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MY Sporterized Parker Hale Deluxe Sporter

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Category: Enfields
Forum Name: After Market Enfields
Forum Description: What have you done to that Enfield??
URL: http://www.enfield-rifles.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=12654
Printed Date: March 28 2024 at 2:44am
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Topic: MY Sporterized Parker Hale Deluxe Sporter
Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Subject: MY Sporterized Parker Hale Deluxe Sporter
Date Posted: April 30 2023 at 6:01pm

Haven't been here for a while, but a long term project has recently come to fruition and I thought I'd share it with You Guys.

Back in 2014 I acquired a Rifle, which after some research turned out to be a "Parker Hale Deluxe Sporter."
Many of you know that Parker Hale bought up Surplus British Rifles after WW2 and modified them into Sporters that they sold mainly in the US and Canada.

These guns were divided up into two classes Standard and Deluxe .  The standard guns all had decent muzzles and only got the handguards removed and sling swivels . $65!  The Deluxe guns got 3" cut off the barrels to get rid of the wasted portion of the rifling near the muzzle caused by over cleaning. They also got a new PH Front Sight, Sling Swivels, and a 5 round Santa Fe Magazine. $75. The mag is worth more than that!

Mine was the Deluxe Version and it had seen better days.  It was also a Long Branch made in Canada and had a weird 2 groove barrel.

The build started by me sending the barreled action off to JES Reboring and it came back a .35-303.  Then I got Boyd's Gray Laminated wood for it, and since I had no way to cook it after Cera-Koting it, it went on hold,,, until last January.

I have developed a Relationship with Vang Comp (Purveyors of Combat Shotguns) in Las Vegas and they did the Cera Koting of this gun and another Springfield Sporter project that has been on hold for longer.

When they came back I got busy and assembled both guns and the Enfield came out nice, and I am currently working up loads for it with both 225 gr Sierra Game Kings and 200 gr Cast boolits from a Lee 358-200RF mold.

The other addition to the gun is a Redfield Receiver Sight with one of my Adapter Plates to attach it. Some of you might remember my L39 Replica that I attached a Redfield Olympic Rear Sight too a few years back? Same concept just a little different for a smaller sight. The adapter plate attaches to the receiver with one 6-32 Screw thru the left rear sight pivot ear, and a new longer Ejector Screw, thus requiring no mods to the gun at all.

Anyway here's some pics of the completed Rifle. 







Here's a pic of a completed dummy round, interested in seeing what the case looks like after fireforming.  Randy




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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.



Replies:
Posted By: Canuck
Date Posted: April 30 2023 at 6:38pm
Awesome build man! Thanks for sharing!

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Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: April 30 2023 at 6:51pm
After hunting down my Thread on my L39 replica (On page 10!) I realized that Like Kamala sez There is great significance to the  passage of time .  I hadn't posted anything here since 2016 !

https://www.enfield-rifles.com/my-sporterized-4-mk1_topic7073_page6.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.enfield-rifles.com/my-sporterized-4-mk1_topic7073_page6.html

Any way there's  likely a good ongoing" story behind this new gun, and I will enjoy writing about it as the significance of time passes into the "behind us," before we all croak! or something like that?

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: Sapper740
Date Posted: May 01 2023 at 1:37am
That's a nice looking rifle!  I too am a fan of .35 caliber rifles and would be greatly interested in what kind of velocities you achieve with that that cartridge which looks like an 'Improved' round.  


Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 01 2023 at 3:55am
Looks great Randy, well done.  Let us know how it shoots.


Posted By: Honkytonk
Date Posted: May 01 2023 at 5:45am
Well done! I'm curious to see how it shoots, but it looks like a powerhouse round!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: May 01 2023 at 10:12am
Nicely done! Welcome back!


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 01 2023 at 11:30am
Originally posted by Sapper740 Sapper740 wrote:

That's a nice looking rifle!  I too am a fan of .35 caliber rifles and would be greatly interested in what kind of velocities you achieve with that that cartridge which looks like an 'Improved' round.  

