So then, why all the fuss over flatbases?

[Tower75]

Guy and girls

I hear from a lot of people that you should always, or at least try, to load flatbase bullets into a .303 rifle, becuase apparently the .303 barrels cannot stablise boat-tail bullets that well.

Well, my question is; where did this info come from, and why is it only relevant to .303s?

I own two .303s, and I load boat-tail bullets in mine and they shoot fine. I can put them on-board out to 600 yards, with both an SMLE and P14

I've even seen a friend with a No4 two-grover put rounds into the V-Bull with boat-tails at 300 yards.

So, why the whole; no boat-tails in .303? I mean, surely the barrel doesn't care what you shoot through it. You never hear that you shouldn't load boat-tails in a Mauser, or Mosin Nagant etc?

Any ideas?

[ovenpaa]

I shoot boat tails in my .303's. My rule of thumb is Spitzer's under 300 yards and boat tails beyond.

[dromia]

Too me it depends on the groove/bore diameter. Tight bore and it will shoot FB and make the most of BT. However with a generous bore dimension the FB especially with the exposed lead base will bump up some what and take a better grip of the rifling.

So to be on the safe side I suppose some people will recommend FB across the board, me I say shoot it and see.

[Dave 101]

I found that my .22 Rem Jet wouldnt stabalize a boat tail bullet and they would actually hit the target side ways , Thats why I use the Hornet bullet which is straight sided , I dont know why the difference but its there .

Dave

[Steve E]

I did some experiments a couple of years ago with my .303s
I have a Winchester P14 that has a .304/.311 barrel on it. With Flat based bullets (174 MKV11 ball and Sierra 174 FB) the best accuracy I could get was 3.5 MOA groups shot from 300yds out to 900yds. Using Sierra 174 SMKs BTs the groups shrank to consistant 1.5-2 MOA. All shooting is done with a Target rear sight sling and prone unsupported i.e Target rifle style.
My No4 had a .306/311 barrel and the results were with a Flat based bullet 4MOA but with a the sierra 174 SMKs 2 MOA.
I used a variety of powders for the experiments, BLC2, H414, IMR 4895 and N140 and last year TR140. Until TR140 became available N140 proved to give the tightest groups. With TR140 now available the groups in my P14 are slightly tighter. The No4 is away having a new Lother Walther barrel being fitted plus a new bedding job. When it comes back we'll see how much better it is.

In my rifles BT bullets seem to work better than FB. You just have to put the effort in to find out what your rifle/barrel shoots best with.

Steve

[jjvc]

My turn of the century BSA sporter with Metford rifling needed flat base bullets, it wouldn't shoot boat tails for toffee. I never did any scientific testing i just found that rifle preferred those bullets.

I don't have the rifle now but i still have the best part of 1000 FB's which will eventually get used in my other .303's.

Joe

[Tower75]

Ah, I see. That's makes sense - so basically it comes down to how worn the lands and groves are.

Good experimenting there. Wish I had the time. I only get to shoot full-bore about once or twice a month, and even then it's only for about 1.5/2 hours. :cool2: