A little after the fact....

I've owned an Enfield (SMLE Mk. V) for over 50 years, bought out of a barrel in the basement of a local department store with a dozen of its cosmolined fellows when I was a teenager. Well, even then I had $19.95, and surplus ammo was dirt cheap from some source I can't remember the name of, except it was in Port Huron, MI, and I got my 9mm Para. ammo on the same order, for the nice new Browning I bought when I mustered out of King Lyndon I's Navy.

Never shot the rifle much, but eventually all the surplus was gone, and my shooting and reloading interests were elsewhere, so the Enfield sat in the back of the closet or cabinet for many years.

Then, a few months ago, a daughter-in-law's father, out of the blue, heard that I was a reloader and asked if I could make up some loads for him, as he was finding it difficult to get ammo, let alone the heavy bullets he wants for deer hunting.

Of course, I had no difficulty acquiring cases, but heavy bullets proved a different story. I had a dusty box of Winchester fired brass that had languished in a box for decades, and got a set of the Lee Pacesetter dies, since I'm fond of their Factory Crimp Die. Brass was available from Graf's (Prvi Partizan), and bullets, the heaviest available online that I could find being Prvi Partizan 150 gr. SPBT.

I was well-equipped with the rest of the components, and loaded up the old Winchester cases with 46 gr. of 4350. The results were lackluster, which I expected. I took a strong cleaner to the bore, which produced quantities of purplish-black residue, and much sharper rifling.

The second loading (with the same PP 150 gr. bullets) was with 40.0 gr. of Varget, and produced more impressive groups. At this stage, with my rifle, it might best be described as a load I wouldn't hesitate to take deer hunting, with the expectation that, if I did my part, I'd have a better than fair chance of dropping a whitetail at 50-100 yards.

Then, I found what I had been looking for: heavy bullets more in line with what the SMLE was designed to shoot, and what my client was asking for. I now have a supply of Woodleigh 215 gr. RNSP from down under, albeit at a fancy price. I'll get these loaded up, looking at the 36.0 gr. of Varget to start, as listed on the Woodleigh web site, and we shall see....