Thread: Casting for an SMLE

Hey Folks,

I have a couple of 1943 (or 1946, hard to tell) Lithgow No1Mk3*s, one of which had a full wood and hardware set, but a completely corroded bore, and the other that has a badly sportered stock but a perfect action and excellent bore. I am in the process of merging them into one good shooting condition rifle and will decide what to do with the leftovers another day.

I slugged the bore yesterday and then had the joy or figuring out how to measure a 5 groove slug. After some faffing around I had a groove diameter of 0.3183 from about 30mm past the throat and 0.3179 near the muzzle. I repeated the slugging and measuring a couple of times to make sure I wasn't screwing something up and got the same result each time. From the reading I have done, this is an extremely large bore for even an Enfield.

I have not shot this rifle yet and im assuming that factory ammo will likely shoot like crap from a large bore like this, so my plan is to make my own cutter to modify a single cavity lyman .284 mold I got for cheap from somewhere to something for this rifle.

I like the idea of something in the 180-200gr+ range doing 2000fps or more. I will powdercoat and gas check.
I plan to put holes in paper and 4 legged critters with this rifle.

Has anyone here done something similar? Any suggestions for a bullet design to copy to get me started?

The groove diameter is not overly significant if you are casting as the bullet will upset to the groove when it is fired. The bullet material displaced by the lands will swage into the grooves. A .312 bullet sizing die should work fine when you put on your gas checks and a liquid Alox lubricant applied. Powder coating should be avoided at all costs as it is plastic based and will melt onto the bore and cause all sorts of problems. I believe that you are seeing problems where none exist. Get a small supply of cast bullets from someone on this forum and try it out before you waste time and money. A new SMLE barrel usually goes .313" - .314" groove diameter.

Gidday -I wouldn't assume anything about how it shoots from a bore measurement alone. I'm not a Lee Enfield sort of guy, but I've got plenty of experience shooting Mausers and I can tell you they don't give a snoot about bullet diameter, all else being equal, my 319 bore 8x57 shoots 323 bullets sub MOA, and a converter "hybrid" with a full 311 bore shot .308 bullets just fine. I'd shoot it with what you have and see . . . .

Originally Posted by Tentman

Gidday -I wouldn't assume anything about how it shoots from a bore measurement alone. I'm not a Lee Enfield sort of guy, but I've got plenty of experience shooting Mausers and I can tell you they don't give a snoot about bullet diameter, all else being equal, my 319 bore 8x57 shoots 323 bullets sub MOA, and a converter "hybrid" with a full 311 bore shot .308 bullets just fine. I'd shoot it with what you have and see . . . .

I think you are correct about just trying some standard ammo and see. Fact is this is probably not going to get shot very often, and I'm not competing with it. Problem is I can't help but tinker with things.

grab some cast ones off shootersnz / Robert and TRY them at standard size and just see..you may be making things harder than need be.

First thing about Cast bullets is to forget what you already know . And then read this --

Cast bullet reference on lead alloy's, min / max pressure, lube, shrinkage,

Originally Posted by SixtyTen

I think you are correct about just trying some standard ammo and see. Fact is this is probably not going to get shot very often, and I'm not competing with it. Problem is I can't help but tinker with things.

Best bet are the NOE .314 or .316 210gn projectiles. Good molds. The other option are MP molds which are also awesome

Originally Posted by SixtyTen

Hey Folks,

I have a couple of 1943 (or 1946, hard to tell) Lithgow No1Mk3*s, one of which had a full wood and hardware set, but a completely corroded bore, and the other that has a badly sportered stock but a perfect action and excellent bore. I am in the process of merging them into one good shooting condition rifle and will decide what to do with the leftovers another day.

I slugged the bore yesterday and then had the joy or figuring out how to measure a 5 groove slug. After some faffing around I had a groove diameter of 0.3183 from about 30mm past the throat and 0.3179 near the muzzle. I repeated the slugging and measuring a couple of times to make sure I wasn't screwing something up and got the same result each time. From the reading I have done, this is an extremely large bore for even an Enfield.

I have not shot this rifle yet and im assuming that factory ammo will likely shoot like crap from a large bore like this, so my plan is to make my own cutter to modify a single cavity lyman .284 mold I got for cheap from somewhere to something for this rifle.

I like the idea of something in the 180-200gr+ range doing 2000fps or more. I will powdercoat and gas check.
I plan to put holes in paper and 4 legged critters with this rifle.

Has anyone here done something similar? Any suggestions for a bullet design to copy to get me started?

Get in touch I have some .314" 210 grain cast if you want to try some

So you like to tinker @SixtyTen . . . well your going to love casting bullets.
the question is do you like doing the research . . if its Yes your halfway there, bad news is it will cost you in time and money, lots of it.
if its No you will be a 50 to 100 yard shooter who likes the easy option . . good news is you'll have lots of company.

Cast bullet reference on lead alloy's, min / max pressure, lube, shrinkage,
check these guys out as suggested . . also these guys
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/

look forward to finding out how you get on . . R

Im watching this thread with interest. Powdercoating is just a term for providing a polymer coating to a projectile The coating is a good deal harder than the lead and if done right will not leave a coating in your bore, will increase bullet diameter and is a good deal slipperier than a lubed bullet. Have a look at what Larry Gibson has to say on the castboolits website re RPM threshold. You have either a very good barrel rifled with a new and as yet unworn rifling cutter or a very worn barrel ,both will love cast. My suggestion is to make a casting of your throat and profile your boolit to fit. I have been casting for 303 for 49 years and powder coating for about 10 years. There are a number of members on this website that powdercoat with great success and produce some beautiful boolits. Good luck

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/arc.../t-208186.html

cheers @Driverman for the suggestion on Larry Gibson, he is well worth looking up . . i couldnt find it at castboolits, had to do a google.
i was'nt sure if Larry had been kicked off the site again, used to love his battles when i first joined and couldnt see why some took offence, he always made perfect sense to me.

I was reading some of his posts from yesterday and he is still writing very good well researched articles.

Originally Posted by SixtyTen

so my plan is to make my own cutter to modify a single cavity lyman .284 mold

Would you consider swapping your 284 mold for a 312 mold fi I can find one?

Originally Posted by winaa

Would you consider swapping your 284 mold for a 312 mold fi I can find one?

Certainly would. I got my info wrong before however, the mold is actually a Lee 90360 - .285 130gr C285-130-R Single Cavity

I was given these cartridges plus a couple of more modern .303 rounds the other day by a friend of mine when I told him what I was working on at the moment. He thought they were pretty old, but didn't seem to know anything else.

A little research tells me the hollow point is most likely MkIV ammo, No idea how common these are, from what I can find they haven't been manufactured since 1897-8. Case head markings are "C" and "IV"

The other looks to be MkVII cupro-nickel jacket.

Im not that familiar with the history of the Enfield's or issued ammo, but it is quite interesting to learn about.




This is the rifle, assembled for some photos. I still have a bit of work getting the stock fit-up just right. I have done a bit of repair work to the stock and have done a light refinish to freshen it up a little.