Greetings and Salutations!
So we had to take Sapper back to the VA this evening at 20:00 per the Doc’s instructions so we’d get the same ER Doc who treated him last night.
Good News/Bad News.
Good News is the actual re-packing of the wound took about ten minutes, and the drainage looks great. They’ll stich him tomorrow if it looks as good as it did tonight.
Bad News: Oh Holy Hells was the ER fucking packed tighter than a tick on a Coon Dawgs ass. Like ALL the sick veterans in there tonight… ALL of them. We didn’t get in until almost midnight. And unlike Applebees or Chilis, you have until wait until called. No leaving or you lose your place in line.
At least we had our Kindles.
Which BTW, 47 books read last year in total, and I missed one fucking day out of a perfect year dammit!!!! That being on December 30th when I was out cold running that fever for 2-3 days nonstop.
GRRRRR.
364 days that I read…
GRRRRR again.
This year I’ll get the full year in, come Hell or High Water dammit…
THEN after the Doc took care of Sapper, I-75 going home was down to ONE LANE for construction, which added a good 45 minutes to the drive home. The traffic was minimal, but between the Lookie-Lou’s checking out the construction, and general retardation that seem to be oh so prolific on ‘Muricas! Interstates these days? Yeah that was an hour and a half to get home.
Thankfully I got my beer on the way there TO the ER as last night my resupply was buggered up by the timing… I mean I could have reupped at 7-11, but the ‘juice’ ain’t worth the ‘premium squeeze’ if you will, as an 18 pack of my favorite swill is like $4 a pack MOAR at the PajeetMart.
I did however when I first got home took care of my biddness.
I hung the SMLE on the wall where it was destined to go either way, as a magnificent rifle/rebuild deserves to be Gloriously Placed On Display in the Big Country Museum of Mayhem.
I dropped the H&K banner down eight inches, and put the rifle hooks up. I might drop the banner another 3-4 inches, leaving the rear stock w/out an overlap, as I mis-measured it. Tough call as either way, the esthetics are still good IMO. I will probably replace/relocate the Sig sign, and put something more “British-y-er” in it’s place.
I have –somewhere– in storage an Australian WW1/2 Slouch Hat that’d do the trick I reckon. It’s got an Emu-Plume on it and a Australian Army badge and everything… Queensland Cavalry as I remember…
Yeah I got a LOT of hats man.
50+ years collecting.
And yeah, that’s a reproduction SS Officers Dagger, but the belt is a genuine MG-34 50 round belt of 7.92mm with steel boolits and with starter tab.
How I do love my collection.
I might have to do a full on post on that… maybe put it on my long-dormant substack, as I’ve been very remiss there and I have a LOT of new free follower sign ups as of late.
Now, after placing the Lee Enfield on the wall, and as a note, I put it up there not because of the shooting findings the other day. It is NOT a wall hanger for lack-of-function. No no no. This’s ‘cos it deserves to be displayed IMO. I mean I worked my ass off restoring it right?
Anywho… I did a thing tonight right after I set the hooks. I measured the crown, and then measured the rounds that I was shooting. I took a 5 round sample out of both types and measured them at the crown, where the bullet is seated into the shell casing. As to my findings of the muzzle-crown?
The crown width “off of the rifling” (i.e. NOT on the rifling itself, but between the grooves, or is it the lands?) came out to .318.
The rifling measurement was about .002 less… call it .316
For this particular rifle
Other rifles, YMMV
Now
The rounds I was firing?
I measured a random sample of 5 rounds each.
The 180gn JHP PPU Privi rounds measured in width at .310
The Greek 170gn FMJBT was .308!!!
No fucking wonder I was keyholing like a sumbitch.
Mind you, for those that want to question my methodology:
I have 3 sets on micrometer-calipers. One is none, two is aight, three, especially when the third is not digital, but analog (old fashion dial) then I know that my measurements are at least as accurate as a Shyttehouse Gunsmythee like myself can be.
They ALL confirmed/conformed within a +/-10% variance (one of the digital said one of the rounds (the PPU) was at .306! which threw things off a wee bit numbers wise) that these fucking things? When shot? They went rattlin’ down the barrel like a rice grain blown through a straw… which explains a LOT!
The barrel passed gauging, the headspace passed gauging.
And the groups were pretty damned tight despite… I mean it’s no where NEAR a sniper rifle, but I’ll take hitting a 5 inch wide target, with a BIG honking round like a .303 Brit at the ranges I was shooting, stumbling and tumbling like a drunken Marine anytime.
So my guess?
Undersized bullets for whatever reason
Maybe cost savings?
Who knows?
