Thread: 303 Nitro Proofed

Originally Posted by Lucky

Recently purchased an old falling block rifle in this caliber , after some advice from any 303 gurus on here for getting some ammunition going in it , what brass and components would be a good place to start ? Any help appreciated

I assume it’s a martini Henry. Check out the bore as most are pretty corroded and some are downright sewer pipes. Reload with 200 gn cast bullets and a light charge. Ie trail boss or pistol powders. Be very careful with the later and follow published loads. Check the British muzzle loaders channel for loading tips or the cast boolits site. The lyman cast bullet handbook is also good value.

I get good accuracy sized at .314 or .316 depending on the bore

Originally Posted by omark

I assume it’s a martini Henry. Check out the bore as most are pretty corroded and some are downright sewer pipes. Reload with 200 gn cast bullets and a light charge. Ie trail boss or pistol powders. Be very careful with the later and follow published loads. Check the British muzzle loaders channel for loading tips or the cast boolits site. The lyman cast bullet handbook is also good value.

I get good accuracy sized at .314 or .316 depending on the bore

Bore is definitely seen better days but rifling still appears strong and hopefully will still shoot semi ok @ 50 yards , can you not get SP copper jacket bullets ?

My original Remington Rolling Block #5 303 bore doesn't look as good as it shoots

So you might be surprised what it will do

Originally Posted by Lucky

Bore is definitely seen better days but rifling still appears strong and hopefully will still shoot semi ok @ 50 yards , can you not get SP copper jacket bullets ?

Sellior & Bellot sells a 180 grn flatbased round nosed ammo that seems to work the best in tired bores.

Give the bore a good clean and blatt off some cheap stuff like ex military ammo. I have found that rough bores might need 50 shots to "season" , that really means shooting off the loose shit the bore brush didnt shift and filling the worst pitting with jacket material.

If you do use millitary ammo, pour a kettle full of boiling water down the bore afterwards. Let it cool then oil and put away.