Martini Enfield .303

[john60wales]

Folks!
I'm new to this forum so just want to say hello.
I've recently bought a Martini Enfield & was having 'fun' trying to work out a load for 100m targets. Using 'normal 303 ammo' the rifle was shooting about 2-foot high. I tried both Red Dot (13gns) & 2400 (16 - 21gns) & found the best results was with bog standard 174gn PPU heads & 20gns of 2400.
The rifle did not seem to like any of the cast bullets or the 215gn flat-based heads (which were expensive).
The rifle is in pretty good cond but a fair bit of wear in the bore..
Cheers
John

[browningautorifle]

Cast bullets may not be stabilizing...maybe need to be bigger? Are they gas check bullets? Yes, jackets may work best because they obturate best. For lead bullets, maybe a smaller gas check bullet might be better?

[john60wales]

Cast bullets may not be stabilizing...maybe need to be bigger? Are they gas check bullets? Yes, jackets may work best because they obturate best. For lead bullets, maybe a smaller gas check bullet might be better?

I tried both gas checked & plain & they went from .311 to .313 in size. One was 168gn & the other a 198gn.
I may retry them again once this lockdown is over..
Cheers
John

[browningautorifle]

Are they stabilizing OK? Oblong holes? I never did have much luck using the lead bullet loads, for instance 30-30 with lead gas check has IMR powder. Not a lead bullet load just light jacket load. In .303 I tried the lead bullet loads with pistol powders and it flopped too...

Have you slugged the bore yet?

[john60wales]

Are they stabilizing OK? Oblong holes? I never did have much luck using the lead bullet loads, for instance 30-30 with lead gas check has IMR powder. Not a lead bullet load just light jacket load. In .303 I tried the lead bullet loads with pistol powders and it flopped too...

Have you slugged the bore yet?

They certainly seem to be stabalising - no oblong holes...they just shoot all over the place. I've not slugged bore but it has a bit of wear though rifling seems sharp. 2400 is magnum pistol powder & it seems the best so far...though not great.
The issue I have is I mainly shoot at 100m so I either aim very low (about 2feet) or try to find a suitable load that allows me to aim roughly where I want it to hit..
Cheers
John

[browningautorifle]

Maybe slug the bore and see then. Low is one thing, group is another. I'm surprised no one else has come along with the solution. Lots here do this very thing... My point is .303 can be as big as .318...maybe?

[john60wales]

Maybe slug the bore and see then. Low is one thing, group is another. I'm surprised no one else has come along with the solution. Lots here do this very thing... My point is .303 can be as big as .318...maybe?

Thanks...I will get around to slugging the bore at some point.
Thanks
John

[pisco]

The crown may need a nip up I don’t cut the barrel back I set up and use a centre drill to nip up the crown
As for running cast bullets do a chamber cast and get the throat size

[browningautorifle]

get the throat size

True, if the throat is huge the bullet can upset at the start and come out like a badly thrown football.

[pisco]

The bullet needs to be big enough to fill the throat so you don’t get powder flash up the side of the projectile which causes leading
If the barrel is rough roll your projectiles in baby /talcum powder it will smooth things up 20-30 shots won’t hurt