No. 4 Mk 1, 500 yds. Fatter 30 Bench Rest?

[cropcirclewalker]

OK

So I loaded up 11 rounds with 36 grains of H4895, personally weighed each load and personally weighed each boolit and fired them at 50 yds.

My log book lists that experience as "Extraordinarily Unaccurate"

I figger an 8" group.

I don't know the velocity, since I emailed Chrony to find out when I was going to be seeing my replacement.

I Had been led to believe that sending in the old one with 30 bux plus 6 bux shipping would get me a new one

Wrong,

They said mine had been shot. I told them that when I called for instructions.

So, anyway, $69.95 later plus 6 bux shipping and they say they will ship me a new one on Weds.

I am going to load up a bunch at 30 grains H4895 now and try them whilst I wait.

I know this piece will make ORH at 50 yds if the load is right.

[Frank46]

Had a chance to oggle Jim Allison's CBE catalog and he makes some awesome heavy bullets for the 303. Why don't you check it out. Maybe something there will srtike your fancy. Frank

[Bret4207]

The 2700 yard stuff with SMLE's rung a bell in my head. I recall reading multiple times years ago about the SMLE design coming together at long range. Something about barrel harmonics and the reciever design. Not sure where to find that info these days. The rear locking bolt wasuspposed to have something to do with it.

[cropcirclewalker]

I cleaned the barrel real good with Sweets, looking for some copper fouling. I found none.

Nothing blue came out of this barrel.

I loaded up 11 rounds of H4895 (28 gr) under all 11 boolits weighing 197.1 gr.

50 yds. some fouling and zeroing shots and the last 5 rounds shot a 3" group.

The first 3 rounds of the final 5 were within 1.375".

Not all that good but I will clean the heck outa the barrel again with Ed's Red and try again with a smaller charge.

[cropcirclewalker]

I read the C.E Harris piece that Mr. Robertbank posted. That Piece claims that like around 27.5 gr of H4895 should work for 600 yds.

The bore is copper free.

The bore is clean as a hounds tooth.

I load up 10 rounds with 26.8 gr H4895 under all ten boolits weighing in at 197.3 gr.

5 rounds, I shoot at 50 yds. for fouling. They make a group of 3 5/16". Comes in like 5" high at 50 yds. Not good.

I crank in 20 clicks down (1/2" per click at 100 yds) and fire the other 5 rounds.

Not good.

If I hadda describe the group I'd call it 2 1/4" wide by 4 11/16" high.

I read the piece on http://www.303british.com/ about "Cast Bullets in the Lee Enfield Rifle" by David Southall and he said to check the bedding of the forearm.

I grabbed the barrell at the muzzle and it like "wiggles". Southall says it should have 6 to 7 lbs. up pressure.

OK, I pulled my Faz down and stuffed a bunch of business cards in the front of the forearm.

I only have 9 pieces of brass left before I cycle my tumbler, so I will load up 9 more with the same charge (26.8 gr) boolits (6 at 197.2 gr and 3 at 197.4) and try it again.

I am hoping for an improvement.

I might have been making pressure on the forearm, squeezing the piece so that the crosshairs pull into the bull and putting the wood into stress.

I gotta watch that.

[Bret4207]

IME an individual rifle needs at least 50 rounds through it with a particular load and lube combo before you can see what it'll really do. My theory is the lube takes a while to "season" the bore and an individual load combo is going to act a bit differently than another load, maybe the boolit design and pressure put the lube in slightly differnet places or thicknesses and it takes some time to stablize. Not a very good explainantion, but 3 or 5 rounds won't give you a real indiction IMHO.

[robertbank]

It is my understanding the #4 rifle barrel is designed to be free floating and the wiggle you experienced is normal.

Take Care

Bob

[cropcirclewalker]

Here's my story, sad but true.

Like I said, I loaded up my last 9 cartridges and took them out to my bench.

