.303 british rifle
 

so here is the deal..my father used to own a .303 british rifle that belonged to my grandfather and that my dad refinished, re-checkered etc...but when the new registry laws came into action my dad didn't want to get his PAL (he has it now though)...and since i was out of the country at the time my dad just gave it to his brother....

now my question is this...is this a gun worth getting back...for more than sentimental reasons? i do some varminting and i am going to start elk this season. now i know the old addage that the .303 has takem more game than almost any other caliber in canada..but is that really true?? is it an adequate rifle?? what is the recoil like compared to say a .270 or a 7mm-08?? are reloading supplies for the .303 readily available?

and lastly..i am not too sure what brand/model it was...from what i can remember it did not have a clip...but it did have a floor plate....a very smooth action on the bolt...and flip up sites that i loved.....anyone have any guesses??....and does anyone know if a scope can be mounted on it??


so, what say ye gun sages of the board....should i pursue this or is it better to save up and get me a new rifle?

If the rifle in question didn't have a magazine, but had a floorplate with peep sights, it was likely a P14 or m17 Enfield, one piece stock with the big "ears" on the back to protect the rear sight.
As far as the cartridge itself goes, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with it i=other than the fact the rifle that it was most often chamber for was war -time produced, with a single locking lug that tends to overstress the brass sometimes.
But that is because of the rifle , not the cartridge.
When the cartridge is chambered in a rifle like the 1895 Winchester, or a decent martini, or the P14 or the M17, or some other such rifle with double locking lug and a stiffer action, it is quite fine.

It has mild recoil, but because of the Military stock design, many hate it.

But do not think it is under powdered or incapable of killing as it is VERY capable of doing such .
Out to 250 yards or so in most guns it is right there.
he rifles it is generally chambered in are tough customers as well, and will take a lot of abuse.
if I was in the position to get a family heirloom back I would, as well.

I have two Enfields BTW, that have been in my family for some time, one in a custom stock with a 3X Kahles scope on it, and another , which is a factory complete and original Long branch built #4 Enfield .
This rifle never saw service, but was and still used as a target rifle.
it still will hold 1.5MOA or better.
I am in the process of getting a custom rifle put together at this moment by Bill Leeper, and it will be in .303 British.
Cat

.303 will deffinatly do about anything the .308 or .300 savage will do. I had one and didnt like it cause it kicked like the devil due to the stock design, like many military rifles. Also on mine the scope mounts were not as low as they are on a modern hunting rifle, not sure if this typical.

so i haven't seen or handled this rifle since i was a teenager so i am trying to recall more info...i know that it did not have the full wood stock..the barrel was exposed...not sure if it had been modified to look like that or if that is how it was made. and i remember shooting it at 13 and thinking the recoil was no problem....i wouldn't call it a family heirloom...my grandpa got it ...along with 12 others that he sold....for cheap cheap post ww2....not sure if it ever saw service..but i am sure he took some deer with it. i just remember thinking it felt like an amazing rifle when i was a kid.

is ammo readily available for the .303 brit?

Ammo is ALWAYS available, everywhere. It also reloads well. I have only ever used the 303 and it has taken elk, moose, deer, bear & cougar. One elk was over 300 yards; one moose about the same.

Mine is scoped and I've never had any trouble with it.

very good to know.....

i just talked to my dad again..and it seems the gun came with a full wood stock...but my grandpa...a bit of a wood worker...made a new stock for it..and has taken...according to my dad...many deer, elk and moose with it...so more and more i am thinking i need this rifle back.

i am going to have my dad talk to my uncle and see if i can borrow it for this seasons hunt...and then maybe we just won't give it back hahaha

Hey Clash. Just thought I'd show you the .303 that I just inherited last week. It was my Grandpa's and it really means a lot to me for sentimental reasons...I can't wait to get it to the range and try hunting this year. Good luck with yours if you get it.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC00486.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC00488.jpg

chief that is cool..i really hope i can get this rifle back

make sure you show us how it did at the range.

