Thread: Old 303 Ammo & old school hammer reloading

Hey guys I was fortunate enough to get an 303 and some old school manual reloading gear(hitting with the hammer old). Ammunition was loaded in 2004 and has slight corrosion on the projectiles and cases, should i toss it, can i shoot is or should i disassemble, buy new powder and reload again on new loading gear?

someone else will chime in and let you know the best option for the stuff already loaded.......personally i wouldnt use it not knowing how safe it will be.....
if you need some once fired brass i have some here on the plains you can have for free

Ive shot ammo i loaded in the 90s but then i know what was in it.
I also regularly shoot mil slurp from the 50s and 60s with no issues apart from the occasional hangfire with some 40s stuff. A bit of copper corrosion on cases, green greasy or powdery stuff has never worried me as long as it wipes off. But its your call.
The lee hand loaders i think you are talking about turn out good ammunition just slowly.

If you know who loaded it, and that it was done to spec, it should be fine.
Old .303 rifles tend to have eroded throats so overpressure-by-jamming isn't really an issue, it would only be if they'd crammed in too much of the wrong powder.

Does anyone have 303 specs? case length, powder loads etc?

Originally Posted by Loggie

Does anyone have 303 specs? case length, powder loads etc?

These may help for a start.........

https://tinyurl.com/yywkogn5

and

Originally Posted by Loggie

Does anyone have 303 specs? case length, powder loads etc?

your reloading manual sure will.

Originally Posted by Loggie

Does anyone have 303 specs? case length, powder loads etc?

See Wikipedia page on .303 British for dimensions. Best to get load data from reloading manuals, but I see the old redcoat @Kiwi Sapper has been helpful.

Note the Lee Loader system only neck sizes (does not do anything to shoulders or body of cartridge) so if the rounds were previously fired in another rifle than yours, the shoulders may have expanded too far ahead for the cases to fit in your rifle's chamber. You do need to chamber one and see if the bolt will close on it. If not closing on it, you definitely are looking at pulling the bullets and looking for new cases. That is however not something you should do unless in a safe place to also shoot it, i.e. not in an urban garage.

The step not often mentioned in instructions on how to use the lee loader is to anneal the cartridge neck BEFORE resizing the neck. Ensures it does not spring back and gives bullets a uniform grip.

Also, deburring of the edges of the cartridge mouth is important, inside chamfer can be improvised with for example a handheld 12mm drill bit, cartridge rotated a few times with very light pressure.

If you have only one rifle though, the Lee Loader is fine. When I use mine, I have a heavy, flat, iron ingot that I place on a padded stool, and use that as the base for the loader. Really cuts down the high pitched clanging hammering noise. Plastic/wood hammer (or rawhide hammer if you remember those) to avoid undue dents in the Lee Loader's steel surface.