[pj308]

Hello to all you Enfield enthusiasts,
I just purchased an Enfield M#4 Mark 1 Saturday at the Springfield Ma. gun show. Two hours later I purchased some vintage 1942 .303 rounds and shot off 60 rounds. The rifle works great and it is accurate out to 50 yards w/1" groups. with the old ammo. The rifle has matching #s to the bolt, magazine, stock and magazine. The rifling is excellent.
My friend just gave me 400 .303 British once fired cases. I have som3 IMR 4350 Powder. Anyone out there have any recipies w/this powder or other powders. I am probably going to use 174 grain bullets.
Thanks PJC308

 

[Swaffield]

I don't have any manuals handy, but there are some recipes for that powder at 303british.com you can check out.

 

[limpetmine]

Pictures, Pictures,

We must have pictures! Congrats on your rifle. What year and mfgr is it? Is it your first Enfield?

 

[tertle]

Well done on your purchase and as everyone else will tell you, it won’t be your last

Ive only started out reloading my own but for what it worth i use the following,
AR2206 40 gr, ( similar in burning rate to IMR 4895) Federal large rifle primer, DI Z brass and 180 grain projectile, i use a more rounded projectile .311 (.312 diameter if i can get them) my first rifle is a bit tired and likes the extra width and surface coverage on the lans but i have some CAC ammo that i am going to do a comparison on soon to see the difference.

The pic at the bottom is not that great as still learning to use the other half’s camera but it gives you an idea of the different projectile shape.

i am sure that you will get a lot of help from the guys here they are very knowledgeable

Good luck and have fun

Tertle

 

[pj308]

Thanks so much for your input. Sorry I have not replied sooner to all you enfield enthusiasts-I have been busy shooting my rifle.
I am not well versed in posting pictures but here is the link to the dealer whom I bought it from. There are some pictures.
Thanks again for all of your help.
http://www.rifle-gun.com/Gallery/updates081107/album/British No. 4 MKI like new/index.html

 

[AMCer]

Hey PJ,

Reloading your 303s will save you ALOT of money! My first re-load session paid for all of my equipment. If you haven't already bought your set up, may I suggest this:

Lee Challenger Single Stage Press Anniversary Kit with "Modern Reloading" Manual - $80


It has everything you need except for:

Lee Case Length Gage and Shellholder 303 British - $4

Lee Pacesetter 3-Die Set 303 British - $19






As for loading formulas-

I use 150gr bullets and IMR4064 (40gr).

Powders and primers cost extra to ship because they are dangerous (or some such non-sense) so I buy them locally. The IMR 4064 seems to be a real common rifle powder that everyone always has on the shelves (if you get fancy, you'll have to order your powder and it will cost extra).

I use 150gr bullets because they are the most common (READ: cheapest).
I use 40gr of powder because IMR's (Hodgdon's) web site calculator says that the maximum load for that bullet for a .303BR using IMR4064 is 44.7gr. 40gr is slightly less and easy to remember.

I have had ZERO problems with the IMR4064 and it shoots really accurately on my Enfield and Garand.

Oh, and you'll need LARGE RIFLE primers. Buy locally to save some $$$ also.

 

[82ndpara]

W'Spfld gun show

That show was unusually good to my friend and I.
I picked up a sweet Longbranch No.4 for $140 (photos soon, after I get her cleaned up). Other grabs include:
Mine;
Chinese T-53, all matching: $130
My friends:
Scrubbed Polish Wz29 (SCW): $160
Romanian M-44 all match 80% finish left: $135
Later, I went back to the show for some paperwork and picked up another grab for my friend; Savage No.4, Greek army marked with the little Maltese cross stamps for $300 and set up a buy for a Greek Gras for about $900 from the very same dealer you got this beautiful piece from. My friend is Greek, so he's cuckoo for any Greek military hardware.
Ususally the show is so-so.
Cheers,
DB

 

[Snowman]

Springfield Show

Hello all. I'd have to agree with you that the Springfield show was good. The recent one (Dec.) was also good. Between the two shows I got a BYF44 P38, a Colt 1911, and a Type 99 w/bayonet. I also picked up alot of other goodies. No Enfields though. I was looking for a No 1 MK111*. The only decent one there was an overpriced parts gun!

 

[Galf]

Hi there,

If you separate your cases per rifle I would recommend a Lee Collet Die set. I started using it being advised on 'the other forum' and have no regrets so far.

No lube required so it's easy to make say 40 - 50 rounds in an hour on a single stage press.

Big plusses are that cases seem to get eternal life because after being fire-formed only the neck is being sized. I am testing one box of 20 rounds (Prvi Partizan) that have been reloaded 8 times now and still no more signs of wear or fatigue show than what is visible after the first shot (fire-forming it and stretching the case near the bottom and moving the shoulder upwards a couple of mm).

Now I'm continuing the test to see how long they will last before any warning signs start to show (loose primer pockets, cracked necks, broken cases (? ... never occurred so far) etc.) With full-length sizing, my cases are trash after say 5 reloads showing cracks/bulges near the base...

And the best part last: same recipe for the rounds (40 gr. VihtaVuori N140 / 174 gr. Prvi FMJBT) and almost half the group size compared to FL-sized rounds.

Cheers

 

[burgie]

Using a bent paper clip

inside the brass is also a good idea, someone told me about this and it saved me lots of trouble.

Good luck ..............burgie