I just had mine out this past weekend at our Military shoot that our gun club has.The best I could do was knock over the 500yd target which is 1ft by 1ft piece of steel.I took everything else out up to it but couldn't quite get the 550 and 600 yarders.It is funny though in the proper light if you are spotting for someone else you can watch the bullet or see the vapour trail and the trajectory is something else.I wouldn't want to be a deer at 300yds with this caliber,it holds it own.Re-loading components are readily available for them all over.

Great thread!!
 

I use my .303 brit for all my big game hunting. I got a few of them (all no1 mk3) and even put the synthetic stock on one from Western Gun Parts ($75 i think). I seems like the comb of the synthetic stock is raised a bit more than the old wood stock, but i still like the wood better. There are really nice synthetic stocks at Fabarm.com, (i think).

The synthetic stock has a thick rubber recoil pad, which does help quiet a bit. But really, recoil is no problem as when you shoot at game, recoil is not on your mind anyways, :lol: Ive taken it to the range and easily shot 40 rounds with no less than a t-shirt on, and had no issues.

Range effectiveness depends of your ability and where you hunt. I like to primarily hunt in the bush and old grown up clearcuts. So open sights is more to my liking. Really, when your in those types of areas how far can you see?
I like to practice at 100 yds but enjoy the 200 yd milk jug shots to, :evilgrin:

The only reason i try to stay within those ranges is that my ability to make a shot that counts farther than that is kinds limited, and im not scared to admit it.

It really saddens me that there is no new guns comming out in .303 brit. Truely a shame.:cry:

Ammo for a .303 brit can be got at any canadian tire, walmart for around $25. And i remember a day that any corner store had some, ah those were the days..........:cool: But yeah, ammo is easy to get. I dont know about reloading, as i dont reload. There is Prive Partisan ammo out there as well, and thats what i shoot. It performs really nice for factory ammo, and i filled my tags last year with it. Privi is also a bit hotter and holds up a good inch higher than the Winchester at 100yds. Or atleast it did out of my rifle.

IMHO, 2 guns shaped the way of hunting in Canada, the Lee Enfield (of a few different models), and the Model 84 Cooey. Both of which, if you want meat on the table, is still the go-to-guns thats will git-er-done today.:wave:

Again guys, great thread!!!!!

I tell you what, that right there is one of the nicest looking .303's I've ever seen! I had to wipe off the drool when i seen that. :love:
Those that are sportered like that are as rare as hens teeth, thanks for posting those.:wave::)

very cool to hear these stories....

so...from looking at pics and trying to remember....i do not think my gun had the metal strapping that i see on the butt stock of many of the .303's. i am not sure if it is because it had a brand new stock put on or were there some models that were built without the metal strap ( the metal band just behind the trigger...not sure what it is called or what it's purpose was..)

Thanks for the compliment Cooeylover. :wave:

Clash, we'll see how the range goes, I may be too embarassed to post any target pics...

naw, all in good fun..at least you were out shooting right...

most were 2 piece stocks,

I have an old Parker Hale 303 and a sporterized military as well haven't hunted with them much in the last 20 or so years but they have killed their share of Moose Deer and Bears. In the last couple years I have been playing with the Parker Hale at the range and have worked up a load with 174 Hornady interlocks over 36g of IMR 4320 which produces 1.5 groups at 100. my chrony averages them out to 2150fps


cohod

That is because yours is either a P14 or M17, double locking bolt head, one piece stock.

the " metal strap" you see in the pics og the no.4 is actually the rear action housing , where the butt stock bolts up and the trigger group and magazine frame is attached to.
My father cut this off on his, and bedded the magazine frame and trigger right into a one pice stock, it's a fine shooter....
Cat

Here is my p-14


http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/v...c/IMG_1445.jpg

Here is a link to start with.

http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl19-e.htm

Locking Lugs
 

Cat:

The Lee-Enfield does have two locking lugs; one is short and the other runs almost the length of the bolt. The big difference as compared to the Mauser double front lug system is that the Lee-Enfield locks up at the rear of the bolt. Check out www.enfieldrifles.profusehost.net for more information.

The Krag-Jorgensen rifle did have a single locking lug, at the front of the bolt.

