Reloading .303 British

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bullet drop

Printed From: Enfield-Rifles.com
Category: Reloading
Forum Name: Reloading .303 British
Forum Description: Enfield-Rifles.com accepts NO responsibility for any loads that may be used by persons reading this forum. USE CAUTION WHEN TRYING ANY NEW LOADS!!! ANY DATA DEEMED UNSAFE WILL BE REMOVED!!!
URL: http://www.enfield-rifles.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13191
Printed Date: March 26 2026 at 8:19pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.07 - https://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: bullet drop

Posted By: slowindown
Subject: bullet drop
Date Posted: February 08 2024 at 12:14pm

Does anyone have the bullet drop figures for 174gr sierra hpbt matchkings loaded with 40gr of varget? With the rifle zeroed at 100 yards with a scope (mil dot) I would like to know the drops for 200-500 yards.

I ordered some of those smk's and some 174gr ppu fmjbt. Would one use the same 40gr load for the ppu's? I've also seen 39.5gr varget mentioned. Roughly the same bullet drop?

Replies:

Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: February 08 2024 at 12:40pm

These should be very close, certainly get you on paper. MOA elevation required From/To ranges indicated. Sorry don’t use Mils, but they can be converted.

100 to 200 +3

200 to 300 +3 1/2

300 to 400 +4

400 to 500 +5

500 to 600 +5

Posted By: slowindown
Date Posted: February 08 2024 at 12:53pm

Thanks! That’s what I need.

Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: February 08 2024 at 2:06pm

FYI, I’ve got a new Chrono, it’s the little Garmin XERO C1 that I plan to test out tomorrow. I’ll be shooting the No. 4 with my regular match load 174 SMK over 40.0 grains of Varget.

My current Chrono data is from my old Shooting Chrony Alpha Master, which was sometimes inconsistent as lighting changed. I never totally trusted it. Then, one day, I shot a .223 round thru it and that was the end of it!

The Garmin works on Doppler radar to record bullet velocity, sits beside the rifle. Couldn’t be easer to use. And I had just about bought a Magnetospeed which attaches to the rifle and that can affect trajectory.

Posted By: slowindown
Date Posted: February 08 2024 at 5:14pm

I am looking forward to seeing the speeds you record.

Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: February 09 2024 at 12:38pm

Shot the rebarreled Long Branch Mk 1/3 with Criterion barrel (5 groove, LH twist) today.

The load:

PPU Case

WLR Primer

40.0 gr Varget

174 gr Sierra MatchKing

3.07 inch OAL

Garmin XERO C1 Chrono Results for 10 Shots, Temp 58 deg F:

Mean Velocity 2405 fps

Extreme Spread 69 fps

Standard Deviation 20 fps

I chrono’ed four 10 shot groups. The mean velocity decreased a bit for each group. Here are the mean velocities for each group:

1) 2405

2) 2396

3) 2363

4) 2355

Posted By: slowindown
Date Posted: February 09 2024 at 7:15pm

Thanks for those numbers on the load!!