Maybe meant to be shot through a MK1 Model 4?
(Of which I’m waiting delivery on r/n)
My plan is to do two things.
One is fire-lap the barrel, just for general purposes. Thanks for y’all who suggested that… I’d never heard of that trick before, but then again, I’ve never had to deal with this sort of issue before…
Can’t hurt right?
THEN
I’m going to TRY and find some FMJ .314-.318 diameter rounds to hand load. If I can’t find them, then I’ll look at casting my own flat-bottomed girls so to speak in pure lead. THAT should take care of the tumbling either way.
So it’s now 02:40, and I have to work in the next 3-4 hours.
More Later
Big Country
Another option: slug the barrel – out of sheer paranoia – and then pick up a round nose boolit mould that throws boolits .320… then shoot reduced loads in it. Casting is a great pastime…
I love that Wall Of Death too… I think you need a K98 or an 03 Springfield up there now…😂👍
I take it you are not too far from Lake City.
Drop me a line. I have a nice No. 4 mk2. Perhaps we can go out to the range.
The 174gr Hornady 303/Arisaka is about the biggest you’re going to get.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/6287
A better way to get the bore diameter is slug the barrel with a cast 150gr 30-3o bullet. You can put some cigarette papers on the mold halves to increase the diameter of the boolits for your sloppy bore. It doesn’t matter if there is slag on the casting because you’re going to be hammering that slug (round nose down at the muzzle) in.
Hard casts will need a gas check put in during sizing (no clue what you would use as a sizing die) and the velocity would need to be brought waaaaay down. I wouldn’t mess with that. If you’re shooting 5″ at 100 yards call it a day because that’s vital target accuracy for a mil gun like that. The really good Enfields were qualified with a 4″x6″ target at three hundred yards off a shooting stick. Crazy shit, dude. Those old boys were good.
Hawk Bullets offers 2 .318 FMJ bullets on their website, 180gr and 220gr, made for 8mm J bore rifles.
ETA: These are not FMJ, but round tip hunting bullets. There is also a 150gr .316 bullet.
https://hawkbullets.com/bullet-selection.html
.316 Diameter
Round Tip
150 grains x .025 RT $48.50 c4
Both the 8 x 51 Mauser and the 8 x 51R Mauser use the .316” bullets. The soft Hawk jackets shoot quite well in this cartridge and have taken its fair share of game.
.318 Diameter
Round Tip
180 grains x .030 RT $48.50
220 grains x .030 RT $50.50
The 8MM “J” bores (produced from 1888 -1905) are .318” and Hawk bullets are offered as a standard in two weights. Excellent results can be had hunting with these rifles and the premium Hawk hunting bullets.
Appreciate the heads up!
I WISH SOME ONE WOULD COME UP WITH THE SIGN THAT SAID ‘STAY CALM AND FIX BAYONETS’. THAT’S MORE APPROPRIATE TO WHATS HAPPENING IN THE COUNTRY.
Mein Gott!
May Stay Calm and Fix Bayonets feature Brunhilde’s sister, Elda
I like “Stay Calm and Release the Hounds” personally. Picturing a Roman War Mastiff ripping the parts off a barbarian.
Animal lover I am
If you decide to try cast bullets, check these guys out, especially their coated bullets–
https://missouribullet.com/index.php
Much easier/cheaper than setting up to do it yourself. That said, while I have been aware of them for sometime, I have not used their bullets so can’t comment there. I have been casting my own since 1977. My applications are old black powder rounds like 45-70 and handgun loads, so my cast bullets aren’t that hard. I have no idea what their actual Brinell Hardness Number is. I can just barely mark them with my thumb nail. My raw material has always been used tire weights, with about 5% (by weight) used linotype metal (tough to find these days) added to the melt. The added lineotype does harden the bullets up a bit, but equally important is it improves the flow and “castability” of the alloy.
Got started when I still lived in California. With a little asking around, you could pick up a 5-gallon bucket of tire weights for the asking. Then came the day when Kalifornia banned lead tire weights. When wife and I finally escaped to Texas, I was still pissed. Brought about 250 lbs. of weights and linotype with me. Would be glad to do my best to answer any questions you might have about casting your own.
Out of curiosity, wouldn’t you be able to use zinc when you run out of linotype?
I shitcan all my zinc wheelweights when I cast bullets, some guys use them for specific loads but they’re mostly a PIA, you have to really over heat the zinc to get good bullets. And they cast lighter for weight bullets than lead does, i.e. a 200 gr. mold will make a 160 gr. zinc bullet.
