SMLE not chambering rounds

[happyal]

Thank you for all your helpful suggestions, I will do as you all suggest and create a dummy round for some testing, and using the pen is a great idea.

[huntervixen]

That's a tidy looking SMLE, very pretty, what's the bore like?

[Maggot]

Had I been able to log on yesterday I would have mirrored a lot of comments here regarding the 2 totally different bullet (head ) profiles. Sooting/pen works, but if you dont have a comparator make sure you take accurate measurments of the resulting round when it works.

At least you should not have to worry about the thing fitting the mag, although I wonder whether the rounds will be long enough to be held by the front mag retainer thingies, you have to adjust them slightly on a lot of LEs to get reliable feeding.

Out of interest, if these sport bullets were designed for .303 British, did they not have any recommended COALs?

[WelshShooter]

Reloading data here, at the bottom of Page 34 (the PDF starts at Page 30): http://www.hn-sport.de/fileadmin/user_u ... sdaten.pdf

The lowest COAL is shown as 73.8mm (which is 2.906"). Makes sense that this is lower than conventional seating depths of ~3.075."

The load data only shows reduced loads. I don't know much about these bullets - can they be loaded using standard loads? Are copper plated bullets that dissimilar to copper jacketed bullets?

[zanes]

I don't know much about these bullets - can they be loaded using standard loads? Are copper plated bullets that dissimilar to copper jacketed bullets?

They have a much thinner copper layer than conventionally jacketed bullets. No idea how fast you can run them, I intend to try some for middle of the road loads in my .44 Mag at some point and may stock up on some .303 bullets when I bring the .44s in from europe.

[WelshShooter]

They have a much thinner copper layer than conventionally jacketed bullets. No idea how fast you can run them, I intend to try some for middle of the road loads in my .44 Mag at some point and may stock up on some .303 bullets when I bring the .44s in from europe.

Yeah that would be great to know! I had seen the .303 bullets advertised a while back and noticed they were pretty good on price.

[Mike95]

I have three pals that shoot the H and N in the 303.It should be obvious, looking at the bullet shape, that the H and N will need to be seated deeper. Always make up a dummy round to get a proper coal before loading live rounds.Always check the cases will chamber first, especially with new cases, dies, rifles.
Plenty of good loads with the H and N and the 303. 10.6 gns of GM 3 works well....similar Unique. The N110 load may also work well, but the groove/bores on the 303 are very variable and the bore should be slugged first. The H and N 303 is pretty consistent at .312 and has around 6 thou of copper plating. Good to 2000 fps from my use of the various types of H and N bullet. Have shot well to 200 yards at Bisley. If they do not shoot well in your particular 303, try some of the many cast bullets available. The H and N has a plastic coating which seems to work well and prevents copper fouling.

Mike95

[alexham]

Hello, I hope someone can help me.

I recently purchased a 1918 SMLE that is in great condition



I have bought some H&N Sport 303 heads, and I have made some test rounds. The below picture, the one of the left is the H&N Sport round, the one on the right is a PPU head.



My problem is that the H&N Sport headed rounds will not chamber, they will go into the chamber but not all the way. By about half an inch. The ones made with PPU head go in no problem. I have used the same case preparation with both loads, and an empty case will go into the chamber fine.

Does anyone have any ideas? Is there anything I can do to fix this?

happyal,

The OAL will vary for each bullet shape and you can measure it as follows. Remove the bolt and let a bullet (you call it head) drop into the breech end of the barrel. Hold the bullet against the rifling with a long pencil or similar wood dowel. Insert a cleaning rod from the muzzle until it touches (gently) the bullet. Make a mark on the cleaning rod at the muzzle. Get the bullet out and insert the bolt. Close the bolt, but leave the striker cocked. Insert the cleaning rod from the muzzle until it touches the bolt face. Mark the rod at the muzzle. The distance between the 2 marks will be the maximum OAL for that particular bullet. Make a dummy cartridge to that OAL and use it to set the bullet seating die, but to be on the safe side, turn the seating screw, say, a quarter turn from the position when it touches the dummy so that the bullet (head) is not resting on the rifling when the round is chambered.

If this is not clear come back and I will try to explain in more detail.

Best,

Alex

[Mike95]

Just a few more words on the H & N bullets. I gave some of my Hornet bullets to a metallurgist who established that the centre is almost pure lead. This makes sense because they are designed for use on ranges that do not permit jacketed rounds for fear of ricochet...also used on indoor ranges where exposed lead is not permitted because of the health hazard...there are a few USA producers of similar bullets. I also have a pal who tested the 303 bullet against some dense sand backstop and found that the bullet deformed considerably, which is what it is designed to do. The Hornet bullets are fine to 2200fps and the 30 cal also seem fine to 2200fps. The bullets have a plastic anti fouling coating which also seems to work well..after considerable use in a 308, no trace of copper fouling was found.

I have used the 30 cal RN in three different 30 cal rifles with good results...the Hornet/224 RN also gave good results. In fact, the 55gn .224 shot well in my 1/16 twist Hornet, whereas 55gn cast lead would not stabilise..I have no idea why. Chrono testing has also shown differences when compared to cast lead. The first shot always seems to shoot at a lower MV and will often shoot wide! Must be something to do with the plastic coating. A midway bullet between jacketed and cast lead. If the EU introduce a lead ban for indoor ranges (on their radar I understand), the copper coated jobby might be a godsend.

Mike95

[zanes]

Just a few more words on the H & N bullets. I gave some of my Hornet bullets to a metallurgist who established that the centre is almost pure lead. This makes sense because they are designed for use on ranges that do not permit jacketed rounds for fear of ricochet...also used on indoor ranges where exposed lead is not permitted because of the health hazard...there are a few USA producers of similar bullets. I also have a pal who tested the 303 bullet against some dense sand backstop and found that the bullet deformed considerably, which is what it is designed to do. The Hornet bullets are fine to 2200fps and the 30 cal also seem fine to 2200fps. The bullets have a plastic anti fouling coating which also seems to work well..after considerable use in a 308, no trace of copper fouling was found.

I have used the 30 cal RN in three different 30 cal rifles with good results...the Hornet/224 RN also gave good results. In fact, the 55gn .224 shot well in my 1/16 twist Hornet, whereas 55gn cast lead would not stabilise..I have no idea why. Chrono testing has also shown differences when compared to cast lead. The first shot always seems to shoot at a lower MV and will often shoot wide! Must be something to do with the plastic coating. A midway bullet between jacketed and cast lead. If the EU introduce a lead ban for indoor ranges (on their radar I understand), the copper coated jobby might be a godsend.

Mike95

Given the UK law on such matters, I'd be very, very grateful if you could show me where the manufacturers state that it is designed to do this?