Powder charge and boolit weight not important. Group size not important since as I was chambering round 9........I noticed that the scope mount moved.

Yes.

Those alleged "No Gunsmithing" scope mounts for the No. 4.

Ok, so I dumped all my brass into the tumbler and removed the scope and replaced the original micrometer click type ladder sight.

I stuck a little piece of the metal tape I bought for Mould Beagling on the peep hole, stuck it with a pin and colored it black with a felt tip marker.

Today it's raining but as soon as there is a break in the clouds I will run back out and retry some of the loads.

I guess I gotta remove as many variables as possible.

If I could just get back to ORH at 50 yds, Boy, that would be great.

[cropcirclewalker]

Here we have it.

5 pm. The light, which was not good causa ona counta of the rain was starting to fail. It was still raining lightly but I couldn't wait.

I walk the target (3" Orange stick on target spot) out to the butts.

I come back about half way, chamber a round with the ladder sight screwed up to about 300 yds, lean up against a tree and fire away.

She comes in about 4" low.

I walk back to my bench (all wet and still raining) crank the sight up to 500 yds and squeeze off another. Walking back to the target it starts to rain a little harder.

The boolit hole is 1/2 on the orange at 45 deg. down and left.

I walk back, crank in 1 more click up (17 total from bottomed) and fire off 2 more shots. The rain picks up.

I step out smartly to go get the target.

There it is. 2 holes in the orange, 1" group with the farthest one from the center a mere 1 1/4" down and 3/8" left of center.

The light was bad. It was raining.

Tomorrow is supposed to be in 40s with maybe snow flurries.

I have 6 more rounds of this load to shoot and UPS tracking says that they will deliver my Chrony on Monday.

Maybe things are looking up.



P.S. 26.8 gr H4895 with 197.4 gr. boolits

[45nut]

gotta love this type of thread.

[robertbank]

Great shooting! Got my 314299 mold yesterday and have 60 rounds loaded. Just waiting for the darn weather to warm up a tad. Presently around 32F with snow/rain with sun.

Why didn't my relatives get such a case for God & King back in 1750. I could be enjoying 80F somewhere in the deep south surely. I swear I am heading south next year if I have to live in a pup tent! Hurricanes and tornados be dammed they aren't snow!

Take Care

Bob

[Frank46]

I hope that you have some serious elevation and windage adjustments on that scope. You're gonna need them. Don't forget that your bullet will be traveling much slower than one of them J-word bullets. I had a set of scope mounts on my faz #4MKII. After getting sighten in and after about twenty or so shots. I noticed that I was getting two distinct groups. The mounts had loosened up. Tightened them up as tight as I could and after about twenty or so shots was right back where I started. That was the last time I tried to scope a #4. Frank

[cropcirclewalker]

No scope. I took it off.

Twas 36 F this morning but no snow. I had 6 rounds left from yesterday.

I pasted up yesterday's target and shot 1 for a barrel warmer, walked down, pasted it too and went back.

I figger a 5 round group so I fire away. This is iron sights.

I don't exactly know.

I got a triangle, pointy end down with the first paster sort of in the middle, 1 hole upper right, one hole upper left and a clover leaf at the bottom. Actually more like an oval or whatcha might call a two leafed clover.

The bottom 3 holes are in the orange target spot, high and right with a group of .3" with the two fliers 1 5/8" and 1 3/4" above left and right. Like I said, the first barrel warming shot is 7/8" away from the clover and inside the triangle.

If I had shot a 6 round group it would have been moot.

If I'da dropped the two fliers I'da had a .78" group of 4.

I wish I'da logged in each shot.

I wish I didn't have old eyes.

I wish I had a better scope mount.

Maybe I will put the scope mount back on with some locktite or maybe make a regimen of

1) tighten screws
2) shoot
3) tighten screws and like that.

Locktite on those little hex screws is kinda like pouring concrete. Scary.