Years back I took my 93 Scout Mauser to the hunt lease in Georgia, but forgot my reloads
which I hunt with exclusively. Anywhoo, had to go to the local shop to pick up some factory
loads that were Saami spec but didn’t bag a thing that trip.
Long story short they didn’t shoot worth a hoot compared to my 2200 fps reloads, so
my grain of salt advice is to fire form your cases and load-down a few hundert fps…
Well, you don’t need to worry about the bore (probably). I would prioritize finding proper size, non lead bullets for best performance. A 2500-2600 fps round is a lot more effective than a 2000-2200. It’s ENTIRELY possible that your rifle could shoot sub 2 moa.
Full house power loads don’t measure up to accuracy loads.
Even the reloading manuals state that…
TM is right, shooting low power cast lead doesn’t do much, and 2600 fps is not a full power load.
.303 hot loads are on par with .308 Win. Many of the No. 4’s were converted to .308/7.62 NATO post war.
And as someone else mentioned, you need to put gas checks on above 1400 fps or you’re smearing lead down the bore.
Until you slug your bore with a soft lead slug and get an accurate measurement, don’t even think of sending .318 bullets down the barrel unless you want a new anchor. You will destroy that new bolt you just bought.
I reload 139gr Hornady Interlocks @ 2200 fps, and had excellent accuracy with flat base.
I’d attempted to load with heavier bullets that were used in the day to no avail, even tried
the original cupro-nickel, but never tried lead…
BCE does not cast bullets or reload, the key thing to remember is finding a proper diameter bullet so he can zero his rifle. Shooting 125 or 215 gr bullets doesn’t make much sense when he’s just trying to get his rifle zeroed. Why waste money on lead bullets and then find out you don’t have a sizing die for gas checks? Right now, first and foremost is getting an accurate lead bore slug so he knows what the actual bore diameter is, then locate loaded ammo within that bore spec. Everything else is moot until then.
Later on he can play around with other bullet weights for plinking or hunting. That’s all part of the sport, expanding your rifles capabilities.
90% of the advice here makes no sense since I doubt one single person here has actually shot .316-320″ bullets in their SMLE. They’re just pulling random info out of their ass.
To anyone; If you have actually reloaded and shot oversize bullets and got them to work, I would love to see your homework, not some harebrained info you pulled off the internetz.
Hillbilly gunsmithing is a sure way to destroy his new acquisition.
Firstly, many strange and wonderful alloys may be had from rotometals.com .
Morely, rimmed rifle cases headspace on the rim, so there is generally enough chamber “headroom” to allow for harsh conditions. On firing, the case will blow out to fit the chamber. Cases should only be sized enough to allow the bolt to close. Otherwise, the brass will stretch and thin near the base, which should be checked for in any event, using a bit of coathanger wire with a rounded end and slight bend as a probulator.
Very strange with the Greek .303 ammo. Best ammo I ever shot thru mine was the Greek HXP 89 Mk VII FMJ. And yours mic out at .308? Shoot some of the bigger diameter bullets and see what happens, but stay away from anything above .313, you’ll only create too much pressure. .318 is out of the question, you’re getting into 8mm size and that is not suited for a .303. Your bore looks like a sewer pipe from corrosive ammo and 3rd world neglect, trying to fire lap and get match grade results seems moot, but it’s your dollar.
Std reloading bullets should be .312-.313, used to be easy to find from any US bullet mfg, these days, who knows what’s in stock. And of course as you found, European ammo is still available. Canadian ammo (CIL, Dominion, etc) used to be the best on this continent, they loaded it better and hotter than even the Brits. Too many moose hunters up north depended on it.
Do an interweb search on 0.318 inch bullets and you will get many results. One forum mentioned paper-patching, and .32 Winchester Special and 8mm bullets, both around 0.318 inches in diameter.
I have also read that it is acceptable to fire bullets ~0.004 – 0.006 inches over bore diameter and they will swage down just fine. The FALFILES forum discussed this about firing surplus Eastern Bloc 7.62mm projectiles (0.312 inch diameter) in FALs with 0.308 inch groove diameter. I am certain your SMLE action is stronger than an FAL action and I personally would have no hesitation firing a 0.320 inch projectile through your SMLE (stupid loads don’t count). Remember, the UK regularly fires Proof loads at 133% – 166% through rifles.
Of course I am just some Interweb rando so use at your own risk.
Brit battle rifle born again hardcore.
Nice SS Dagger.
Some Elon ballwash horseshit on teevee, headphones are here.
I’ve got c0verage now for McHealthcarez.
