Target Sports

.303 BRITISH: COMPENSATION CLAIMS

Created on 14th May 2009

NIGEL GREENAWAY explains the shooting characteristics of the Lee Enfield action, looking at compensation when using .303 ammunition

I'VE ALWAYS had a soft spot for the .303, having been introduced to it at the age of 14 whilst shooting for my school's Cadet Rifle Team. The subsequent 32 years of my shooting career witnessed the resurgence of the .303's popularity with the introduction of Classic and Veteran rifle competitions in the mid 1980's. It was and still is a great introduction to the sport of full bore rifle shooting as an investment of around £250 in a No.4 will make you as competitive as the next man - particularly in the rapid and snap competitions. Over the same 32 years I have seen the availability of military surplus .303 ammunition fluctuate to the point that the once common Greek HXP is now very difficult to obtain. Thankfully various manufacturers have entered the market with commercially produced ammunition that comes close to replicating the military .303, 174gn ball at velocities near to the original 2,440fps. In addition, the popularity of the .303 in America has meant that reloading components are readily available, particularly Sierra's excellent 174gn Matchking bullets. The real choice boils down to shooting the commercial ammunition or try reloading or both, depending on the type of competitions you wish to enter. The purpose of this article is to show the results of testing some of the different commercial brands and some handloads that have worked well for me. In addition I will examine the peculiar ‘compensation' characteristic of the .303 when shot in the SMLE and, to a slightly lesser extent, in the No.4. I will also examine a modern trend in reloading - Optimum Charge Weight, the basis of which is finding the optimum point in barrel vibration to compensate for small differences in powder load. It is a theory that recognises the dramatic effect that barrel harmonics can have on accuracy and it also directly links to the 100-year-old theory of compensation.

So what is compensation and why is it linked to the SMLE? I'm tempted to quote at length from the Textbook for Small Arms 1929 but the language used is slightly laboured! Basically it is all to do with the rear locking lugs of the SMLE bolt and a relatively thin receiver which causes slight flex on discharge and a more pronounced barrel flip in a vertical plane from the lightweight barrel. A more modern examination of this phenomena used spark photographs to show the SMLE's muzzle position versus muzzle velocity at the point that the bullet exits the muzzle. It was clear that the lower velocity bullets left when the muzzle axis was at or near its uppermost point while the higher velocity bullets exit the barrel at a lower point in the muzzle flip. If you think about it, this is the equivalent of aiming higher with a low velocity bullet and aiming lower with a higher velocity bullet - exactly what you would want to do if you knew what the muzzle velocity was going to be before you shot. Of course you cannot predict the velocity of each round before you shoot it, especially with military surplus ammo. The great thing is that this variation in velocity between rounds is handled automatically for you by the good old SMLE. At longer ranges this compensation effect brings the different trajectories together and produces smaller groups. Hence an SMLE shooting variable velocity ammo will shoot more accurately at long range (800-1,000yd) compared to short range (200-500yd). Proper tests showed the best SMLEs could produce 30 to 50-shot groups of about 20" at 1000yd. At 500yd, the same rifle-ammo combination would produce groups about the same size, i.e. twice as big in Minute of Angle terms. Some find this a difficult concept to accept but it was well understood and documented in the Textbook for Small Arms 1929. Page 56 shows a diagram that helps illustrate this. Now you know why target shooters between the wars would use a P14 at ranges up to 600yd but would switch to a SMLE for 900-1,000yd. The P14's front locking Mauser action with a thicker barrel doesn't exhibit any compensation and its accuracy is directly proportional to the muzzle velocity spread of the ammunition. Even when the No.4, with its slightly stiffer action and thicker barrel, became popular the greater compensation characteristics of the SMLE were still preferred at the longer ranges.

These compensation characteristics caused by the SMLE bolt/receiver/barrel also explain why there can be massive differences in bullet point of impact when different bullet weights are used or when a bayonet is fitted or when oil or water is present in the chamber. The latter will cause greater receiver/bolt flex and will alter barrel harmonics because of the more violent recoil impulse of cartridge against the bolt face due to the case not gripping the chamber walls.

I think that is enough theory for now - I'll explain Optimum Charge Weight in the reloading section next month. Having explained the shooting characteristics of the Lee Enfield action, what can you expect from the different brands of commercial ammunition? I had intended to test the different commercial .303 brands in three different rifles - a Canadian Long Branch No.4(T), a P14(T) plus a 1916 dated SMLE No.1 MkIII. Unfortunately some early morning foggy conditions at the excellent facilities at Minsterly Ranges, south west of Shrewsbury, made it rather difficult to see the target with iron sights so all the testing was conducted with the first two rifles.

The ammunition tested comprised:

1. Greek HXP (1985) 174 FMJgn bullet, has a reputation for shooting fairly well. It can throw a few shots outside a group but the brass is great for reloading. With neck resizing and full length resizing after every two or three reloads it will cope with 10 or more full power reloads. It's perfectly adequate for rapid fire stages and snaps and I regard it as the control sample for these tests. It's difficult to find now but Henry Krank is selling new HXP .303 brass at £9.99/100 which is a bargain (www.henrykrank.com). Results showed groups that were bigger than I have managed in the past with this 1985 batch, about 4" high in the No4(T) but elevation was to point of aim with the P14(T). It's still worth buying at the right price just to get the cases.

2. Prvi Partizan 174gn FMJ Boat Tail made in Serbia and available through Henry Krank for £46/100. This is gaining a fine reputation and the brass is perhaps even better than HXP. It shot a couple of inches high in my No.4(T) but about 8" low in the P14(T).

3. Kynamco's .303 Match. 174gn boat tail Sierra Matchking bullets loaded in to Greek HXP Brass. These are somewhat downloaded in order to not cause any problems with Lee Enfield rifles that might be 100 years old. Prices are around the £46/100 but I understand that the company will be reloading a new batch in the spring once it has sourced more cases. Kynamco also produces .303 loaded with standard 174gn ball. I found the staff to be very helpful and knowledgeable and the company is regarded as world class in the big game rifle ammunition world (www.new-kynoch.apt-sites.com). This was very consistent in both rifles, almost as good as my own handloads. It shot an inch or so higher than my normal elevation and four out of five shots fell within an inch of each other. On the basis that you end up with good reloadable HXP brass, this ammo takes some beating.

I didn't have any Sellier & Bellot ammunition to hand (it sells for £62/100 at the NRA) but I have heard stories of big variations in quality between batches. However, what really put me off was seeing a friend have total case head separation on virtually every round on the first reload. This happened just above the critical web area about 1/3" or 8mm above the rim. This is where most of the stretching occurs on .303 because of ‘generous' military chambers. I have since heard from others that the brass is very weak in this critical area and even if neck resized is probably only good for two or three reloads. The bullets are FMJ 180gn which I have used for reloading with good results.

You can see the results in the pictures, shot on a 1" grid, but the five-shot group sizes are summarised above.

.303 BRITISH: COMPENSATION CLAIMS

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.303 BRITISH: COMPENSATION CLAIMS

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