Surplus 303?

[Eddie1965]

I'm running dangerously low on .303; I searched the forums and only found threads that were advising against the Pakistani stuff. I also tried Google. Is there any more surplus .303 out there? And if so, a link would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to start reloading when I get my 2011 tax refund, but I need some surplus ammo now. Thanks for any leads.

[rojocorsa]

If you find some, good luck.

The next best thing is .303 Prvi commercial, IMO.

[InFamous20]

Classicarms had some in stock not to long ago. Hold on to whatever you have left and reload. Good luck on your search. Your best bet would be commercial ammo..

[Flintlock Tom]

You won't be reloading "surplus" brass cases. If you're going to start reloading, maybe you should start buying commercial .303 so you have some cases to reload.

AIM Surplus

[paul0660]

I think the well is dry.

[mudshark]

you get what you pay for.

i have a case of surplus at home. i was very excited to open it <just to find out it was green even in a sealed can.(great seal)never stopped me before so i took a couple boxes to the range for my smle.It went click then bang.after that i just loaded my own that go bang every time.It costs more but you can trust it more.Figure i will pull the bullets and reuse them and s-can the cases and powder.

[foesgth]

303 Surplus What's that?

303 is long gone. Just a note on loading 303. If you only have one SMLE I recommend you neck size only. It is an easy round to load but the rifles are rough on the brass.

[C&Rtrader]

Happy hunting. i haven't seen non berdian primed .303 in a long time. if you do find some please post.

[Eddie1965]

I haven't been able to find even the crappy Pakistani stuff; I think that it as far as surplus. I think I'll buy a couple of boxes of Prvi Partizan just to keep my No. 4 happy. Thanks for all your help.

[NaughtyMonkey]

Sometimes it shows up on the auction sights from time to time.

[Flintlock Tom]

Here's some of that "crappy Pakistani stuff":

British .303

There's even some S&B commercial stuff, on Gunbroker, for $14.25 per box + shipping.

[rojocorsa]

That's not a bad price for S&B...

[gun toting monkeyboy]

i have a case of surplus at home. i was very excited to open it <just to find out it was green even in a sealed can.(great seal)never stopped me before so i took a couple boxes to the range for my smle.It went click then bang.after that i just loaded my own that go bang every time.It costs more but you can trust it more.Figure i will pull the bullets and reuse them and s-can the cases and powder.

I would look at the powder before tossing it. If it looks like orange spaghetti, it is cordite, and yeah, for reloading it is useless. Fun to play with though. If it looks like tiny orange macaroni, ditto. Although you normally find that in old Italian carcano cartridges. If the powder looks like a regular smokeless powder, use your scale to determine how much it weighs. Then save it and use it to reload your new .303 cartridges. Lots of us do that with a variety of old cartridges. As long as you are using the same charge or less (I normally back it down 5-10%), it will work just fine. Also, don't forget to tumble your bullets after you pull them. That will get rid of most of the dirt and crud that has built up on them. And note that that applies only to pulled bullets. NEVER tumble loaded cartridges. They probably won't go off, but you can break down the powder inside of them into smaller particles. Smaller particles means more surface area, which means a faster burn rate. Which means way higher pressure, and a greater chance of a Ka-Boom. Just sayin'...

As for finding surplus .303, not likely. You can still find occasional stashes of the white boxed stuff Winchester reloaded back in the 90s. They ran off several million rounds of it, and the market was flooded with it for a long time. But alas, most of that has been used up already. The Prvi stuff is decent, as is the S&B. But it costs more than surplus. If you want to keep playing with your Enfield, you are going to have to bite the bullet and get into reloading.

-Mb

[rojocorsa]

Be careful with cordite, for that stuff was known to flame cut and increase bore wear sooner.


They say that Prvi brass is the best for reloading, better than S&B. Also, the Prvi is supposed to mimic the original 174gr, because the FMJ does come with the 174gr bullets and all that. The S&B FMJ comes with 180gr, and I think they may have been a tad more accurate. Don't take my word for it though.

[Full Clip]

Only surplus .303 I've ever seen is the stockpile of my reloads in my garage.
The expense of commercial .303 Brit is one of the reasons why I started reloading.