Lee enfield No4 MK1 F cast bullet need info and help

Hi,got lee enfield no4 mk1 F 5 groove barrel,rifling is very good,shoot around 4 inches at 100 m(manufactured).Now tried cast,slug the barrel,i found .314,and i used Lee mold MOLD DC C312-185-1R
unique powder ,got 6-8 inches all over.so i get an other mold Lyman 314299 200 gr with 13 gr of unique,barrel was clean very good(cooper removal-lead).At 50 m hit target no grooping few keyhole.....After slug barrel again my reading was .315.LYMAN MOLD CAST AT .313.I made new bullet beagling bullet molds to .316.
now am ready to test again,I would like to know about the powder choice for 5 groove rifling,in the lyman book is a 2 groove rifle they used.thank foe you help:)

There's not going to be a special powder for 5 groove rifling, it's a matter of what the book says and work from there. You say you had keyholing, that can be from an over length bullet that's not stabilized or pushing it too fast and stripping it in the rifling. Either way it's not turning fast enough. There could also be other problems like too soft bullet material. Are you using a gas check? Sounds like you're working out of Lyman's cast bullet book. I've never used pistol powder with lead bullets in rifle...work out of the book and figure out what YOUR rifle likes. When you slug the barrel, try a buckshot ball at .32 cal and tap it through. Sounds like there's a bit of question about bore diameter yet.

It's hard to find a better powder and charge for cast bullets up to 200 yards than the old C.E. Harris favorite 13 grains of Red Dot. (Search for "The Load" to find more info.)

When loading bore-rider designs like C312-185-1R and 314299, note that the critical dimension is the nose diameter, which has to be enough to contact the lands uniformly (like the C312-185-1R shown here on the right). This kind of nose fit is absolutely essential for accuracy with bullets of this style. (Don't expect that "beagling" will do the trick since the result is an oval-nosed bullet that often doesn't align well in 5-groove barrels.)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../34hxahf-1.jpg

thank you all ,i gather any info i can used.

84mmCarl-Gustav:

The Lee Enfield, .303 British rifle can soot cast bullets as well or better than commercial jacketed bullets or mil-surp FMJ ammo, IF you figure out what your gun likes. Keep velocities under 1850 fps, and match your bullet hardness to chamber pressure. Bullet design has an impact also, Lyman .314299 mostly casts a "bore-ride" nose section a few thousandths under the size that actually works. Check out this website for really good information: Cast Bullets in the Lee Enfield Rifle
PM me if you have questions----

You may also want to check bullet diameter - when shooting cast bullets they keyhole when they are undersized, even by only .001 inch. They shoot best when they are about .001 over groove diameter. If a bore rider style the bore riding portion should be no more than .001 undersized. Also need to check any distortion when seating the bullet but that usually does not cause bullets to keyhole.

I made new bullet beagling 1 layer alum tape on the bullet molds (Lyman 314229) and than i sized to .316 now am getting 1 inches at 50m,for my rifle i will need a .316 NOE mold ,thanks for your input

The reason bullets "keyhole" is they are not stabilised.

This, in turn, is caused by the bullet not spinning fast enough.

Lee Enfield rifling is 1 turn in 10 inches; the reason being that the original, round-nosed bullets were LONG and the lighter, streamlined Mk7 bullet is essentially the same length.

The tight twist is VERY harsh on cast bullets, even quite hard ones. Loading "down" will not help at all with "full-length" bullets, because you will then have reduced velocity AND most importantly, reduced spin rate.

If you want to shoot cast bullets, you need something that will stabilize at realistic velocities AND will not "strip out" whilst being driven up the barrel.

Gas checks are pretty much essential, as is casting a bullet that is a "close" fit in the rifling, which often runs out to .319"

Final caveat: If you MUST shoot cast bullets, be aware that the barrel WILL pick up metal fouling from these bullets and this is a MAJOR hazard if you subsequently use "normal velocity" jacketed ammo. A bulged barrel will eventually happen unless ALL of the cast-bullet residue is removed from the rifling. The jacketed bullet simply "bulldozes" the soft cast-bullet material up until it pushes it aside, thus bulging the barrel.

Wrapping the bullet in Teflon tape may reduce this hazard somewhat, but ultimately, the risk remains.