.303 British anyone?

[D-Rock425]

Anyone hunt with a 303 British?   My Grandpa has an old one in the gun case thinking i might dig it out and maybe bear hunt with it this August.  I just dont know much about it.

[Biggerhammer]

It would smoke a bear fine, the only experience I had with one was 15 or so years ago. A local gun shop was selling off inventory due to the fact the owners was murdered in the shop. I picked up a British .303 British and 12 boxes of Norma factory loads for a 150.00 bucks shot up the ammo at everything that moved. Snakes, coyotes, Rockchucks etc. then I sold it off, recoil and performance felt right on par with the .308 Winchester.

[JimmyHoffa]

I would agree, like a .308 Win.  They usually also have a LH twist, so a bit different in that regard.

[RifleRidge]

  , We own a 303 British Rifle.. I have shot it a few times.. Was my Dads gun  passed down to me..

I was lucky enough that "allen" on this board sold us two boxes of 303 BR shells for 15.00 each.. they now retail for over 60.00 a box..

I have been told " not the most desirable gun"... Not sure why..

 

[lokidog]

, We own a 303 British Rifle.. I have shot it a few times.. Was my Dads gun  passed down to me..

I was lucky enough that "allen" on this board sold us two boxes of 303 BR shells for 15.00 each.. they now retail for over 60.00 a box..

I have been told " not the most desirable gun"... Not sure why..

 

They tend tyo weigh about 23 pounds....     I bought one but have never fired it.  It would be a fun one to hunt with if you don't have to hike far.

[Simcoe hunter]

Really, 23 pounds?  I used to own a couple of them.  The only thing I shot was a bunch of greydiggers( California ground squirrel).  They were designed as a battle rifle and as such won't win any weight loss contests.  But before "sporterizing" one they only weigh about half of the 23 pounds someone else mentioned, if that.

My Dad used one of them in stock form to shoot a little forked horn one year.  My brother in law got one of the nicest bucks I've seen from around here with a .303 he had sporterized.  It was about a 200 yd shot.

They do have about the same ballistics as a .308 Win.  I have read articles in outdoor mags pointing out that more game in Canada, moose and bear, have been taken with the .303 than any other cartridge.  Do your job, and it is capable enough.

[RifleRidge]

  , Thank you for sharing your information... Good to know..  

[lokidog]

Really, 23 pounds?  I used to own a couple of them.  The only thing I shot was a bunch of greydiggers( California ground squirrel).  They were designed as a battle rifle and as such won't win any weight loss contests.  But before "sporterizing" one they only weigh about half of the 23 pounds someone else mentioned, if that.

My Dad used one of them in stock form to shoot a little forked horn one year.  My brother in law got one of the nicest bucks I've seen from around here with a .303 he had sporterized.  It was about a 200 yd shot.

They do have about the same ballistics as a .308 Win.  I have read articles in outdoor mags pointing out that more game in Canada, moose and bear, have been taken with the .303 than any other cartridge.  Do your job, and it is capable enough.

Notice the big laughing smiley behind this figure.   

[wadu1]

Nothing wrong with a .303; standard battle sights are crude but are uesable. Before retireing mine I took deer and elk with mine; nothing better than a jungle carbine in dense wetside cover for blacktails. The elk was with a full sniper configuration from WW-ll felt like 50 pounds but shot well; I wish I still had that one. My first Mule buck was with a standard Mk-4 with half the wood cutoff in 1967 with my dad in Republic.

[Jim the Plumber]

The 303 British is about the equivalent of the 300 Savage, with a 150 grain bullet at about 2650, a solid 300 feet per second behind the 308Win.
 One trhing to look for in the older WW-II Enfields is excessive head spacing due in large part to the weak bolt design.
 The rifle and cartridge would be good to 200 or so on deer, a bit less on bigger bear.
 Most factory ammo is loaded rather anemic with a 180 grain round nose bullet.
Reloading will make a deference.
 The only 303 Brit kill I've witnessed was a coyote shot with factory 180 at about 40 yards. Folded him up like a cheap lawn chair.

[Special T]

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/smallarms/p/leeenfield.htm
Likely has killed more big game than any other cartridge... I would guess more than the 06. My father has one. Nothing special, but a family heirloom since my great uncle brought it back from WW2 and then had it sporterized. Shells are harder to find, but it is a more common caliber in any of the places that were part of the british empire. India, Canada etc.

[washelkhunter]

Alot of luftwaffe planes where shot down with that cartridge.

[MountainWalk]

I have one back in AR. It is a dandy hog gun!! Holds a lot of shells, and since it is a cock on closing action, it is very fast!    I've heard it said that the U.S had the best target rifle(1903 Springfield), the Hun had the best hunting rifle(the 98 Mauser), but John Bull had the best battle rifle, the Enfield.

The 303 has slayed (and wounded) dumptruck loads of African game.

[hillbilli]

my first deer rifle was a .303. As someone said earlier, about the same ballistics as .300 sav, or .30-40krag. 150@2600 or 180@2400  or so. right in between .30-30 and .308 in power. It will do the job if you can place the bullet.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Have a crudely sporterized Mk4 taking up space in the safe - in-law heirloom.  Never shot it.

[boneaddict]

I've always wanted one

[Simcoe hunter]

Lokidog- My bad.  I will pay more attention to the smiley's.

Jim the Plumber- Good catch.  Ballistically it is more in line with the .300 Savage and the 30-40 Krag.

It appears to have been one of the longest serving battle cartridges of all time, short of the arrow.  So it can't be all bad.  We used to be able to get the rifles for $50 if you had a FFL.  I sold a ton of them for $75.  Ammo was cheap for the surplus mil stuff.  Wish I had kept one and stocked up on the ammo, it was fun to shoot.  Slickest action you ever worked.  Until the Garand came along it was probably the best battle rifle built.  It was the perfect pickup truck rifle, you couldn't hurt it.  Might not be any more due to ammo costs though.