Does anyone know if bullets are usually very slightly bigger than the size of the barrel? I just got a .303 Enfield from a friend, my first gun yahoo! Except the only problem is that I know next to nothing about rifles. I wanted to see if this is a good gun and one of my friends told me that sometimes people ruin the muzzles by cleaning and enlarging them so the gun looses accuracy. After purchasing some ammunition I used one of the bullets to see how it fit in the muzzle and the bullet doesn't fit all the way almost all the way but their is a very slight size difference. The bullets chamber fine and seem to fit the chamber well. Any explanation from someone who knows a bit more about guns would be greatly appreciated.
Bullet Vs. Muzzle size?
- Thread starter jjc007
- Start date
cntryboy1289
New member
You're correct
Bullets should be slightly larger than the bore diameter. When you shoot the bullet down the barrel, the pressure from the gases fired will enlarge the bullet slightly sealing off the barrel and make the bullet conform to the rifling.
Bullets should be slightly larger than the bore diameter. When you shoot the bullet down the barrel, the pressure from the gases fired will enlarge the bullet slightly sealing off the barrel and make the bullet conform to the rifling.
Muzzle damage is not usually caused by even wear but uneven wear. If you look at the lands they should all be sharp at the muzzle. Often you will see one or two worn down and the others sharp...that is a BAD muzzle. Even wear will not usually effect accuracy too bad...uneven wear needs attention.
You can counterbore, or sometimes just recrown. If real bad you would need a new barrel. The bullet test will not show you this, you need a lit mag glass and look carefully at the lands.
this is only a problem with cleaning rods inserted at the muzzle end, as opposed to the breech.
Like an M1 carbine. A LE however can be cleaned (and should be cleaned) from the breech after removing the bolt. It is also the case that many LE's are not cleaned with rods but with pull through patches...patch attached to a cord that is pulled through the bore. Of course, who knows how the previous owner cleaned the gun. so check the muzzle and see how it looks. I would buy a gun with even wear (even a lot of even wear and expect a decent shooter), but would not buy a gun with uneven wear due to cleaning rod damage...unless I thought it could be counterbored. Hope that helps.
You can counterbore, or sometimes just recrown. If real bad you would need a new barrel. The bullet test will not show you this, you need a lit mag glass and look carefully at the lands.
this is only a problem with cleaning rods inserted at the muzzle end, as opposed to the breech.
Like an M1 carbine. A LE however can be cleaned (and should be cleaned) from the breech after removing the bolt. It is also the case that many LE's are not cleaned with rods but with pull through patches...patch attached to a cord that is pulled through the bore. Of course, who knows how the previous owner cleaned the gun. so check the muzzle and see how it looks. I would buy a gun with even wear (even a lot of even wear and expect a decent shooter), but would not buy a gun with uneven wear due to cleaning rod damage...unless I thought it could be counterbored. Hope that helps.
cntryboy1289
New member
info for you
Even a gun whose muzzle has been damaged due to a cleaning rod can be fixed most of the time. You may have to have some of the muzzle end cut off and recrowned, but most of the time you can recrown it and it still be a good shooter.
Even a gun whose muzzle has been damaged due to a cleaning rod can be fixed most of the time. You may have to have some of the muzzle end cut off and recrowned, but most of the time you can recrown it and it still be a good shooter.
Before you shoot any Lee-Enfield with any make of ammo, have the headspace checked. Thousands of them have been assembled out of parts bins with zero QC. No shooting until you know the headspace is ok.
The .303 British doesn't use a .303" diameter bullet. It uses a .311" to .315" bullet. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure between .311" and .315" and still be considered ok. Bigger than that they're considered worn out. Slug the bore, hammer a .30 calibre cast bullet through the barrel and measure it with a micrometer, to find out which bullet you need.
Cutting off the muzzle of any milsurp drops its value by half.
The .303 British doesn't use a .303" diameter bullet. It uses a .311" to .315" bullet. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure between .311" and .315" and still be considered ok. Bigger than that they're considered worn out. Slug the bore, hammer a .30 calibre cast bullet through the barrel and measure it with a micrometer, to find out which bullet you need.
Cutting off the muzzle of any milsurp drops its value by half.
Yes, bigger
The hole in a rifle barrel is called the bore. Into the bore are cut "grooves". The part of the bore between the grooves are called "lands"
In a properly cut .30 caliber barrel, the measurement of the bore is .300. This is from a land, across the center of the bore to the opposite land. The rifling grooves are cut .004 inches deep. The groove diameter (from the bottom of one groove to the bottom of the opposite groove) is .308. This is why you see both numbers used to refer to .30 caliber rifles. It is just a matter of where in the barrel you choose to measure (lands or grooves).
The bullet must be at or slightly over (.001) groove diameter, to seal powder gas in the bore behind it, and have the lands "dig in" to the body of the bullet to produce spin. So, a bullet should be larger (at the widest point) than the hole in the muzzle of the rifle. If not the bullet is "undersize", and poor to extremely poor accuracy will result.
Your .303 British has a nominal groove diameter of .311 (there is a lot of variation in tolerance for older military rifles). FYI, the name of a cartridge may, or may not have a direct relationship with the actual diameter of the inside of the barrel.
Hope this helps.
The hole in a rifle barrel is called the bore. Into the bore are cut "grooves". The part of the bore between the grooves are called "lands"
In a properly cut .30 caliber barrel, the measurement of the bore is .300. This is from a land, across the center of the bore to the opposite land. The rifling grooves are cut .004 inches deep. The groove diameter (from the bottom of one groove to the bottom of the opposite groove) is .308. This is why you see both numbers used to refer to .30 caliber rifles. It is just a matter of where in the barrel you choose to measure (lands or grooves).
The bullet must be at or slightly over (.001) groove diameter, to seal powder gas in the bore behind it, and have the lands "dig in" to the body of the bullet to produce spin. So, a bullet should be larger (at the widest point) than the hole in the muzzle of the rifle. If not the bullet is "undersize", and poor to extremely poor accuracy will result.
Your .303 British has a nominal groove diameter of .311 (there is a lot of variation in tolerance for older military rifles). FYI, the name of a cartridge may, or may not have a direct relationship with the actual diameter of the inside of the barrel.
Hope this helps.