303 brit???

[honda450]

My poor old 303 hasn't seen a bullet down the tube in 15 years or so. Like wise never sell her though.

[Iron Brew]

All this talk about 303's... I might have to pick up one for the rifle rodeo. My no. 5 isn't what I'd call the greatest longer range rifle, and I'd be sore at the end of the string...

Umm. There are going to be rifle rodeos this year, aren't there??? I'd like to attend my first...

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Iron Brew

All this talk about 303's... I might have to pick up one for the rifle rodeo. My no. 5 isn't what I'd call the greatest longer range rifle, and I'd be sore at the end of the string...

Umm. There are going to be rifle rodeos this year, aren't there??? I'd like to attend my first...

Yup, but be aware that the Fort mac rodeo is the only one that has a match devoted to the 303 Brit., irons match, scopes, two man team match and unlimted rifle match .
The Spruce Grove Match is one gun only, same as Drayton, plus their antelope match for money.
Ponoka has several separate matches that include irons and scopes, buddy shoots ( two adults) family( one junior and a relative) .
Cat

[deanmc]

This is my first attempt at pictures. If it works it is my bubba'd .303
[/IMG]

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by deanmc

This is my first attempt at pictures. If it works it is my bubba'd .303
[/IMG]

I must disagree with you - that looks like a nicely "customized" Enfield - no
"Bubba job" there!!
Cat

[deanmc]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I must disagree with you - that looks like a nicely "customized" Enfield - no
"Bubba job" there!!
Cat

"customized" Does have a nicer ring to it. Thanks

[hounddawg]

I see a whole herd of people braying against the good old .303! My first hunting rifle was an 1891 Argentine Mauser, and though it was an extremely accurate rifle, the 7.65 X 53 ammo was REALLY hard to come by and very expensive in South Africa in the early 1980's.

Due to availability of ammo and cost of the rifle itself, I acquired a .303 MK IV in 84. I cannot recall how many Springbuck I killed with it, but I did shoot 4 Kudu at ranges varying between 70 and 200 meters. No problem.

Due to political horse ca-ca, I was forced to leave the rifle in South Africa when I emigrated to the U.S. However, my 64-year old father still comes in on the top 10 (on occasion) with the same rifle in the SMLE shoots.

I currently own an Australian MK IV. With 33.4 gr of Hodgden 4895 I get 1.5 inch groups at 200 yards in PMP brass, throwing a 180 gr Sierra Pro Hunter. THAT is why I am not even bothering with match primers or bullets.

As far as the bleating about scoping the rifle... Disregard. I mounted a Russian PSOP scope with a B-Square mount, and raised the comb on the stock by 1 1/4 inch with a strap-on doo-hickey. I forget what the gadget is called. I got it from Cabelas, and it was cheap. I can restore my rifle to the original military configuration in minutes.

All in all I have a hair over $450 U.S. in a rifle that shoots sub MOA. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

[hounddawg]

Originally Posted by altahunter

This gun shoots a little better than 1 MOA with 47gn H4831SC at 2100 FPS and the same accuracy with 42 gn IMR4350. Neither of these are high pressure .

I use H4831SC for reloading my 7.5 X 55 Schmidt Rubin. What bullet weight are you loading for with this powder in your .303? I think I might want to explore this load.

[roadkill]

Hound, nice rifle.

[deanmc]

Originally Posted by hounddawg

I use H4831SC for reloading my 7.5 X 55 Schmidt Rubin. What bullet weight are you loading for with this powder in your .303? I think I might want to explore this load.

I am interested in this info as well. i have just began handloading for my p-14 and have been able to get groups down to 1.5 moa (shooting vise). I am using 150 gr hornady sp (I am haveing a hard time getting anything heavier) .and 43.7 grains of 4350.

[kayaker]

I get 1.5 inch groups at 200 yards in PMP brass, throwing a 180 gr Sierra Pro Hunter

Hawu! Dit sal 'n voortrekker laat regop staan!