First I think I should shoot a 10 round string over my chrony, log the shots and try to see what I get. Maybe I should start indexing the brass and boolits.

[DonH]

Just a few observations. (1) In my iron sight shooting experience an orange paster target is none to conducive to precision shoting as they tend to get "fuzzy" just like a red ramp front sight. (2) Your lean-against-a tree shooting position is probsbly not stesdy enough for really wringing out yur combo. (3) It would be well worth your while to hunt up one of the A.J. Parker windage adjustable adapters for the #4 rear sight and (5) if your 500 yd target is a round aiming bull it is likely you can shoot as small a group on target with a peep sight as with a low power scope.

[robertbank]

Hi

Here are some pictures of #4 Sniper rifle for sale on canadiangunutz forum. Price is $2,500Cdn.! Thought you might want to see how they mounted the scopes on the sniper rifles.

[quasi]

When I read your post I remembered I had my wife's Grand-Fathers old shooting record book at hand. AT 1,000 yds July 18th 1960 at the Sarcee Range in Alberta he shot a 71 out of 75 with his SMLE with peep sights. My Brother-in-law has the rifle and I have no chance of laying my hands on it. His score is recorded with shots on target. Only four scored outside the 5 point Bull. Bulleye was 36", outer circle scoring 4 was 54". The old gent was 75 at the time.

Several of his targets at 900, 600, 500, 300 and 200yds are equally inpressive. The old bugger could shoot.

We also have several Gold Medallions from shoots going back to the 30's from the Dominion Marksmenship Shoots. No loads are listed unfortunately, though I know he reloaded as I have several of his old Lyman Shotgun Reloading Tools.

I list the above to give you something to shoot for.

I should be so skilled.

Take Care

Bob

Robert, up until the late 80's or early 90's, DCRA matches were shot with mil spec ball ,.303 and then later 7.62 nato, . The Sarcee ranges were world class, particularly the Palamino range. They are now occupied by Injuns, who leased the land to the military around ww2.

[quasi]

When I read your post I remembered I had my wife's Grand-Fathers old shooting record book at hand. AT 1,000 yds July 18th 1960 at the Sarcee Range in Alberta he shot a 71 out of 75 with his SMLE with peep sights. My Brother-in-law has the rifle and I have no chance of laying my hands on it. His score is recorded with shots on target. Only four scored outside the 5 point Bull. Bulleye was 36", outer circle scoring 4 was 54". The old gent was 75 at the time.

Several of his targets at 900, 600, 500, 300 and 200yds are equally inpressive. The old bugger could shoot.

We also have several Gold Medallions from shoots going back to the 30's from the Dominion Marksmenship Shoots. No loads are listed unfortunately, though I know he reloaded as I have several of his old Lyman Shotgun Reloading Tools.

I list the above to give you something to shoot for.

I should be so skilled.

Take Care

Bob

Robert, up until the late 80's or early 90's, DCRA matches were shot with mil spec ball ,.303 and then later 7.62 nato, . The Sarcee ranges were world class, particularly the Palamino range. They are now occupied by Injuns, who leased the land to the military around ww2.

[robertbank]

Yes I have a picture of the group of guys including Linda's grand-dad taken at the Sarcee range at the Alberta Provincial Championships July 22 - 26, 1935.

Take Care

Bob

[doc25]

Have you been to the .303british.com site? There is a scope mount (indestructible scope mount) if you don't mind buggering up your enfield a bit. My suggestion would be to use aluminum angle 'cause it has flat instead of tapered edges. I have a steel angle on my rifle and it has not loosened up. I used a one piece base (I think it was for a marlin 336?). Another suggestion is to try and align it as well as possible so you don't loose too much elevation or windage off your scope.

Remember YOU CAN DO IT! Good luck.

[robertbank]

Take a look at Post 35. That is the scope mount for the Sniper Rifle version of the #4/

Take Care

Bob