Anyone any experience with Remington 174grfmj green box ammo in their Enfiellds? Accurate, brass quality? Thanks!
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Anyone any experience with Remington 174grfmj green box ammo in their Enfiellds? Accurate, brass quality? Thanks!
The only Remington 303 I've used was the CoreLokt ammo. The accuracy is great, but the fat projectile will not feed from the magazine.
As far as Rem brass goes, If the load is as powerful as the CoreLokt, it will bulge the brass and make it not very reloadable. I've read opinions about Rem brass and they were all good, but this was for brass purchased for reloading, not brass from cartridges loaded by Remington. I once purchased 100 rounds of Rem for reloading. Some of the first 20 shot with factory loads were bulged to the point where I was afraid to reuse the brass.
My conclusion is that if you want Remington brass - buy the brass. If you want the accurate cartridges and don't care about reloading - get the ammo, I'm sure Remington knows how to make a good cartridge.
If you want to shoot ammo and than reload... buy Prvi Partizan....
Enfields are noted for oversize chambers and any brass will expand a lot under those conditions. Buy a Lee Collet neck sizing die and your brass will last for quite a few reloads.Quote:
Originally Posted by panrobercik
What about Winchester brass???
Actually, I prefer Winchester brass to just about any other...it seems to hold up a bit better than most. Use a Lee neck sizing die and it lasts for a LONG time, and keep brass segregated to a particular rifle if you have more than one.
I've had problems with a single box of Winchester factory loads over 16 years ago. Those cases would split lengthwise in every rifle we tried them in and those that didn't were worthless for reloading.
Now I figure that was simply a bad lot, and Ive run across vague information on a changover in alloys or the quality control since then , so I figure later manufacture Winchester cases are okay.
I use Remington cases and I've had no problems with them. Rims are thinner on most commercial cases than on military cases so this can magnify loose headspace problems.
The Enfield chambers are not so much loose as the generous head clearance makes them seem. I use a No.3 Bolthead on my No.4 to tighten clearances and the fired cases are almost indistinguishable from the unfired cases.
I use a Lee Loader but I've rigged my drill press to work as an arbor for capping. I neck size only .20 of the neck and rotate each case 180 degrees on second firing so by third firing expansion is equalized and firing pin indentation is dead center.
The unsized portion of the neck helps center the bulet to the bore at the throat, and I seat 150 gr Hornady .312 bullets far enough out so theres little jump from case mouth to leade.
My No.4 has some erosion so I set OAL with the 150 Hornady at 3.00 which leaves the crimping cannelure exposed.
I dont crimp.
I made my own undersized expander so the sized portion of the neck has a tight grip. I polish the inside of each case mouth for uniformity of pull strength.
I haven't had any problems with bullets being pushed back into cases or shifting forwards from recoil , but this is something to keep in mind even with a bolt action rifle.
My groups sizes are so small I can't believe it myself sometimes. But I do put a lot of work into preparing cases, and use bench rest loading techniques that are time consuming.
The almost too tight head space of my rifle is probably the deciding factor. When I first got it the mismatched bolt and bolt head were very worn. I had no gauge so I used shims to get a ball park figure on the headspace, due to undersized rimms I thought its headspace was much worse than it actually was so I replaced bolt and bolthead. Now the clearances are pretty much minimal and theres no visible stretching of cases at all.
I use fairly stout load of IMR 4320 which seems to give just enough initial shock to the bullet to ensure that it fills out the grooves properly.
I've been experimenting with pulled 148 gr. FMJ 7.62x54r bullets seated above the groove to a nominal OAL of 3.045", and a very moderate crimp. The current rifle that I'm working these loads up for is a 1918 BSA #1 Mk III with a borderline headspace and beautiful bore. Initial fire-forming is a pretty violent affair, however the new Winchester cases take the beating VERY well, I really do prefer the Win. over the new Remington cases..they just seem to hold up much better. Once the cases are fire-formed, the neck sizing only operation seems to negate the headspace issue. Am currently on my 6th reload with this batch of brass, no splits, case head stretching or wear issues as of yet. Fairly accurate with these bullets, will be trying them in the #4 Mk I next.