Issued Bullet Weight??

[CelticCollector]

I was wondering, does anyone know what bullet weight a 49 No4 Mk2 would have been issued? Looking to buy some commercial ammo and all I see is 150grn SP or 180grn FMJ. Any help is appreciated.

Information

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[Son]

.303 Military ammunition (MkVII Ball) was 174gn projectile traveling at 2440 fps. The best way to replicate this is to handload your own rounds. You might find that the 180gn loading is close to your sight settings out to a few hundred yards, only one way to find out.
Perhaps some of the guys have tried the commercially available rounds and can help here...

[Alan de Enfield]

Prvi Partisan is virtually the same as Military MKVII ammunition.
174gr FMJ

Alternatively Kynoch (Kynamco) make a true replica of MKVII

[Mk VII]

Most of the commercially available FMJ loads are boat-tails, and these may not set up well in a worn bore.

[RobD]

Celtic, if you are seeing 150 grain bullets for sale, are you sure you are looking at .311 inch diameter, and not .308 inch? Reasson I ask is that .308 is often 150 grain, .311 is not. The guy selling the bullets will tell you .308 is OK for .303, but you need .311 in jacketed bullets, or a bit larger in cast bullets.

[CelticCollector]

It is commercially loaded 303 British ammo from Prvi, and others like Federal ammo

[bradtx]

CC, Commercially I've tested UMC 174 gn vs. HXP in 2-groove and 5-groove barrels. POA/POI was the same. The 180 gn S&B seems as good, but I still haven't tested enough different lot numbers.

Brad

[CelticCollector]

Thanks all for the info.

[smellie]

I am handloading for the .303 for two reasons:
1. I can't afford factory ammo and
2. my handloads are better than factory... and cheaper.

What I do is load up Defence Industries brass with CCI or Winchester primers, 37 or 38 grains of IMR-4895 and a 180 Sierra flatbase hunting bullet seated out to the LOA od a Mark VII Ball round.

With this load, at 37 grains, they come out at 2250 ft/sec on the chronograph. This was known to be the most accurate velocity for this cartridge with this approximate bullet weight as far back as 1910. I'm shooting it 100 years later and seeing my groups tighten up very nicely.

Some rifles will want 38 grains, some will not. But if you want a very consistent and very accurate load, this is it.

Its one disadvantage is that it is a bit slow, so you will have to experiment with it, but that's fun all on its own.

Anyway, do have fun!

[jmoore]

Prvi Partisan is virtually the same as Military MKVII ammunition.
174gr FMJ

I thought the Prvi was more of a Mk.VIIIz load.(?)