Thread: 303 question

hi guys I have a set of fl 303 dies and I have been reading about neck sizing, I'm aware ya can back the fl die off a bit to achieve neck sizing but I had a thought I have a set of 7.62x39 dies there I wondered if I could get away with using the fl die to neck size the 303 case without sizing the body and pushing the neck back.lee neck dies are cheap enough was just an idea. cheers

Only one way to find out bud....be a bit of jiggling to get correct amount of case neck sized only but slowly slowly catchee monkey. I would remove seating stem and start with die really high,bring it down turn at a time and see.

That won't work. The 303 shoulder and body is fatter than the 7.62x39 one. You will smoosh your cases trying.

The collet die works well for a few firings until the brass starts springing back too much.

Well bugger me. Pommy is correct.the seater works fine but Boddy taper connects with sizing die before case goes in deep enough to work neck.

Lee Collet Die Only 303 British #91021 https://share.google/TSAJaw4f7M1EsLz6V

As an aside has anyone tried only neck sizing. 303 and using the case's in different rifles?
I know that normally they would not fit in other calibres but the enfield chamber can be quite generous and I thought this might help extend the life of the case's.

Originally Posted by PeteD

As an aside has anyone tried only neck sizing. 303 and using the case's in different rifles?
I know that normally they would not fit in other calibres but the enfield chamber can be quite generous and I thought this might help extend the life of the case's.

The cases still fireform to the chamber, even as generous as they are. Given the wide variation in chambers out there, there's a high chance that brass fireformed and neck sized for one rifle won't fit in another.

Originally Posted by PeteD

As an aside has anyone tried only neck sizing. 303 and using the case's in different rifles?
I know that normally they would not fit in other calibres but the enfield chamber can be quite generous and I thought this might help extend the life of the case's.

You will end up with case head separation thereby shortening the life by stretching the case in a generous chamber. Full length resize and keep the brass matched to the chamber you size for....!

Nope be careful. You might find the chamber on one rifle is way smaller than the other one. I got an empty case stuck one day trying something. It was sticking quite a bit out of the chamber. Nowhere near closing the bolt. From that I would say neck sizing is fine for the 303 but you have to keep cases separate for each rifle

I have boxes for each rifles cases

Originally Posted by PeteD

As an aside has anyone tried only neck sizing. 303 and using the case's in different rifles?
I know that normally they would not fit in other calibres but the enfield chamber can be quite generous and I thought this might help extend the life of the case's.

I tried this, the reloads wouldn’t chamber in either of my sons 2 rifles

There's no advantage to neck sizing the 303.

I own and have used a 303 Neck sizer die for many a years. Was working great for me.

I started NS only when I noticed that I pushed the shoulders back some millimeters, not 1000s of inches, (when the FL sizer is set up according to the manufacturers specs.

I wanted my cases to stretch as little as possible after the innitial firing. Origenally I would loose cases after only 3 reloads, but once I started NSing, life expectancy trippled.

It worked for me - Im not saying It'll work for the next person.

Originally Posted by rifleman orewa

There's no advantage to neck sizing the 303.

You obviously hadn't seen the photos posted on this forum early this year that showed once fired brass that looked more like 308 than 303 ...the chamber variations between different 303s is huge,always has been due to wartime manufacturing when a near enough chamber was good enough.loose was good= no chance of it jamming with mud,blood or ice... It simply DID NOT MATTER for rifle that only fired brass once.as long as it fired and projectiles exited. Gun maker had done on. If your chamber is large, long,fat or combination of all three.neck sizing means brass will still be bigger than factory so won't need to grow so much again= less worked= lasts longer.

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Nope be careful. You might find the chamber on one rifle is way smaller than the other one. I got an empty case stuck one day trying something. It was sticking quite a bit out of the chamber. Nowhere near closing the bolt. From that I would say neck sizing is fine for the 303 but you have to keep cases separate for each rifle

Like the man says. This dude knows what he talking about. Only FLS. I used old brass but found it was essential to anneal before sizing. It was tricky getting the sweet spot on adjusting the die. Thats said the loaded brass chambered well. Reckon each rifle would be different. Spent a huge amount cleaning up the bolt.Did not get to fully dismantle despite having the tool from our man in Kaiapoi. The cleaned bolt made a huge difference as in dragging to semi glass. Sheets of 2k WnD. 2C. It is a unique case to load but rewarding.