I have been going thru all my older Reloading Manuals.  Most people say that .35 Remington Data is the place to start.  I found loads in My Speer Manual from the 1980's with data with a 220 gr Speer Bullets and they got over 2100 fps easily, and this is in the smaller .35 Rem Case.  

Other Info I have gathered supports the 2100 fps figure for the Sierra Game King 225 gr bullet using various common older Powders.
 
All I did to that case was shove a .358 Win Expander Plug thru it to open it up to receive a .358 bullet. Fireforming will confirm the new chamber's exact shape.  JES told me that all he does is ream the bore to .349/.350 and then rifle it.  The chamber is only altered to open up the area where neck of  the case is.. The case used for the dummy round shown was a new Hornady .303 case. It is well known that most .303 rifles have oversized chambers to accommodate ammo made everywhere in the Empire. I asked if he had set the barrel back one thread and rechambered and he said no. Se we'll see after firing. 

As with regular .303's, these cases will get a Neck Size Only when reloaded.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: May 01 2023 at 2:10pm
Check here: https://www.enfield-rifles.com/topic1170.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.enfield-rifles.com/topic1170.html



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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 02 2023 at 12:25pm
Shamu: there was another thread with load info I found in Google but I can't get it to come up here?
All my searches come up blank.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: May 02 2023 at 4:44pm
Its AKA "35 Territorian", maybe that wil give you some different leads.
There's a thread on here about it, but its old & has no load data.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 04 2023 at 9:13am
Shamu:  I have went at this on the Internet  from every angle with no success. 

I did find that Ellwood Epps has a Website and store in Ontario Canada and I called them this morning and they do have Load Data for that caliber since Ellwood is one who was credited with inventing the .35-303. They said they would forward some to me.

Should have something back from them in a few days and I will forward it to the site.

https://ellwoodepps.com/contacts/" rel="nofollow - https://ellwoodepps.com/contacts/

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: May 04 2023 at 1:20pm
All right! I went to the Epps site but didn't go further when i didnt find any there. Embarrassed


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 1:51pm
Well still waiting on a Reply to my Email to Epps.  After doing a little research on Canadian Gun Nutz, I'm not holding my breath.

This place appears to be "poorly ran," and that is the very sugar coated version of what I read about on 11 pages on the subject on CGN.  

Anyway still looking for some good info on the subject of loading that caliber. The gun is down at the Engraver's getting the new caliber tattooed on the Barrel Flat in front of the receiver.

I will update as more info come in.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 1:54pm
Let me try something, stay tuned. It may be a few days.


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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: Honkytonk
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 2:14pm
I looked up .35/.303 load data and stumbled across an older thread on the same conversion as yours. One gent used .35 Remington specs and another .35 (NOT .358!!) Winchester data. Don't know if this helps, but please use caution! Keep us posted!


Posted By: Shamu
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 6:23pm
I contacted on of my my Aussie buddies & guess what the trail led right back here!
Clown
http://www.enfield-rifles.com/303-35-no1-mk3-progress-report_topic4244_page1.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.enfield-rifles.com/303-35-no1-mk3-progress-report_topic4244_page1.html

plus this:
"

I just made a quick phone call to old Ken. Now Ken is in his late 80s and although he can't remember where he left his keys or that he put the milk in the cupboard and not the fridge he can remember the 50s and 60s very well.

He told me that the .303-35 cartridge is basically the .35 Winchester. So based on that I did a bit of internet searching and found this info:

https://www.chuckhawks.com/35Win.htm" rel="nofollow - https://www.chuckhawks.com/35Win.htm

The .35 Winchester cartridge was introduced in 1903 in the Model 1895 lever action rifle. It was intended as the medium bore cartridge to complement the big bore .405 Winchester and the small bore .30-40 Krag in the Model 95.

Winchester factory loads drove a 250 grain soft point bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2195 fps with muzzle energy (ME) of 2650 ft. lbs. The .35 Winchester proved capable of humanely taking most of the world's thin-skinned game at moderate ranges.

Reloaders with serviceable .35 Winchester rifles can make reloadable cases from .30-40 Krag brass. The neck of .35 Winchester brass formed from .30-40 cases will be a little short, but this will not cause a problem. Because of its box magazine, the Model 95 can use bullets of any shape, including spitzer bullets, and it is not necessary to crimp the case mouth. Loading data can be found in old editions of the Lyman Reloading Handbook and also in Cartridges of the World. Medium burning rate powders such as IMR 4895, IMR 3031, IMR 4064, and IMR 4320 are good choices for the .35 Win.

My old 43rd edition of the Lyman Reloading Handbook shows the following data for jacketed bullets.

  • 47.0 grains of 4320 gives a 200 grain bullet a MV of 2225 fps, and 52.0 grains of the same powder gives a MV of 2475 fps.
  • 46.0 grains of IMR 4320 can drive a 220 grain bullet at a MV of 2150 fps, and 51.0 grains of 4320 can achieve a MV of 2395 fps.
  • 45.0 grains of IMR 4320 can achieve a MV of 2045 fps with a 250 grain bullet, and 50.0 grains of 4320 can drive 250 grain bullets to a MV of 2295 fps, 100 fps faster than the Winchester factory load".

Here from two Aussie posters: (In the link above)



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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 7:12pm
Honky:  Thanks but I am very familiar with the .35 Remington path to reloading this cartridge. Unfortunately the max loads for .35 Rem are only close to starting loads for  the .35 303.

I talked to Brian Pearce of Handloader, and Rifle Magazine today.  He suggested using .35 Winchester data, as that cartridge is made from the .30-40 Krag which is very similar to the .303 Brit. But it turns out None of my 15 or so loading manuals have any data on the .35WCF? They skip right from .35 Rem to .358 Win. even my Lyman 45 from 1971 which I started with, didn't even have the cartridge listed in the Obsolete Cartridges Section ? Teh .35 WCF is about .220 longer than the .303 case.

I know I want to keep pressures below .45K Psi for this gun, and by "Interpolation" I arrived at some usable loads using common powders like IMR4895, 3031, W748, Varget, and others I don't have. I used the data form Lyman 49 and crossed it to Hornady manuals, So I know listed pressures are consistent across the books.

Luckily Pressures and Velocities and Powder Charges are linier so it is mathematically pretty easy to fill in the blanks between starting and max loads and pick out the ones in the middle that do what you want.

I can get 2300 fps pretty easily with the 225 gr Sierra Game Kings I have with powder charges in between Starting and  Max loads for .358 Win that don't exceed even 40K psi.

Still there has to be proven loads for this cartridge from Epps, if I can only get them to take 5 minutes to send them to me .

I'm really blown away at how little info there is on this cartridge in the World of Archives. IE: Internet.

time marches on.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 7:15pm
Shamu:  Thanks that helps, I had seen that article but couldn't find it again to download.

Filling in the blanks here and what will result will be my loads for this rifle that I can post here.

I have a Chrony so once I get to desired velocities it will be good.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: BJ72
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 9:18pm
For anyone interested. Ideal Handbook no 38.

35 Winchester load data. Not many current powders in the list though.



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My idea of gun control is hitting what I aim at and nothing else.


Posted By: BJ72
Date Posted: May 08 2023 at 9:28pm
Appears what I was trying to post in my last reply didn't work. Here's my 2nd attempt.

From the Ideal Handbook no 38.


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My idea of gun control is hitting what I aim at and nothing else.


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 12 2023 at 2:27pm
Originally posted by Sapper740 Sapper740 wrote:

That's a nice looking rifle!  I too am a fan of .35 caliber rifles and would be greatly interested in what kind of velocities you achieve with that that cartridge which looks like an 'Improved' round.  

Since I can't find any usable data for the .35 Winchester which was a opened up 30-40 Krag case I decided to do some interpolation using the .358 Win. data.

I did this by taking starting and max loads for.358 Win with 225 gr bullets for IMR4895 starting at 44 gr up to 49 gr. Since all the calculations are linier, simple math can get you there for all the Charge 
weights in between.

44 gr  2179 fps 38,700 psi
45 gr  2230 fps 40,880 psi
46 gr  2283 fps 43,000 psi
47 gr  2335 fps 45,240 psi
48 gr  2387 fps 47,420 psi
49 gr  2439 fps 49,600 psi

I went up to 49 gr which is max for .358 Win. but all of those are over my Self Imposed Pressure Limit of 45,000 psi. I'll start with 46 gr and then go to 47 gr,.

With 250 gr bullets. 39-43 gr min/max 

40 gr 2020 fps  42,475 psi
41 gr 2060 fps  44,750 psi

Max load of 43 gr was only 2182 fps but at 49,300 psi !

I saw no reason to go father here as I probably will never shoot 250gr Jacketed Bullets. 225's will do whatever I want.

All of the starting and max loads for .358 Win came out of Lyman 49 so I know the pressures are right and the velocities will be close in my 22" bbl.

I was warned by Brian Pearce to not use Ball Powders in Cases like this as the pressures aren't high enough to get clean burns and Erratic Ignition is frequent.

 I also have a 250 gr Bore Rider Boolit Mold coming from Accurate Molds which will probably be the most used boolit for this gun. I can shoot Short Range Silhouette with it and thus shoot a lot more.

So that's where I'm at right now. I still don't have a place to shoot so I am just building stuff.

Randy



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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 14 2023 at 10:17am
Ellwood Epps was a bust!.  They had nothing, but I think it was more a situation of not wanting to try and find it.

I emailed them twice over the last week, but never got a response.

I called them yesterday and talked to the "Gunsmith"  He told me the new owners didn't have anything like that, and told me he replied to me,, except I already knew that He didn't!

So apparently the 11 pages of stories on CDN about that place was accurate.

It is a shame when people take over a great business and run it into the ground. I think the previous owners would have done the public a service by just closing the doors. And the Epps' name would not be sullied by the new owners.
 
I had a favorite restaurant locally that I had been eating at since 1976.  It recently changed hands and the new owner immediately started changing things, and then since nobody was coming so he changed the entire format from Philly Cheese Steaks, which had worked great for 50 years, to Tacos El Diablo?. Who wants to eat Tacos made by the Devil?  Nobody is coming now either.

All they had to do, was not Change Anything! The business was well established and ran perfectly,, 
but NO!

Life goes on.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: paddyofurniture
Date Posted: May 14 2023 at 10:54am
I feel your pain Randy.

To many companies change hands and just turn to crap. New owners are going to change the way things that worked.

Our brave is world.


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Always looking for military manuals, Dodge M37 items,books on Berlin Germany, old atlases ( before 1946) , military maps of Scotland. English and Canadian gun parts.


Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 14 2023 at 2:59pm
Not all change is for the better.  I’d say most change is for the worse….


Posted By: shiloh
Date Posted: May 14 2023 at 3:48pm
I agree, things ran fine until  covid, now look at us,


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Lead from the front; eliminate all obstacles...


Posted By: Goosic
Date Posted: May 14 2023 at 4:39pm
Originally posted by britrifles britrifles wrote:

Not all change is for the better.  I’d say most change is for the worse….
Change is what you make of it Geoff, good or bad. I was clinically dead for a total of 9 minutes, my left leg below the knee was internally severed, my right femur was shattered, my pelvis was fractured into three pieces, my right lung collapsed, every rib broken, my left eye socket was shattered, and I had retrograde amnesia for 21 days all because I decided to help a fellow truck driver who had jack-knifed his truck one night. After 7 years it is still hard to walk and I have constant pain below the waist. I am permanently disabled, and my sister, dad, and mom have disowned me because I did not give them any of the settlement money I received which was just enough to get me a used Ram truck. Am I mad at the driver of the SUV that hit me? Absolutely Not. Am I upset that my career as a professional over the road truck driver ended that night? Not in the slightest.  Change came to me as brutally as it could come, changing everything about me and who I was. I wake up now and am extremely thankful for being given one more day on this rock to be with my daughters and my fiance. I get to shoot some No4Mk1 Enfield rifles too!...


