Reloading Advice 303

[The Monk]

Hello all.

As i'm new to reloading i'm trying to gather as much information as possible before deciding on a load. I have privi partizan once fired brass and cci #200 primers. The powder is Hodgdon Varget.

I have 303 FMJ boat tail 170gr PPU Bullit heads and would welcome any advice on powder load for this setup. The only information on the Hodgdon website that comes close is the info on the 174gr SIE HPBT bullit that states a start load of 38gr and Max of 42gr.

Any advice welcome and thanks in advance.

Cheers

Information

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[Parashooter]

1. First thing to do is learn how to spell "bullet". Second is to know that "bullet" is sufficient and adding "head" to it is a mistake. Third, put only one "i" in Prvi. (Hey, you said "any advice welcome"!)

2. In general, you can safely substitute data intended for a somewhat heavier bullet. A 2% difference in weight is pretty inconsequential. Normal lot-to-lot powder variation is often greater than that.

[The Monk]

1. First thing to do is learn how to spell "bullet". Second is to know that "bullet" is sufficient and adding "head" to it is a mistake. Third, put only one "i" in Prvi. (Hey, you said "any advice welcome"!)

2. In general, you can safely substitute data intended for a somewhat heavier bullet. A 2% difference in weight is pretty inconsequential. Normal lot-to-lot powder variation is often greater than that.

Cheers Parashooter.
Its been a long day, but thanks for the spell check

I'll give these loads a go. Starting with 38gr of course.

Good of you to reply.

Thanks.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Well, of course, anyone who can spell connectcitut/conneticutc/conncutinet must be good

[rayg]

That leaves me out Ray

[AKA Hugh Uno]

once you get your spelling sorted out, buy some match or decent quality hunting bullets. I would not waste my time or money reloading ANY fmj bullet. Remember the WHY of why FMJ bullets EXIST and then ask yourself why you want to load them up.

1. FMJ bullets are folded over (and OPEN) at the BASE. The base is where the bullet is steered. Why would you load a bullet in which the most important part of the bullet is never going to be very consistent/uniform?

2. Only by leaving the nose empty can you ensure proper weight distribution of the bullet and avoid eccentricities. A stable bullet is like a flying (toy) top turning and BALANCING on the air that flows past it. Make an unstable top, and it WOBBLES. (FMJs are poor tops)

Frankly for .303 reloading, I START with Speer 125 grain soft-points and Varget or 4895. If these don't work, I typically would SELL the rifle.

Finally, in any rifle in good condition starting at the "start" is not necessary and generally wasteful of your time/components. Bullets loaded below 80% loading density typically shoot POORLY. If you start somewhere between the MIDDLE of the data and MAX (i.e. PAST midway in the data for the bullet weight), you are (far) more likely to get a decent load. Best accuracy is likely gonna be pretty close to this point anyway (i.e. about 86% load density) and you will be nowhere near max anyway.

Being "safe" does not require loading minimum/starting loads unless you are concerned about the integrity of the weapon.

[The Monk]

once you get your spelling sorted out, buy some match or decent quality hunting bullets. I would not waste my time or money reloading ANY fmj bullet. Remember the WHY of why FMJ bullets EXIST and then ask yourself why you want to load them up.

1. FMJ bullets are folded over (and OPEN) at the BASE. The base is where the bullet is steered. Why would you load a bullet in which the most important part of the bullet is never going to be very consistent/uniform?

2. Only by leaving the nose empty can you ensure proper weight distribution of the bullet and avoid eccentricities. A stable bullet is like a flying (toy) top turning and BALANCING on the air that flows past it. Make an unstable top, and it WOBBLES. (FMJs are poor tops)

Frankly for .303 reloading, I START with Speer 125 grain soft-points and Varget or 4895. If these don't work, I typically would SELL the rifle.

Finally, in any rifle in good condition starting at the "start" is not necessary and generally wasteful of your time/components. Bullets loaded below 80% loading density typically shoot POORLY. If you start somewhere between the MIDDLE of the data and MAX (i.e. PAST midway in the data for the bullet weight), you are (far) more likely to get a decent load. Best accuracy is likely gonna be pretty close to this point anyway (i.e. about 86% load density) and you will be nowhere near max anyway.

Being "safe" does not require loading minimum/starting loads unless you are concerned about the integrity of the weapon.

Great advice for a new starter to reloading and much welcome. I got hold of a pack of a 100 of the above to get me into the routine of reloading and to see how different loads behave.

I will definitely give your advice ago and many thanks for taking the time to post it up. Good of you.

Thanks to all.

Cheers

[Bindi2]

once you get your spelling sorted out, buy some match or decent quality hunting bullets. I would not waste my time or money reloading ANY fmj bullet. Remember the WHY of why FMJ bullets EXIST and then ask yourself why you want to load them up.

1. FMJ bullets are folded over (and OPEN) at the BASE. The base is where the bullet is steered. Why would you load a bullet in which the most important part of the bullet is never going to be very consistent/uniform?

2. Only by leaving the nose empty can you ensure proper weight distribution of the bullet and avoid eccentricities. A stable bullet is like a flying (toy) top turning and BALANCING on the air that flows past it. Make an unstable top, and it WOBBLES. (FMJs are poor tops)

Frankly for .303 reloading, I START with Speer 125 grain soft-points and Varget or 4895. If these don't work, I typically would SELL the rifle.

Finally, in any rifle in good condition starting at the "start" is not necessary and generally wasteful of your time/components. Bullets loaded below 80% loading density typically shoot POORLY. If you start somewhere between the MIDDLE of the data and MAX (i.e. PAST midway in the data for the bullet weight), you are (far) more likely to get a decent load. Best accuracy is likely gonna be pretty close to this point anyway (i.e. about 86% load density) and you will be nowhere near max anyway.

Being "safe" does not require loading minimum/starting loads unless you are concerned about the integrity of the weapon.

In the case of the 303 open base bullet is the means to keep the rifle in action as the base expands to fit the bore and will stay accurate until the rifling is down to about six inches left.
125gn projectiles seldon stabilize unless the barrel is new because they are to short. The 303 never was a varmit rifle even 150gn are suspect over 250yds and in many cases much closer. The rifle design was built around 215gn projectiles then updated to 174gn which is about the limit going lighter.
The Brits fixed the top problem by putting a light tip inside the jacket making the projectile base heavy and long for its weight.