Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Open forum for rifles.
User avatar
Ranch Dog
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 6456
Joined: 22 Jun 2013 17:16
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Inez, TX
Has thanked: 1616 times
Been thanked: 2850 times

Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by Ranch Dog »

Started the day off like I always do with a cleaning rod down the barrel to determine the cartridge overall length with the bullet resting in the chamber against the ogive. One mark on the rod against the nose of the bullet and another with it resting against the bolt face. I'm happy with this length for working with a cast bullet, ogive contact but back it off .005" with a jacketed bullet.

The last statement won't work with Hornady's 303 British bullet. It is a long way off. Seated for ogive contact minus the .005" leaves little in the case.

Image

Hornady calls for the bullet to be seated to an overall length of the 2.945", the forward lip of the cannelure, but that leaves .085" of air space between the ogive and metal. That is a heck of a jump! I was able to reduce it to .065" by using the aft edge of the cannelure for an OAL of 2.965". Ogive contact for the Hornady bullet occurs at 3.050".

I also found that the Hornady recommended OAL is does not facilitate smooth magazine feed. It is almost too short for any reliable feed and the exposed lead point takes quite a beating during chambering. The 2.965" works better but a longer & heavier bullet would be better. Plenty of room in the magazine and a longer OAL would reduce the jump that bullet has to make in order to get down the barrel.

Image

Here they are, the first nine lined up and ready to go for site in. Three each at 25, 50, and 100 yards.

Image

It was a perfect day for shooting, the SMLE "600" is lined up and ready to start.

Image

I had removed the "huge' Hawke scope that came with the rifle. I did some checking and I might be able to recover near what I spent for the rifle by selling this scope! In its place I mounted a compact Bushnell 1.5-4.5X32 Banner. I have a bin full of these scopes and have used them for a long time. I started by zeroing the crosshairs of the scope with the exit bell against a mirror and then used a traditional bore sighter to align the scope. It took very little movement.

The sight in is actually using three loads steps of H4895 up to a 41.1K PSI load. 37.7 grains for 25 yds, 38.7 grains for 50 yds, and 39.7 grains for 100 yds. Rather than the SAAMI I'm using the barrel's typical export stamp of "18.5 Tonnes □". The 39.7 load is right at 43.1K PSI but within the SAAMI spec of 49.0K PSI, I just want to see what the primers looked like.

Image

25 yards required no further adjustment. 50 yards bugged me. A horizontal spring, from my experience, usually means a base or ring failure but I could not see any problems. The group looked very good but! The first two shots at 100 yards confirmed an unexplained shift from a windage zero. I still could not see anything and the final shot responded to turret movement.

I went back and loaded some cartridges with 39.0 grains of H4895 which should place the pressure right at the "proof". I also added a God'A Grip cheek pad to the stock because I had a little crosshair "float" as I tried to figure out my cheek weld to the stock.

Image

The load performed right at the QuickLoad predictions; 2265 FPS with an SD of 9.96 FPS and a ES of 39 FPS. The target performance was strange. I shot five rounds with a 2 minute interval between shots and then took a break while I walked back to the house for a few minutes. When I came back, I repeated the shooting at the same intervals. The first shot of each string hit the bullseye at 100 yards but the rest went high. On the last string the bullet went high off the target. Something was a matter.

Image

The sun was starting to set so I could use the direct light to my advantage and I immediately found the problem with the front mount, it had crack where it was welded to the receiver!

Image

Back in the reloading room, as soon as I loosened the forward ring, the base came off the rifle. It looks like the base had been loose for a long time, actually it did not have a good weld onto the receiver as the majority of the area had light surface corrosion. I think just the edge was holding.

You can also see the strange "V" pattern of the chronograph shot string. The two bullet holes in the bull are the first shot from a cold rifle for each string. The 10th shot is missing.

The 1 lb, 9 ounce Hawke probably did not help the issue and I suspect the MOA shift while shooting caused the previous owner to send this rifle to the consignment rack. The issue doesn't bother me in the least as I think I'm looking at a MOA shooter. I will take it to my gunsmith and get it back in action. In the meantime, I'm going to get some 215-grain Woodleigh bullets heading my way to eliminate the airspace between ogive and chamber throat. I suspect his rifle will make an excellent pumpkin chunker!
Michael
Image
DaveInGA
250 Shots
250 Shots
Posts: 279
Joined: 18 Nov 2015 08:59
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Jefferson, GA
Has thanked: 91 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by DaveInGA »

RD,

Was it welded or silver soldered? If it was silver soldered and the action/base not cleaned properly of oils, it would cause this condition. As your said, your gunsmith can correct this pretty quickly by cleaning everything up and doing the job properly.

But to play devil's advocate, I remember you mentioning moving the scope forward into a scout position. If so, with this failure, you would certainly be justified in either adding screws to those bases, changing to different, lighter bases or a rail or removing them entirely and going with a scout mount.

Related to shooting, the rifle is showing some very nice promise. I think I'd look at a couple other brands of bullets though or definately get a lead mold with a bullet that's a better fit.
User avatar
Ranch Dog
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 6456
Joined: 22 Jun 2013 17:16
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Inez, TX
Has thanked: 1616 times
Been thanked: 2850 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by Ranch Dog »

DaveInGA wrote:RD,

Was it welded or silver soldered? If it was silver soldered and the action/base not cleaned properly of oils, it would cause this condition. As your said, your gunsmith can correct this pretty quickly by cleaning everything up and doing the job properly.

