So I'm not sure if I should post this here or in ammo, but I recently picked up a No. 4 Mk. 2 Enfield made in Feb. 1954. I managed to find some decently priced ammo at the gun sure I bought it at but haven't found anything in stock online for under $25 a box. So where can I find some .303 british for a decent price? Also anything else I should know about the gun?

SG Ammo has 180 gr Privi for about $14 a box. Its boxer primed so you can save it to reload. I haven't seen any reasonably priced surplus 303 around for over 10 years. Best option is to start rolling your own IMO.

I'm on the phone right now do not shoot any Pakistani crap for that gun

 

Also try not to shoot any new old stock World War Two surplus stuff as it's loaded with cordite it will burn your barrel out

 

What is the bolt head number on the rifle

 

Where do I find the bolt head number? I have about 100 rounds of surplus stuff. I shot 40 the other day and gave it a very good cleaning afterwards.

What is the headstamp on your surplus ammo?

Im not sure. I know most of it said 1943 and is mark 7. I'll check when I get home.

On the bolt head......!...LOL!

 

Sorry I had a brain fart. I don't remember of the top of my head but I think it was a 2. I'll check that when I get home as well. And I believe most of the surp ammo was Winchester. so I should be alright?

I'm gonna have to source some 303 for my newly acquired enfield as well. Keep me in mind when you are looking

I'm gonna have to source some 303 for my newly acquired enfield as well. Keep me in mind when you are looking

 

Well its pretty much lookin like the best bet is to roll your own. I really gotta get my press set up and get the dies I need. now the problem is finding brass and bullets for a decent price...

Prvi Partisan makes very nice .303 factory ammo, and it can be found for a decent price.

 

If you're going to load your own, try Graf & Son for brass and bullets.

well i got home and checked the bolt head number and its a 1 not 2. and the ammo headstamp is half "wcc 81 303" and the other half is "dac 1943 vii"

so basically i can shoot the wcc stuff but pull the dac stuff and repack it with 16 grains of 2400 powder? what exactly does the both head number indicate?

weren't these designed for and shot extensively with cordite ammo while in service?

Sorry for sounding a bit stupid. I just bought some reloading gear and haven't even set it up yet so I really don't know what I'm doing. And I meant the bolt head number. I know there are 1, 2, and 3. but what do they mean? Different lengths for head space?

yeah the number is the size of the bolt head to compensate for loose headspace. I shoot the old cordite without an issue, just not a ton of it and not fast. There was a guy at a gunshow yesterday selling South African for $30 per 50. Keep your eyes open and look for some, it comes up occasionally.

 

Here is my method for checking the headspace on an Enfield....

1-Since you reload resize a piece of brass, trim and debur it.

2-Take a caliper and measure the length of the piece of brass and write down this number

3-take a USED primer and with your fingers put it in the primer pocket so it is sticking out

4-take the piece of brass and insert into the chamber and close the bolt. When you close the bolt there will be a little resistance because the bolt is pushing the USED primer into the primer pocket.

5-remove the brass from the chamber carefully

6-take a caliper and measure the total length of brass including what is left of the primer sticking out. Write down this number

7-Subtract the first number you wrote down from the second number

 

here are the number ranges you should see.....

anything less than .064 is too tight and you need to swap bolt heads.(.064 is equivalent of a go gauge)

.064-.069 is good

.070 is too loose and look for another bolt head. (.070 is the equivalent of a no-go gauge.)

 

This method gives you the exact headspace rather than using gauges. If you reload you can swap bolt heads to give you the tightest possible headspace. This is good if you reload because the less "slop" in your headspace, the longer your brass lasts. Repeat this method a few times to verify you have a consistant reading before swapping stuff around.

Well I definitely wasn't shooting fast. less than a round a minute. The main reason I bought it was because the barrel was near mint. I would like to keep it that way. I always let all my guns cool down between mags anyway.

I'm really not that Enfield literate yet. I'm assuming mastodon is your place? I'll have to stop by with the rifle and have you teach me a few things.

i have a mint condition mk4 no1, that i ahve shot both surplus and the new prvi out of it.

 

the prvi is good stuff, AIM still has the fmj stuff in stock, i give it a thumbs up anything prvi has shot good for me.

 

 

As for the surplus, my advice is muzzle magic No.77, this stuff has no let me down yet for corrosive stuff, i have used it on all of my comblock guns.

 

 

Although if you can find a good worn down barrel you can convert it to shoot 7.62x54r with some machine work.

I used to own an Enfield and have approx 6 rounds of soft point .303.. if you're ever in Manahawkin PM me and you can have them for free. I have no use and it's not worth it to ship 6 loose rounds.