303 british Qs

[long rider]

I was just wondering does anyone know if you can load and
shoot black powder loads out of a 303 brit bolt action 2ww
long gun, a bud of mine said do you want this old rifle,
and i thouht i may be able to shoot bp with it??????
thanks

 

[Darren007]

Why would you want shoot BP in it? And to answer your question....yes and no.

 

[azredhawk44]

The .303 British cartridge was most predominantly loaded during WWI and later with a nitrocellulose powder more or less equivalent to IMR 3031 according to this resource:

http://enfieldrifles.profusehost.net/gh2.htm

It was originally developed with black powder and a 215 grain bullet, but cordite propellant came out soon after and replaced the black powder almost immediately for the load.

The heavy 215gr bullet was less than ideal on human targets, so it was lightened to get the speed up, to a 174gr bullet. Add to that the efficiency of nitrocellulose powder and you got the 174gr @ 2400+fps, the standard loading of the .303 British cartridge.

 

[Swampghost]

The .303 was originally loaded with bp and later cordite prior to going to more modern powders.

I have no idea WHY you would want to shoot bp unless it would fit into a local bp hunt reg. or you just like scrubbing barrels.

 

[T. O'Heir]

The No. 4 Rifle never used BP at any time.

 

[kraigwy]

To answer your orginal question, YES IT CAN BE LOADED WITH BLACK POWDER.

Why you want to I dont know, but thats not the question. Remember though, black powder needs to completely fill the case. Use a med grain black powder for mid size rifles, fill the case until its half way up the neck and juse the bullet seating to compress the powder. Shoot it, adjusting the powder up and down a few grains until you can get the best accuracy you can get.

It would be best if you could get a fiber wad or a grease wad between the bullet and powder.

Remember to clean the crap out of the brass and rifle after your shooting session.

Just remember, regardless of gun, in black powder shooting, case has to be full and compressed a bit. To little powder and you leave space in the case where the BP can build up pressure before moving the bullet, this could cause dangerous pressures. To much powder that has have too much compression swells the case causing feeding problems.

Black powder needs a moist chamber for any type of accuracy (thats why target shooters use a blow tube to blow moist air into the chamber between shots). The grease wad between the bullet and powder helps this also. Swab the barrel with a wet patch ever couple shots to help with accuracy.

Go for it, Have fun and be safe.

 

[long rider]

KRAIGWY, hey thanks for all your info.