard in town and see if I can get some old scrapped lead pipe.
I hate to think of the price of lead today. |
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Always looking for military manuals, Dodge M37 items,books on Berlin Germany, old atlases ( before 1946) , military maps of Scotland. English and Canadian gun parts.
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hoadie
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 10:17am |
Use that stuff on other firearms - not ENFIELDS  Seriously - don't do it. I'm fortunate..I have a source here (scrap yard) that will sell me real lead.(It's listed as a hazardous substance now, I understand) I only cast Minie balls with it..but I would NEVER shoot my rifle again if I only had wheel weights for fodder. Hoadie |
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Loose wimmen tightened here
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303Guy
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 2:45pm |
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Why do you say that, hoadie? In many ways the 303 Lee Enfield is ideal for cast bullets because of the nature of the throats, especially cordite eroded throats. It allows for larger, throat filling cast bullets that will properly seal the bore. But the bullets do need to be well profiled to each throat for best results. Gas checked bullets can be driven to 1900 fps with ease using 220 gr bullets. With a lot more effort one can get higher velocity. It's the twist rate that limits attainable accurate velocity. For long range work one can use 240 gr cast bullets. I've shot 260 gr cast bullets. Accuracy was pooh (alloy too soft) but there was no bullet yaw. Cast bullets can also return worn out bores to useful service and the low operating pressures can do the old war horse no harm. The alloy does need to be clean, meaning no abrasive inclusions but it's not difficult to clean the alloy. But there should be zero bore wear with cast bullets because they are lubricated and besides, lead alloys are quite soft with the hardest around BHN 22 and usually around BHN 13 (wheel weight) while bullet jacket alloy is around BHN 100 (85 to 125) There is another way to use lead alloy for bullets and that is by paper patching it. Muzzle velocities tend to be higher and pressure lower with paper patch because of reduced friction. However, paper does have a polishing effect on the bore and this leads to even higher velocity but sometimes one needs to increase the powder charge to ensure patch disintegration at the muzzle after the bore gets real smooth. Harder alloys allows higher velocity which can exceed factory velocity for the 303. The usual load for paper patch is the listed starting load for jacketed bullets, with slower powder being preferable. 303 shooters have an advantage in that standard 308 bullet molds can be used. For those who don't want to cast, 308 bullets can be paper patched for the 303. They get knurled between two files so the patch will not slip. And paper patching does not wear out bores either. Bore life can be expected to be better than with using jacketed bullets. Lower pressure is one reason (powder kernels erode throats and bores). |
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303Guy
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303Guy
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 6:32pm |
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I put out the question and it seems agreed that inclusions in the lead alloy can damage bores if the metal isn't 'cleaned' by proper fluxing. However, I'd suggest that it would be a slow process and somewhat unusual. I doubt a bottom pour melting pot would have that problem as anything hard would float on or near the surface (where a ladle scoop would pick it up).
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303Guy
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Frenchieboy
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Posted: December 20 2013 at 8:57pm |
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I'm afraid that all of this moulding my own heads is a little above me! As luck would have it I have just been out to one of my "suppliers" for some rimfire ammunition and he had a box of 125g Spritzers put by for me so I have some in hand to load - All be it that I will have to develop a new load for these heads - Much better than running out of expanding ammunition!
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Wounding is not an option!
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Canuck wrote: