No matter what condition a milsurp is in, shooter or plinker, I love it. I've seen P14s that just look like they were abused and some that you could see the history played out on them, but love that. If these rifles could tell what they've seen...it's really humbling and sobering.

When I was reloading, I took some reject casings (split necks, stress marks on case body, damaged primer pockets, etc) and made dummy rounds. Some of those dummy rounds were snug but two of them cycle just fine. I made them to practice my Mad Minute skills. I'll take those two and use them as a starting point. I'll try rebuild the others to their specs and see what happens. From there, I'll do the dowel method and gain an average from that.
I figure that using the dummy rounds would give me a better average and then use the dowel to confirm and fine tune.
Since the SMLE chambers had a lower tolerance for fit, I figure a slight slack in tolerance for the round and chamber will be okay, especially once the casings are fire formed. Kind of like an ak and how steel casings tend to do better compared to brass 7.62.

Now for bullet seating depth, oh boy...
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Now for this tool, it's something I'm going to have to get at some point, probably the hornady one. For now though, the dowel method should suffice to give me an idea. Has anyone noticed that They can methodically replicate results to the +/- 0.01 difference in loading a round? The reason I ask is that given the dowel method, it could possibly be .06 in difference. Given that, it would give me an idea where to aim at, then go from there. Couple this with the OCW method introduced by heavies, we got ourselves a Catalina one wine mixer. This is becoming my new addiction...someone stop me.
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On another note with this new found info, which again, THANK YOU , looking at the hornady boat tails and the Speer soft points, boat tails have secant and Speer has tangent ogives. This may explain why the SPs had a better grouping that the boat tails. If I seat the bullet above or below the crimp canelleur, is that ok?

I feel like Neo in the Matrix: "I know Kung Fu." This supports my idea that we need to upgrade out brains with internal hard drives and external ports...mad scientist things
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So to make sure I got this, COAL has a direct impact on ballistics due to the relationship between case pressure and bullet seating depth. My question is if the ogive on a certain manufacturer is quite long, could reducing the load while seating the bullet lower (of course within spec) yield a desireable effect? I'm speaking hypothetically.
Also, how would I measure the ogive correctly?

Bushido, you are absolutely correct on that. So, I have been a sponge soaking up knowledge that Inspector has dropped on me, and I'm forever grateful for it. Again, cant express the gratitude he and everyone here deserve.
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Thanks for the heads up on that Heavies and the support. I figured that that's how OAL played out in the chamber but never thought about the projectile itself. More research and notes to be done. On this next trip, I'll take more detailed notes and post them with results. I'm really liking Hornady's stuff.
As far as trimming cases, Since these are the first series of casings fired through the rifle, I'm going to verify their case length and see what's going on. I'll dissect a casing too, especially a stressed one so I can really learn a thing or two. To also keep my "quasi scientific research" constant, going to use new brass and not the previously fired cases, just to confirm what I have now. What I usually say in such matters, "seems legit". Just to clarify, what did you mean by "anneal" the neck? Is that the method of using a full length die to size just the neck?
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On a side note, I hope this helps others too, especially someone on the fence about reloading and shooting. Need to start recording and getting that vlog up and running.

I got a pretty good grouping on my pack too :rofl

That was my one fear with loading these rounds; I really did not want a case head separation. I'll try full sizing the bloated casing and see what happens. This is a new aspect of shooting I'm finding (more like stumbling into) that's entertaining...it's also starting to entertain my wallet lol

The load seems to work quite well.
I was surprised that the soft points did so well. I figured the boat tails would be closer but I guess I hit the sweet spot with the SP and have to tailor the BTs. I'll keep the same data for the SP and load three sets of BTs; one a lighter load, one previous established load, and one load that's built up.
definately going to post the results. Hopefully I'll get there this sunday
I really appreciate the hints and tips guys. I'm hoping today's data was a weird fluke and got some good info. Research has to be done...FOR SCIENCE!

When you say "handholds", do you mean "handloads"?

Yeah autocorrect can sometimes be annoying, case in point. Translate handholds to handloads HAHA

Am I reading this right? You shot groups at 100 yds that measured 1-1/2 to 3 inches from a standing position?

I was just as surprised, to the point where Im just going to take it for what it is. I can account for that one flier as i rushed and jerked the trigger. I use a 3-9x40 scope to spot and when i tried spotting for myself, it wasn't happening. Even in my data book my calls were nowhere near what I thought i was hitting, although i had the right direction (high or low, left or right). The picture is there to show proof (old internet adage of "Pics or it didn't happen"); This target was what I pulled after standing.
I think I need to try again to confirm these holds with this rifle.

Hello 2a Members!

 Cat here, doing my thing. So, as a new reloader, I have found that using the Lee Handloader kit is extremely fun...and extremely slow. Especially for a complicated round such as 303 Brit (many have commented and commended me on taking on such a task). Anyways, Today I finally Got a chance to get some data in for the rifle. And well...Its kind of weird. To sum up what I did, heres a small break down of what i had:
 
20 rounds prvi partisan 180 grn, soft point

(handholds had the same input: winchester/PPU casings, winchester magnum primer, lee dipper 2.8cc of BLC-2)
 
20 rounds Hornady 174 gr boat tail
20 rounds Speer round nose 180 gr
20 rounds Speer soft point 180 gr

Alright, so now begins the fun. The factory load was to be my control. I measured all of them and got the average OAL and diameter. I basically dissected the bullet to get a feel for what standard i was looking for. Of course, I would build up with this knowledge. Then there was the range...the factory loads went everywhere. I was using paper plates (9 inch circumference) at 100 yards, bench rested. I COULD NOT GET A SINGLE GROUPING 
Then on another plate, i started shooting handholds. To note, the boat tails felt more "predictable" in terms on shooting, and the soft points coming in close second. the round noses seemed to have a weird pattern of grouping low...more on that later.
To make this even more quirky, i also had an idea on playing with the OAL, so long as it did not exceed the max OAL. I understand SMLE have VARIOUS chamber sizes and thus, OAL is hard to gauge for them, how ever, i appears that mine is a little blown out but short. i noticed that all rounds would fit right into the breech just fine, but the length of the bullet on some would prevent the bolt from properly closing. Of course, ejected, set aside. How does this relate? The shorter rounds (75.4 i believe was my estimated average), seemed to be the best. I did not really take too much note on the round noses because i felt that id most likely be loading boat tails and soft points, but i will still retain the data for later use.
Now for the humorous part. I decided "Hey, why not go Olympic shooting with this bad girl?" So, I stood up and shot 100m with an SMLE. And what do you know, ACURRATE GROUPINGS!!!
I took groupings of 5 soft point and 10 boat tail. The soft point scored an AMAZING 1/12 grouping, while the boat tail scored 3" groupings. How i did this better than bench rested with factory ammo, I don't know, i guess it was Pit love (inside joke for any Marines reading this). i continued to send rounds benched after finding this out with the same results as standing.
Now to Questions of a newbie part, now that we got the mad science out of the way. WTH was going on with the factory loads? was i maybe the way the powder ignites or maybe the way the cases expanded? Im trying to figure out how those groupings came to be so foul. I will try to retest to see if it replicates.
 As for the handloads, I believe I know what I must do; for the 174 gr, slowly back down so its a minimum load, slow it down a little so its not spreading as much. the soft points are my scalpel rounds lol. Ultimately, I do wish to make my rifle a shooter, and see what I can do i competition shoots. I do like the BLC-2, and will probably try another powder, but i think BLC will be my standard. Im using the Win. Magnum primers, making a good combo with the BLC, but any other suggestions?  She may be old, but she isn't taking age into account.
Do want to make a shout out to Inspector and the crew at the range. With out the help of those projectiles and priceless advice, wouldn't have any clue as to what I was doing. Was great getting range time with you guys!