[Walking Point]

After a most unpleasant day at the range, I've decided to paper patch some bullets for my .303 #4 Enfield.

At 100 yards my .314" bullets were tumbling all over the place. I was very glad to be alone since my very minor reputation would be tarnished if anyone had seen me shooting 8 foot "groups".

Slugging the barrel BEFORE loading ammo might have been an idea since the barrel slugs at .317/.305 and my bullet is .314/.302. Live and learn...

All I have that seems suitable right now is what is commonly referred to as "rolling papers" from my wilder days, but it appears these may work just fine. My first attempt has bullets measuring .3175/.306.

Due to the bullet style, I'm stuck with patching them all the way to the ogive, so the "coolness" factor is lessened compared to just patching the driving bands.

It may just be me, but I think paper patched bullets are kind of "cool" and I've always wanted to have a reason to use them.

 

[feedramp]

.317? Wow! Good thing you slugged it. I never would have thought any .303 would get that big.

Did you cast your own bullets? I ask only because I haven't found anything bigger than .312.

 

[Walking Point]

I didn't initially slug it since I'm sizing them to .314 and figured this would eb plenty of bullet for even an oversized barrel. Little did I know...

I'm casting them using a Lyman 314299 mould. The Lee mould @ .312" seemed too small and it turned out it would have been terrible had I bought it instead. Quite a price difference between the two moulds, so I'm hoping to salvage this mould using it for my .308s. If not, I guess it will be time to give e-bay a try.

I'm hoping these 200 grain bullets will stand being sized to .309 for my Ishapores. They like .309 bullets from 150 to 180 grains, but a longer bullet would provided better feeding.

I've got a Navy arms #7 carbine (cut down Ishapore) that will shoot 1.5" at 100 yards, but the short 150 grain bullets won't feed unless I make sure the rounds are loaded to the front of the magazine. Even 180 grain bullet don't feed that well.

My spanish mauser likes and will feed anything that's at least 170 grains, but I'll try the 200 grain bullet anyway.

 

[feedramp]

I was afraid of that...oh well. I did a little casting for my BP revolvers some years ago, but I decided that casting my own balls and bullets was too much trouble, so I got out of it.

I'm once again a little taken aback by the bore size for the Ishapore, but I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. The old Lee-Enfield design saw service for a long, long time, and evolved through many mods done to fit the job.

The manuals say acceptable bore size for the Lee-Enfield is about .310 to .312, so .309 isn't that much smaller.

Thanks for the insight, WP.

 

[Bompa]

W P ...Go to your local art supply store and
check out some tracing paper.
There is a book by Paul Matthews;; The Paper Jacket printed by Wolfe publishing co..
It is very informative..

 

[Walking Point]

feedramp

The #4 .303 Enfield is not an Ishapore. it's a 1943 Long Branch and a dfferent model altogether. I may have misunderstood you though.

So far I've had no trouble with .309 cast bullets in my Ishapores. This is considered a standard size for cast bullets, much like .308 is standard for jacketed.

I wish my eyes were more tolerant of the Ishy sights. I can managed 1.5" out of my #7 carbine (Navy Arms conversion), but can't focus much further than that.

The micrometer peep sight on the #4 was going to be my answer for longer range shooting. I loaded 50 rounds of patched ammo last night and will just have to see what happens.

 

[Walking Point]

My bullets that were patched past the ogive actually produced 2.5" 10 shot groups today at 100 yards. None of the experiments shot over 5" groups, so compared to bullets that tumble, this is major success.

I cast a couple of hundred more bullets tonight and will patch them next week for further experimentation.

Yes, paper patching is only marginally more exciting than watching paint dry or grass grow.