You can’t get lead past 2000, 2200 fps without smearing lead all over the barrel. You need the little cap on the bottom of the lead. Put there with a sizer, which will fix you calibre size issue as well.
https://www.theballisticassistant.com/303-british-7-7x56r/
“The 303 diameter is based on the bore diameter prior to the rifling cut. Thus the nominal bore diameter is .303in, while the rifling is cut to a diameter of .311 to .314 inches. While .308 or .309 diameter bullet can be shot through a 303 Brit rifle, best accuracy will be achieved using .311 to .312 diameter bullets. With that said it is usually a good idea to slug the bore, as rifling depth varied quite a bit during wartime production, and getting a true measurement of bore diameter is helpful in selecting bullet diameter”
“Firelapping” is a good way to destroy your barrel with a single shot.
Powder coating a lead bullet is the way to go. There’s probably a few videos that have escaped the censorship on the YouTube of guys getting jacked performance with PC. Also it can add a few thousandths. Missouri bullets also sells the HiTeck coating which I’m experimenting with some of their precoated 38s. Here in the snowbelt, acetone rinse your cast first and using a wet tumble of acetone and PC before drying and baking in a toaster oven has worked better than dry tumbling.
Been reloading a long time, stay off the lands .020, it ain’t worth blowing up in your face.
Rifle looks beautiful on the wall! Well done!
I cast my own projectiles (mostly pistol). Lead is hard to come by so what I do is just gather up spent rounds out of the berms at my range. I have a sifter basket and just scoop some dirt in there and shake until I just have spent rounds. Usually get about a pound or two each visit. Then when I have about 10 lbs I cast into a muffin tin and save the muffins for the actual casting operation. The copper jackets get scrapped for a few bucks. I have about 200 lbs of lead collected since the “Great COVID Ammo Shortage Fiasco”. The good thing about spent rounds is that they are ~generally~ the right alloy (mix of lead, antimony for hardness, and tin for fluidity). They work very well for all pistols I shoot as well as .30 carbine. I powder coat them too. I keep it low-budget.
Nod to Tom Baker (my favorite “Doctor”) much appreciated!
You always remember your first doctor.
nice relic there BCE…
oh. just as things are getting back to “normal”…
https://slaynews.com/news/bill-gates-pushes-launch-new-global-pandemic-catastrophic-contagion/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter
start securing everything you are going to need to make it thru this next phase of nwo depop
Agree with TFAt, rifle looks outstanding,,,, you did a fine job on her. Congratulations
Dirk
Just for spits and giggles you could paper patch a handful of the bullets you already have and reseat them.
Paper patch. Check out Cast Boolit.com for information on all things cast.Even reloading data. Only way I could get my mk1 to shoot right. 200 gr. Paper patch @ 2400 fps. Good stuff
That’s right up there with telling him to tear apart a Quadra-Jet carb when he’s never taken a lawn mower carb apart.
He doesn’t cast bullets or reload, and you want him to jump in at an advanced level?
I have friends who started the Sharps craze 40+ yrs ago in MT, they were relearning the old art of paper patched Sharps bullets for the long range shoots in Virginia City MT, it not something a novice takes on. I have a book here on paper patched bullets I’d send him, then what? You gonna send him a melting pot or molds, teach him how not to explode lead with water?
I originally recommended to Fire Lap the barrel (previous posting) because I couldn’t figure a way to measure a slug from a five land and groove barrel. So I Googled SMLE LANDS AND GROOVES and came across this web site:
https://www.rifleman.org.uk/The_Rifle_Short_Magazine_Lee-Enfield.html
Didn’t show me how to measure the lands and grooves but If you like history this one appears to be quite detailed.
I would second the previous poster’s recommendation of Hawk Bullets. They works great in my 9.3 X 74 double rifle
That rifle really needs a bayonet to go with it. Das Gewehr ist ein Hieb-und Stichwaffe. (The rifle is a weapon for striking and stabbing).
Got one…. LOOOOOONG Pig/Horse Sticker McStabby-Stab
I’ve got some pre-WWI cordite-loaded .303 cartridges. I’ll dig out a couple and mike the projectiles for you. Send you some strippers if I can find the can.
You simply must tell us where you got the “MEIN GOTT” poster and where we might get our own.
Ok, a little google-fu found it.
https://warshows.com/product/mein-gott-sign/
Okay. Pulled cartridges from UMC(US), PMP(SA), annnd a round from R 1945 L(Royal Laboratory) – British. All the projectiles (174gr) measured 0.310. One other thing is that often the muzzle – especially in older military rifles – will often be “shot out” and measure overbore, making for very poor accuracy . This was often repaired during an arsenal overhaul by milling out the rifling at the muzzle back an inch or so.