Ja, shot my first impala many moons ago with a No.1 and PMP's 174gr'ers from the old orange and white (?) Musgrave boxes. Just last year shot 2 more impala with a No.1 but this one converted to .223 (yes, .223 kills them fast but leaves MUCH to be desired, far from a good choice). Oh yes, I have always liked PMP brass - a bit thick for 'hot loads' in some cartridges, which I don't do, but always had good results with it in a few cals. Did you know PMP made something like 48% of all the .303 ammo used by the allies in WW2?

My No. 4 does OK with factory ammo. Average is an honest 2" with 3 shots at 100 but the other day I put 3 into sub-moa. I have found it really likes a clean barrel. I have a Bushnell 2-7x in the 3/8" rail mount but with steel rings. Its held well but I do baby it a bit. I added a Choate cheek piece that i filled in with Bondo to fit the LE's comb radius and it provides a solid cheek weld and eye alignment with the scope, albeit ugly!

[hounddawg]

Originally Posted by kayaker

Hawu! Dit sal 'n voortrekker laat regop staan!

BLIKSEM!!! Lekker om weer 'n stukkie Afrikaans soos 'n droee biltong af te byt!

I used to get174gr SP PMP's from Sportsmansguide.com for about 13 bucks a box. Of course I did not keep my mouth shut like I aught to, so now it's all gone. The stuff went for the same price as the PRVI PARTIZAN, and it's good stuff!

First time I heard of people converting an Enfield to .223. Seems to me it would cost more than buying a new CZ rifle in .223. I do know that some folk have been converting them to 7.62X39.

By all accounts it functions well, but I am biased against the 7.62X39 after bumping into one just south of the Cuito in 1985. Singularly unpleasant experience, especially given the fact that the same round also wrecked the action of my R1.

True about these liking a clean barrel. I use Boretech Eliminator to eat the copper fouling out of the barrel. What a lot of shooters do not realise is that the load is only half the shot. The other half is in a well maintained rifle.

I did not know that PMP made that much ammo for WWII. I do know that my grandfather was supposed to get his 3 .303 Bisley rifles replaced after the war, and the Union cocked him a dart. Some gratitude!

[kayaker]

Jislaaik! Lekker Biltong... ha ha

I like the PMP .303 ammo.

Anyways, in the early 90's there was a roaring trade in SA in converting Lee Enfields to cartridges like .222, .223, 7x57, .308, and .243. I would definately want a good No. 4 for the last two conversions - and perhaps load them conservatively. Anyway, besides the obvious re-barrel, all that is required is for the bolt head to be changed - easy as you know with a LE. The new bolt head for a .223 size case completely encloses the case head. I am not sure who made these new bolt-heads? Musgrave? Truvelo? Fanie in sy werkswinkel? I have photos of it somewhere....

They then weld a new mag box into the existing standard LE 10 round mag. My friends is quite accurate despite him treating it like any other farm tool and cleaning it once a year! He also still has a good supply of SADF 'factory loads'... However the modified mag gives feeding problems.

My friends was converted in Bloemfontein about 15 years ago. His dad did it for him as a birthday gift for a springbok rifle.

I haven't seen these conservions offered in Magnum for years and they were widely advertised at one point - I would be sceptical of one in a high pressure number like a .243Win

Originally Posted by buckfever

i was looking at gettting one because i havent found many rifles that fit me right other then my dads 243. i al looking for something between .277
to 30 cal or ther 303.

If you're too small, there is a saw. If you're too big, there are shims and pads. But a .303 because it fits?

[altahunter]

hounddawg, I am using 180 gn Sierra (#2310) with the H4831SC to get 2100 fps out of the 303 and a 1" group. We keep the 303 as our backup/camp gun and only run the 180 gn bullets in it. I love shooting this gun as much as our 270WSM and 300RUM.

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by Kutenay

Mike, my friend, there are MILLIONS of dead enemy soldiers and gazillions of dead big game animals that would disagree with you! But, you "young fellas"always gotta have them there "maginums"like that 7mm Holmes you shoot....too fast for an old geezer like me!