Posted By: shiloh
Date Posted: May 15 2023 at 3:23am
Its unfair to dis a business based on one experience and what other dycks on the internet say. Its still a viable and thriving business. may not have the best phone or internet manors; this does not make them a bad business. People actually still drive for hours to get there instead of ordering via internet.......

 Unfortunately when Elwood left us, his legacy  went as well.  The owners who took over, kept the gun shop running, its a place to buy/swap ammo, guns and other crap. Its the small town general store of the sporting goods world.
 As far as loading data goes, they probably still have all the archives from Elwood, but they`re not going to share it, it becomes a liability if something goes wrong.
 Back in the good ole days it`d have been written down on a scrap of paper for you and sent on your merry way.
Those days are long gone. I still do business with Epps occasionally, only because gun shops are becoming not that common any more and they usually have hard to find parts, but not bullet recipes.
Sorry for your poor experience with Epps, I like the place, you should go visit some time.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjmj4mEjvf-AhX8jokEHQzgA8QQFnoECBsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fcanadaguns%2Fcomments%2Fs760xz%2Fanyone_have_experience_with_ellwood_epps%2F&usg=AOvVaw2odNgNEZYG9WWN55UnKidJ" rel="nofollow - https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjmj4mEjvf-AhX8jokEHQzgA8QQFnoECBsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fcanadaguns%2Fcomments%2Fs760xz%2Fanyone_have_experience_with_ellwood_epps%2F&usg=AOvVaw2odNgNEZYG9WWN55UnKidJ



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Lead from the front; eliminate all obstacles...


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 21 2023 at 4:06pm
Shiloh:  Kind of a long Drive for me. But if I leave now I can probably be there by Thursday. should I pick you up on the way?

I was pretty shocked at the 11 pages of negative comments about the place on Canadian Gun Nutz I figured that if there are that much negative stuff some or most must be true. 

They were of no help to me and even lied that they had answered my email which hasn't shown up yet.

I have managed to put some load data together that I think will get me started. I still don't have a place to shoot so all of it is on hold for the time being.

Shamu was a big help! ;>)

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 21 2023 at 5:26pm
FWIW, .35 Win data from my Lyman 41st Ed. 




Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 22 2023 at 4:15am
.358 Win from my Speer No. 7 Manual.  The text says loaded to 54,000 lbs mean pressure, I assume that is CUP, which is higher than the .308 Win.  These loads seem pretty high to me.  

This same manual gives max load of 43 gr IMR 4895 for a 180 gr bullet in the .303 British vs 54 gr max in .358 Win for the same weight bullet.  And, I don’t know if the 4895 you buy today is the same as it was 50 plus years ago.  

Perhaps use .303 load data and extrapolate back on bullet weight?  











Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 22 2023 at 4:51am
 .35 Winchester from Lyman 42 Ed.  Again, seems like pretty stout charges compared to .303.  Not sure how a heavier bullet allows for more powder (compared to .303). More case capacity with larger dia. Bullet of the same weight? 




Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 22 2023 at 8:23am
Britrifles: Thanks for showing those pages it was much appreciated!

 I used data from Lyman 49 for .358 Win using IMR4895 with 225 Sierra Game Kings.

 Starting at 44 gr for 2180fps  38,700 psi  
                 45 gr for 2230fps  40,880 psi.

My standard load for my .308s with 147 gr M80 Ball pulled bullets is 45 gr of 4895 for 2700 fps only load I have ever used in my Ruger Scout Rifle.

With 250 gr bullets
 Starting at 39gr for 1980fps  40,200 psi
                 40gr for 2020fps  42,475 psi  

The highest that Lyman 49 goes for .358 Win with 4895 for 250gr bullets is 43 gr for 2180 fps 49,300psi

So apparently they toned those loads down considerably as Speer's starting load is 45 gr?

This is exactly why I was trying to dig up any info for the .35 Win that was out there as that cartridge more closely resembles the .35-303.