But to play devil's advocate, I remember you mentioning moving the scope forward into a scout position. If so, with this failure, you would certainly be justified in either adding screws to those bases, changing to different, lighter bases or a rail or removing them entirely and going with a scout mount.

Related to shooting, the rifle is showing some very nice promise. I think I'd look at a couple other brands of bullets though or definately get a lead mold with a bullet that's a better fit.
I'm pretty sure it just had a welded bead along the outside edge of the base. I kind of hope it is an easy fix so I can get on with the shooting. The scout base will require a bit more work and about $180 for the scope. At this point, I'd rather put that into bringing a custom mold to my bench.
Michael
Image
User avatar
akuser47
Moderator & Supporter
Moderator & Supporter
Posts: 1397
Joined: 30 Jun 2013 09:16
My Press Choice: Single Stage
Location: ohio
Has thanked: 666 times
Been thanked: 266 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by akuser47 »

The battle and path to getting them dialed in.
Image
Live Free,Ride Free, Or Die Fighting, For The Right, To do So!
DaveInGA
250 Shots
250 Shots
Posts: 279
Joined: 18 Nov 2015 08:59
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Jefferson, GA
Has thanked: 91 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by DaveInGA »

Ranch Dog wrote:I'm pretty sure it just had a welded bead along the outside edge of the base. I kind of hope it is an easy fix so I can get on with the shooting. The scout base will require a bit more work and about $180 for the scope. At this point, I'd rather put that into bringing a custom mold to my bench.
If it was truly welded, I'd have the gunsmith drill holes and put screws in the mounts with loctite as well as redoing the small weld bead. I wouldn't trust those welding beads that are still on there not to fail. The holes/screws should be inexpensive to put in and are a proven system over decades of rifles. The nice thing is, you don't have to consider retaining originality with an already sporterized rifle.
User avatar
Ranch Dog
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 6456
Joined: 22 Jun 2013 17:16
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Inez, TX
Has thanked: 1616 times
Been thanked: 2850 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by Ranch Dog »

akuser47 wrote:The battle and path to getting them dialed in.
It can be tiring! Gon'na drop it at the gunsmith tomorrow, hopefully he will want to work on it and move on to other projects.

Have some Woodleigh 215-grain round nose soft points coming. This is the type of bullet that made the 303 British the game getter it was once known as.
Woodleigh_68.jpg
Ranch Dog wrote:At this point, I'd rather put that into bringing a custom mold to my bench.
This evening I've working on a cast bullet design for my use, good way to wind down from my trip to San Antonio today. The amount of airspace within the chamber of the 303 British is horrifying from the design standpoint. I start with a blank page, just nothing in the gray matter as to the ultimate outcome. Low and behold, it looks like the Ranch Dog will be similar to the Woodleigh. A .314" projectile weighing in at 215-grains. It would be a very serious bullet leaving the barrel at near 2100 FPS. I think I drew eight prototypes this evening, adjusting each slightly to match the forward edge of the throat.

Image

Image

I think I would be willing to whack a nilgai with it. That 30 caliber column of lead is with a 72% meplat is going to hard to stop once it starts!

Image
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Michael
Image
klr
250 Shots
250 Shots
Posts: 305
Joined: 01 Mar 2016 05:00
My Press Choice: Single Stage
Location: ohio
Has thanked: 108 times
Been thanked: 94 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by klr »

I'm surprised you didn't try JB Weld on that mount. ;)
User avatar
Ranch Dog
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 6456
Joined: 22 Jun 2013 17:16
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Inez, TX
Has thanked: 1616 times
Been thanked: 2850 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by Ranch Dog »

klr wrote:I'm surprised you didn't try JB Weld on that mount. ;)
Haah!!! Not on this part, quite a force applied by a scope ring.
Michael
Image
DaveInGA
250 Shots
250 Shots
Posts: 279
Joined: 18 Nov 2015 08:59
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Jefferson, GA
Has thanked: 91 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by DaveInGA »

That looks like a wonderful bullet RD. You going to do a group buy or just have one made?
User avatar
Ranch Dog
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 6456
Joined: 22 Jun 2013 17:16
My Press Choice: Progressive
Location: Inez, TX
Has thanked: 1616 times
Been thanked: 2850 times

Re: Loading & Range Day for the SMLE

Post by Ranch Dog »

DaveInGA wrote:That looks like a wonderful bullet RD. You going to do a group buy or just have one made?
My preference would be just my own special order through Lee. I'm sure Al would be interested but I probably would not be willing to go through the wait. I also know what his tooling costs and I hate putting him out on a limb on a new design. Finally, group buys always end up with too many cooks in the kitchen wanting this and that but I'm not one to compromise a design.

What might influence the above is that Lee states that the maximum bullet length they will cut is 1" and this is 1.055" long. I've had them cut bullets over this length but not sure if they will until they say so. This will all wait on shooting the Woodleigh and that will wait until I get my rifle repaired. Been out in the pasture working, gon'na take a nap and then take my SMLE to the gunsmith.
Michael
Image
Post Reply

Return to “Rifle Discussions”