I started my big game hunting with the .303 as my 1st rifle. A No.1 MKIII.
Open sights and Crappy Tire 180gr Winchesters, farthest shot was 78 paces. Dropped them dead, I kidd you not. Now at the time I barely weighed 150lbs and I found the brass buttplate to have NO forgiveness. having said that I soon picked up a nice sporter Swedish Mauser 38 (6.5x55). That was over 20yrs ago. I carried that .303 for the 1st couple of years but soon realized that a scoped rifle would be better, hence the swede mauser. That rifle would put 3 139gr Yugo soft points into a quarter (.25 cents) at 100 yards!!! SOLD!!! The .303 British is a Canadian big game hunting icon and still remains in the top 10 I'm sure. My advise is to give the .303 a try, then after a few seasons save up your shillings and get a .270, 308 or 30-06.
You don't need a magnum to drop a deer. My muzzleloader drops 'em just as good as any, and to be honest, I don't think the deer can tell the difference

[firegod74]

I have always shot one of these great guns. The 303 British has never let me down. my aim has but never the gun. I have never had trouble with bullet jams or anything else.
Mine was destroyed in a fire a couple years ago. And this spring I broke down and bought a 300wsm. Soon after as fate would have it, I received a 303 from a relative so now I have both. I would not hesitate for a second to leave the 300 behind and take the British into the bush. There are times when an open sight still works well, and the shots are close anyway.
I think its a great starter gun because it is both cheap, and the wide range of shells gives you room to play a bit.
I wonder why they stopped making them?

[culvert]

Hey guys, great thread on the 303.
I was just given one from my dad. It was my grandfathers. Looks really rough from lots of years thrown in the farm truck. I cleaned it all up and fired a few down range. Very nice grouping but 6-8" high.
Anyway what I would like to know is where can I get a new stock for this gun. I'd like to find a wooden stock. high cheek rest. (Monte Carlo style) and also what do you guys recommend for scope mounts?

Thanks for any help

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by firegod74

.
I wonder why they stopped making them?

Because the Canadian military, and more precisly NATO saw the need to standardize on a cartridge for the organization. (7.62x51)[~308Win]

The Lee Enfield was made readily available through the advent of the NATO standardization.

FWIW not to many Longbranch #4's were made after the early 1950's

[culvert]

Dick284... you seen to have alot of good info on the .303 What is a good replacment stock to go with? Would like to stick with wood.

[Grizzly Adams]

[QUOTE=Dick284;429098]Because the Canadian military, and more precisly NATO saw the need to standardize on a cartridge for the organization. (7.62x51)[~308Win]



Not to mention, the rest of the word had discovered self loading rifles, years before.
Grizz

[TheClash]

my .303 brit. a winchester p14
stock was sporterized by my grandpa and the checkering was done by my dad. i took my first elk, and first BG animal with it this fall.

Originally Posted by culvert

Dick284... you seen to have alot of good info on the .303 What is a good replacment stock to go with? Would like to stick with wood.

Yes dick you are a wealth of knowledge what is a good replacement stock.

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Nationwide

Yes dick you are a wealth of knowledge what is a good replacement stock.

Not much to choose from in wood.
Try Boyd's in the US, but getting it shipped up here might be problimatic, as I have'nt delt with them since all the Export BS started down south.

[Trakker262]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

One thing to watch for. I have a #4 Korean war, rebuild, that I use as a bear gun. The chamber is so sloppy that reloading is impractical since the heads invariably split off. One of the faults of the breed, they tell me. Accurate as hell though.

Grizz

The No4s all have that problem unless you get the lucky one. I got 2 No1 mk3s that have a slight headspace issue that only shows with new shells as the reloaded ones are sized for the chamber. By chance what make of shells you got?

[Roughneck12]

http://www.marstar.ca/gf-AIA/index.shtm I just got one and man is it fun to shoot. They are chambered in .308 though.

[DanJ]

http://www.enfield-rifles.com/default.asp

[Trakker262]

I picked up a #1mk3 at a gun show for nothin and got a bit carried away with adding stuff. The only reason I did this is cause the rifling is near mint, an FTR-1953. I'll be doing something similar with my #4 LB, the attachment is a photo of the finished rifle.

[Pioneer2]

I have a Parker Hale Supreme with a #0 bolthead that shoots 5 shots into an 1.5" S+K mt and a 4x Bushnell Banner.By the way Ruger is making thier No#1 in .303 orders being taken..................Harold