I know that powders change slightly from lot to lot .  WW2 Military Loads for .30-06, M2 Ball for Garand's ranged from 45-48 gr of IMR 4895 depending on the lot and they were tested for velocities before the run was started, so they would end up the same or very close to 2700 fps so that the trajectories of the bullets would match the graduations on the sights. The current Hornady Manuals have a separate section for Garand Loading.

Anyway, thanks for your input, the screen shots of the manuals were a valuable resource.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 22 2023 at 9:33am
You’re welcome Randy.  

The old data for .358 Win seems stout to me.  

Looking at current data for .308 Win on the Hodgdon website for a 215 gr bullet, IMR4895:

     Min  38.0 gr, 49,900 psi
     Max 41.0 gr, 60,900 psi

These would be piezo peak pressures and not CUP. I don’t know how a larger diameter bullet at the same weight affects pressure (.358 vs .308), perhaps it increases case volume and reduces pressures somewhat, explaining the higher charge weights.

Hodgdon online data also has .358 Win, for 250 gr Bullet, IMR 4895:
     Min  no data
     Max 43.0 gr, 51,200 CUP

So indeed, the .358 250 gr bullet has a higher max charge than a .308 215 gr. Bullet! 

I’d probably load your .35-303 with 250 gr bullet starting at 36.0 gr then work up to maybe 40.0 gr.  Stop if the bolt handle sticks.  

Regards,

Geoff
 




Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 22 2023 at 10:42am
I will be starting with the 225 gr Sierra Game Kings and a 250 gr Cast Bore Rider Boolit from Accurate Molds.  If there is the possibility of a moose hunt in the Yukon in my future I'd surely work up a winner with the 250 gr Game Kings.

Will be using 5744 for the Cast Boolit and I have enough experience with 5744 and Cast Boolits to be able to work up a load safely. I already use it in .308, .30-06, .303 .45-70, so the .35-303 wont' be much of a stretch.  You simply start below and work up until the Trajectory becomes useful and not too much Recoil.

For my .45-70 with a 325 gr RCBS .45-300 FNGC I started 25 gr as recommended by Members at Cast Boolits. That was useless so I went up to 33 gr in 2 gr increments. 33gr yielded a usable trajectory for Short Range Silhouette, with a tolerable level of recoil. I could shoot 50 in a morning and not hate life. I tried 35 gr but the Recoil increased with no significant change in trajectory.

I'll do the same thing with this round. The Boolit from the Accurate Catalog is Accurate 360-250D

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 22 2023 at 12:37pm
I also printed out all your pictures to include in my .35-303 Load Manual. ;>)

This is the most useful info I have been able to find in one place during this whole thread.

Thanks again!

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 22 2023 at 1:21pm
I knew these old reloading manuals would come in handy some day, glad I could help Randy. 


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 26 2023 at 2:38pm
So I just received my new Boolit Mold from Accurate Bullet Molds for the 35-303.

It is a 250 gr Bore Rider style Boolit which should feed well from the magazine as the nose section is about twice as long as the Lee 358-200 boolit.

As you can see the mold is Machined Brass Jewelry! I will cast a bunch of these up this weekend and get them sized and loaded up.  Will be starting at 26 gr of 5744 and working up until the velocity is between 1700-1800 fps which should be the sweet spot for this type of Boolit.

We'll See Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 26 2023 at 3:18pm
Looking forward to hearing the results.  What alloy will you use? 5744 should be a good powder choice.  




Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 26 2023 at 3:49pm
I cast just about everything from regular Wheel Weights. I got a bunch of wheel weights from a guy who worked for Sears Automotive for decades.  I got 11ea. 5 gallon cans full for $20.  @1100 lbs.!  

I smelted all of it on a Memorial Day back when, and when I got to the last can I dumped it into the pot and it was half full of Gear Oil! It did belch smoke for about 30 minutes and my wife cussed me for the rest of the day! Stunk up the place pretty good! Haven't done that since?

Plain Wheel Weights are just easier than futsing with a bunch of different alloys.  I get really good results because most molds are cut with dimensions that result in perfect sizes with WW. Most hardly even need sizing.