Here is my No 5 Mk 1. Makes a great bush gun, only weighs in at slightly over 7 pounds. It's also short and fast handling. I would never let it see rain though. It's does hurt my shoulder more than my 7mm mag or a shotgun shooting slugs simply because of stock design and the small, hard buttplate.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...6/IMG_2918.jpg

I was talking about the bolt head locking lug.
The mauser is a cock on opening systam and completely different for the Lee system.
Cat

303
 

Hey Chief, I looked at the pics you posted of your 303 and had to check the gun safe to see if mine was still there. It was thank heavens, I bought mine through Sears Mail order in the early 70's and put a 4x scope on it. Have not missed a hunting season with it yet. Shoots extremely well, I do most of my shooting up to 200 yards and it performs beautifully. The gun plus scope cost me about $75.00 total. Not bad for over 30 years of use.

Hey Bob. I'm not sure when my Grandpa got his rifle, I assume it was when he got back from WWII. As far as I know it was the only gun he used for big game until he stopped hunting in his mid-70s. It's got a 3x9x32 scope on it. Does yours have "Churchill" stamped on the top of the barrel? I hope my gun performs as well as yours has!

303 British
 

Okay Chief here's what's on my rifle

On the top of the barrel stamped in is
Churchill Gunmakers/LTD/Burt Street London SW England

On the right hand side of the barrel, stamped in is

NP
.3L3 52 22"
18 5 Tons
>

On the left hand side stamped in by the barrel, is 247696 which I take to be the serial number.

Further back on the left hand side by the bolt and this is engraved not stamped is
No 41 MK 2(F)
7/52 {PF 247696

If anyone else out there has any info please let us know.

Happy Hunting not far away

BobM;

The way I read the markings above, you have a No4 Mk2, which has a better trigger set up than the No 4 Mk 1. Built at the Fazerkly factory, it was one of the last ones through. They were also taking Mk1s and refitting the triggers and stamping them Mk1/2 FTR (a Factory Thorough Refit which is what I have) in the early 50s. It should be a great shooter.

well i just got word that i will be able to use the rifle for my hunt....and that my cousin stopped a yote in it's tracks last week with is at over 500 yards...i will post more when i have it next week.

.303 British
 

I have a Parker Hale sporterized .303 British and I wouldn't part with it for love nor money. This caliber has probably shot and killed more game in Africa than almost any other caliber. There were thousands of these guns left after the Brits left and it's a shame that we don't utilize this caliber more than we do. Marketing and the wants of the next generation have all but doomed it to the more high tech stuff but, I'm a great fan. My son can hardly wait for me to pass it along to him. GM

This shows that they proof tested it with a double load cartridge i think.
I cant find it now, but if you search a bit there is pics of who sportered what and in the way that they done it. I know if you have an enfield that has the little stamped metal ramp on the front sight, it was sportered by Maltby. Those ones seem to have the thicker wood on the forstock as well. Those are my favorites.:love: But you can still get those at Western Gun Parts.
If you have one that has FTR on it, it stands for Factory Through Repair, meaning it was refurbished at the factory before put into circulation.
I know parker hale done a whack of them to, and they look really sharp. Some even got refitted with spanky new barrels.
Once again, great thread!!:)

My 303
 

I've learned a lot about my 303 that I have had for over 30 years. On the front sight is stamped PH so I will assume that it was sporterized by Parker Hale. When I bought the gun in the early 70's it was all I could afford, I wanted a hunting rifle and also a truck gun as we lived in the Grande Prairie area and I did a lot of traveling on cutlines, back roads and no roads, and I always liked to have a gun with me. I have often thought I should get a newer rifle but never could find a good enough reason that the wife might accept. My son bought a new Remington 30-06 and I can out shoot him with my rifle, much to his amazement. I think he has trouble accepting the fact that the old man and old gun are better shots. My 303 is in excellent condition and I plan on keeping it that way. Thanks guys for all the info you have given me.

bob have you scoped yours or do you still have the peep sites on them?

These are known as Korean War rebuilds. Yup, the Brits and Commomwealth nations, still went to war with bolt actions:lol:, while some, like the Belgians and Americans, used self loaders.
Grizz