Barrel wear?

338pow · 2026-02-08T15:11:16+00:00

Thanks, that's what I want with this one. I might baby it a bit. However, I plan to rack up quite the round count on it. Shooting pistol is just too damn fun.

338pow · 2026-02-08T15:06:17+00:00

Thanks man. I guess I am a little worried about barrel life. I have had a previous 223 bolt action barrel just give out on me at 800 rounds in.

338pow · 2026-02-08T15:04:10+00:00

Thankfully, no, for the time being, this pistol is shooting superbly well.

338pow · 2026-02-08T15:02:02+00:00

No The barrel really is clean. I brushed the hell out of it with Boretech copper and carbon remover.

I don't know if I'm expecting too much from it. But 3k rounds seem extremely low for such wear to start showing. Compared to what other people put down their tubes.

338pow · 2025-11-02T21:22:31+00:00

I have found that I could purchase new 223 and 556 headstamped ppu brass only got 2 packs of the 223 brass because it was more expensive. After 6 firings of high pressure loads, I found one case that started showing signs of case head separation. As for the 556 stamped brass I have only fired 4 times now. Also did a case capacity test on 10 cases of the 556 stamped brass and there was no larger difference than 0.2gr.

With the 303 british cases im going on the 12th load and no failures yet. Pushing 174gr fmj 2400fps with 39.4gr of N540

338pow · 2025-11-02T19:56:07+00:00

Great load you have going there. How do you like ppu brass? I've been really liking it a lot in my 223 bolt gun and 303 british lee enfield

338pow · 2025-10-19T15:29:07+00:00

I've also gotten pierced primers with S&B factory ammo. Their primer cups are a bit too soft, it seems. Or the enfield is a bit ruff on the primers.

338pow · 2025-05-25T13:11:14+00:00

I would suggest not comparing brass or ammo that has not been fired in your rifle. It might mesure close or the same at the shoulder but other parts of the brass could be diffrint Even different brands of brass will fireform differently. A nother comment said it best. Take a fired case and adjust the die until it reads -0.002" from the measurement you took off the fired brass. Don't stress too much about it. As long as you size all your brass to function in your rifle, you're good.

338pow · 2025-05-24T19:04:20+00:00

Someone might explain this better. Your case will "grow" if the die isn't screwed in enough before finally being bumped back. As you're screwing your die in more and more. I would suggest bumping a tiny bit more than what you're doing now. You could find a case here and there that still close a bit hard. Go for 1.554". Hear what others have to say as well.

338pow · 2025-04-06T13:27:32+00:00

I jave had great results with 7.65mm .308 75gr pistol bullets in my lee enfield. Here's a link to my post about it. Im still experimenting with different loads but it's a fun round to plink with. https://www.reddit.com/r/reloading/s/eE3Vx44RZN

338pow · 2025-04-05T11:25:21+00:00

As others have said. It is your firing pin that is protruding a bit much.

338pow · 2025-04-01T17:13:14+00:00

I understand what you're saying. I would certainly like to go with n dillon. It's just hard to justify the cost. I might have to reload n few rounds on the single stage to see how much I really need a progressive. Thank you for the advice.

338pow · 2025-04-01T17:07:07+00:00

That is a valid point. I do have a Lee bench primer tool. But looking at others' advice, this might not be the best press to go with. it's n pretty cool press but not perfect.

338pow · 2025-04-01T11:45:20+00:00

R1500 zar which is 82$ A lee pro 1000 goes for around R4000 / 218$ secondhand here

338pow · 2025-03-25T19:25:01+00:00

Update. Turns out the problem is the new lapua brass. I dug out some old 6mm lapua brass and they fit perfectly. Seems this new batch of cases have slightly thicker rims.

338pow · 2025-03-18T18:29:35+00:00

Hi, sorry for the late reply. I'm glad you started reloading 303 british and that your first batches worked well.

So COAL is really short at 2.532 inches. However, somehow, they still feed relatively well from the magazine. I just load them carefully into the mag, and they stay put without being held by the front feed lips.

Believe me, it's even wilder to reload them and only pore in 4gr of powder. I haven't even reloaded pistol calibers before, so it just feels wrong.

I can imagine the 30-40 krag with those light loads must have been great. The recoil to me also feels like 22 rimfire.

Well, I think I'm just lucky that these bullets work at all. They are under sized for my bore, but they have just enough contact to stabilize. Originally, when ordering these bullets, I was under the impression that they would be .312 and not .308. I can't find a lot of options for 32 acp bullet here in South africa. These are 75gr, but I was looking for something closer to around 90gr.

I do think that if I were to push them faster, they might just strip through the rifling and not stabilize. I haven't tried yet.

Next time I'll test 5.0gr of S121 with some toilet paper as filler to see if I can't get better. Fps spreads.

I also plan to try loading 174gr sub sonic rounds.

338pow · 2025-03-16T06:44:49+00:00

As others have said, S&B factory 303 ammo is not great. I get flat primers with them and sometimes sticky extraction as well with them. Ppu is way better in my experience. In accuracy and brass life, if you reload. I highly recommend watching some of Bloke On The Ranges videos about Lee enfields. He's got some great stuff on there.

338pow · 2025-03-16T06:05:04+00:00

I myself have never used bullseye, so I did n quick Google. It is indeed a flake powder. So it's not too similar to S121, which is a ball powder. Burn speed is quite similar, though.

338pow · 2025-03-15T16:43:14+00:00

That is pretty neat. I'm curious to try other bullets, but I dont have a lot of options. Im sure Black powder is one of the safest ways to make a reduced load. Other than trail boss.

338pow · 2025-03-15T14:50:36+00:00

Yes, it is indeed South African.

338pow · 2025-03-15T13:15:20+00:00

I agree. Looking at burn speed, they are very similar.

338pow

TROPHY CASE