No4 MK1 T's AT THE RANGE

[bros]

Brought the two T's I recently purchased to the range today. The first one tried was the all matching unit...the 1945 Bsa with the MK3 scope ( I had a thread about this one earlier). Scope windage was set on zero and elevation was set at 100 yds which was the range I was shooting at. First grouping went way low.....eventually had to set scope at the 300yd mark and windage had to be moved about 4 clicks to be on target at 100yds. I was a bit surprised that setting the drum at the 100yd mark my point of impact was way low. Best group was 2.75". These were all 5 shot groups....If we had shot typical 3 shot groups results would have tightened up.
The second "T" was the scopeless one I recently purchased, a 1945 BSA as well (still waiting for the scope...it's supposedly available). I had a recent thread about this one "No4 MK1 T RESCUED". My friend and I both shot it first with open sights at 100yds.....his group was a bit better than mine, it was about 3.5" and that being a 5 shot group. I thought that was pretty decent. For the heck of it I threw the Mk3 scope on from the other rifle, windage needed a bit more adjustment and had to come up on the elevation drum to 400yds to be on the bull at 100yds. Best group was close to 2.5". Ammo used for both guns was commercial softpoint.
It started snowing just as we started shooting......I will do more in-depth accuracy tests later on and will be using good proper ball ammo and maybe even some handloads that I'll make up. Any thoughts on the all matching set as to why the elevation had to be set at 300yds to be on at 100yds and also why the windage was not able to be set at zero???? I need to order Peter's book on the No 32 scope's....I'll be doing that ASAP.

Information

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[muffett.2008]

The answer to your question is right in front of you.......commercial ammunition.
The Scopes and sights are calibrated to the Mk.VII round, a cordite load that burns hotter and has a totally different performance and trajectory than any aftermarket round.
It's MZ is aprox. 2450 FPS. to duplicate this performance you will need to do some experimental reloading.......or better still, use the Milsurp spec. ammo the rifle was designed for.

[bros]

I know I've got to try different ammo......and I will. I just didn't think the difference would be that great.

[Lee Enfield]

MkVII ball is 174gr "flatbase" Spitzer at a velocity of 2440+/-40 fps.

The "flatbase" is actually an open base envelope with a weight reducing lighter weight filler material at the tip...similar in idea to Sierra's "open tip match" family of "match king" bullets.

The closest SP bullet that I'm aware of would be the Sierra "game king" 180 gr flat base. Which I would handload to the 2440fps target velocity.

[Ridolpho]

bros: I am now reloading but have had good results in the past with numerous Lee Enfields (including two T's) and P14's with Remington 174 gr. MJ. They use a flat base bullet and I've found pretty good sight calibration up to 400m (440 yards) with it. To see how it works with your scopes you need to zero the scope at some fixed range and then test the bullet drop compensation at other ranges. You have no way of knowing what previous adjustments had been made on your matching set-up prior to your test. And yes, you definitely need to buy Peter Laidlers book on the scopes.

Ridolpho

[Brian Dick]

Lee Enfield is correct. I've had great results over the years with the Sierra 180 grain Pro-Hunter.

[jmoore]

There will be zero differences in different lots of the same type ammo, different humidities, elevations and shooting positions. Changes in powder at the same velocities (in the case of handloads) can do the same. Some changes are due to the stocking up method, others are just part of any lightweight barreled rifles nature. Others will affect even modern HB freefloated things. One reason it's good to keep a logbook with a rifle you intend on using regularly.