This first batch will get sized and hand lubed so I don't get Alox in the die.  After that they will get PC'd and ran thru the die to size the driving bands and install the Gas Check. He cut the Bore Rider section on the minus side of the the tolerance so it should drop at .348, which with the PC will be right at .350 which is the bore dia. of this Barrel. Grooves are .358.

I may put some of these in the Lathe and Drill for HP's.  Won't need that many as I have the 225 gr Game Kings waiting in the wings.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 27 2023 at 1:43pm
It took the mold about 30 pours to start producing good Boolits. After everything got heated up and running right it made this one.  I ran it thru the sizing die and installed the Gas Check. The driving bands were only about .0005-.001 above the .360 sizing die so not much happened to them.





I loaded one into an empty case and it fed OK off the magazine.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: A square 10
Date Posted: May 27 2023 at 6:34pm
nice looking bullets , look like they should serve you well , 


Posted By: Canuck
Date Posted: May 27 2023 at 6:46pm
Good job!

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Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually


Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 28 2023 at 5:02am
Originally posted by W.R.Buchanan W.R.Buchanan wrote:

I ran it thru the sizing die and installed the Gas Check. The driving bands were only about .0005-.001 above the .360 sizing die so not much happened to them.

Randy

Exactly what you want.  Looks good.  I assume you will lube the grease grooves?

What groove diameter is the rifling, .358?




Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: May 28 2023 at 9:41am
Yes the grooves are .358 on the nose. JES Reboring did the barrel and he is good.!

I will probably Powder Coat these Boolits as I have had really good luck with PC in Rifles and Pistols.  There is no leading with PC, Gas Check or not. but the cool thing is that after shooting a bunch the only thing left in the barrel is the gun powder residue from the last shot.

The next ones will get the Gas Checks installed after PC ing.


Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: Uncle Grinch
Date Posted: July 29 2023 at 1:08pm
Randy,

Been following your thread off and on for a week or so on the 35-303 cartridge. I’m curious where you found dies for the 35-303. None seem to be available without a long wait. 

I may end up getting Jes to rebore my reconstructed No.1 Mkiii* to this caliber since the rifling near the muzzle is very worn.

Shoot safe…
Mike


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Shoot safe…


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: July 30 2023 at 9:24am
Mike:  I use .358 Winchester Dies as I am only Neck Sizing and Seating Bullets. The Sizing die was also used to open up the case mouth to 35 cal. make sure to use a bunch of Lube for that initial operation.

I have 200 new and primed Hornady .303 cases that a friend gave me to make into .35-303. That is a Separate Operation so the Expander and De-Priming Pin is backed out so I didn't push out the new primers.

C&H lists .35-303 dies but I didn't call them to see availability as I already had the .358 Win dies.

Hope this helps.

I still haven't got to shoot this gun or anything else due to our Range being closed from the rains earlier this year. They are saying opening the road by Labor Day but Caltrans is notorious for being FOS so we are hoping.  I'm going to be pretty busy up there after we get back open as I've got several guns to deal with Load Development and Sighting In as well as lots of Shotgun She!!s to burn up on the Skeet Field.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: Uncle Grinch
Date Posted: July 30 2023 at 9:38am
Randy,

Thanks for the reply.  I have 358 dies for my FN98 so that may be a solution. Also have 300 rounds of HXP 303 ammo. This Enfield has a worse barrel than my other one, plus it’s been sporterized.  I’m thinking I want to go with the 35-303 or, if possible, do a 38-55. 

My son has a 35 Whelan so that’s another option on dies.  I glad you gave me this tip.  I’m thinking seriously about the 35-303 now! 

Take care,
Mike




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Shoot safe…


Posted By: W.R.Buchanan
Date Posted: July 30 2023 at 11:32am
Mike: Jes can also do .375-303 and I think .400-303 as well. I would stick with variations of the .303 case as you won't have to rechamber it and there's the problem of getting it to feed right.  And I still haven't conquered that problem with mine ,, mainly cuz I haven't been able to shoot it.

Randy


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It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do.


Posted By: mattri
Date Posted: December 25 2023 at 6:28pm
Any updates on this?



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