.303

[Minihuntur]

.303
Any one use .303 for deer? whats the drop @ 200, 300, and 400 yds when handloading? how can I tell if the rifle is shot out?
Minihuntur


__________________
No, please, not the recoil!
Full Auto, NICE!!

[DON WALKUP]

yes...it's more than adequate for deer.

if you have an old military .303 i would suggest you take it to a licensed gunsmith for evaluation before shooting it. there were so many of them available at one time and for so long that people did all sorts of things to them.

i've had several of them and one of them was abosolutely wonderful! it would keep a 2" group at 100 yards using open sights and surplus ammo! (i read somewhere that was the standard the british army had before they would accept a rifle)

power-wise, it's in the same neighborhood as the 7mm mauser, .308 win, 30-30 win. etc.

[Adam Helmer]

minihuntur,

What bullet are you handloading, what bullet diameter and what powder charge? Your drop will depend on where you have set the "as issued" rear sight on your .303 rifler, check the markings on the rear sight.

As for a bore being shot out, look down the bore and check for rifling. If you see rifling grooves, then slug the bore to see how large they measure. The final test is how the rifle groups with your accuracy handloads.

Adam

[JimHnSTL]

i used a sporterized 303 for deer hunting for about 10-12 yrs. it is a nice step up from a 30/30 but it is a notch below a 308. mine shot remington corelocks fairly well and they performed very well on deer. mine was open sites but they where not the military sites they where a aftermarket site. it wouldn't ever win a target competition but it was more than min. of deer. a real pleasure to the shoulder to shoot.

[Contenderizer]

Minihuntur,

One of the biggest problems with the 303 British has been that some of the older ammo used corrosive primers. Accordinly, any time you consider purchasing an old Lee-Enfield the first thing to check for is pitting in the barrel.

The actions in those guns were rock solid and usually held-up well. It is unlikely that you will find a gun that is unsafe to shoot, but, as Don suggests, have it checked by a qualified gunsmith who also has headspace gauges for that round.

By the way, Hornady manufactures a "light magnum" in 303 British and muzzle velosity is advertised at 2930 fps. When zeroed at 200 yds, the shot will be 2" high at 100 yds, 8.5" low at 300. Hornady is using a soft point Interlock bullet. However, DO NOT USE this round in any 303 unless your are confident of the condition!!!

[Minihuntur]

Actually I was going to get one from some guy I know, old military one, bayonnet, what gets the tightest group out of the lee-enfields?
Minihuntur

[hnter]

To get .303Brit info go to www.303.com

[Adam Helmer]

Minihuntur,

To answer your question, "What gets the tightest group out of the lee-enfields." I suggest you need to further define your question. What ammo do you plan to use, what is the condition of your rifle and WHAT ARE YOUR ABILITIES AS A RIFLEMAN?

I think you need to get some rifle instruction locally that no amount of your postings here can mitigate.

Adam

[Murf]

My son uses the old No4 Mk 1 that I bought 45 years ago. It was a $29.00 mail order sporterised model. It will shoot 1 inch 5 shot groups with the right handloads. Just don't try for real heavy loads as the rear locking design with the tapered case will stretch cases badly. Most wartime rifles had rather generous chambers to insure they would function with wartime ammo in mud, dust , whatever.

[Minihuntur]

I finally got that .303 that I wrote about earlier. It is a No.4 Mk.1 but its not sporterized. It cost $120 for the gun. The former owner also sold me a Bushnell 4X Scopechief IV for $50 and gave me some ammo too. There are some Winchester Power Points, some Remington Core-Locts, and some old CIL CPE bullets(I dont know what they are or what theyre good for though). All of them are 180 gr. There were two oddball bullets mixed in with them: one white plastic tipped and one black plastic tipped (which I shot) . It is a wonderful gun and doesn't kick at all, but I need some T01 scope mounts for it yet. Look out bears Here I come!
Minihuntur

[Brithunter]

Glad your happy with your No4 I have been a fan of the .303 and the Le Enfield rifles for many years although I personally prefer the more rounded shape of the earlier models I do have at present a sporterised No4 Mk1/2.

The barrels on the No4's made during WW2 can vary in bore dimensions, it was difficult to keep quality whilst being bombed after all even skilled men cannot account for the whole place jumping about with the blast of bombs falling and detonating.

Most owners try to find out what their bore measures as it helps in reloading especially if cast bullets are to be used and the .303 can be very good with cast bullets

No doubt the No4 has the beter sights unless you fit Target sights that is and scopes can make a big difference. Have not fitted one to mine yet despite having the mounts and the action beign drilled and tapped by the firm who converted it to sporter configuration and here it is.





Oh that awful ruber recoil pad has been replaced with a nice Ribbed rubberised vintage BSA one

[Andy L]

I guess I got a bad taste in my mouth about the 303 at an eary age. My great grandmother had an old military rifle of some sort in 303 that would throw the bolt out every few shots. And the gas blowing out was horrible. This made it very interesting, read dangerous, to shoot. My cousin used to hunt with it all the time and thought it was funny. It scared the hell out of me.

Have it checked out.

[Minihuntur]

I will be using 180 gr power point cx-p3 or 180 gr remington core-lokt.
Minihuntur

[Murf]

CIL used to make a bronze tipped hunting bullet. The plastic tipper rounds sound like CIL or Imperial (a CIL brand) Sabre tips. Theywere pretty good deer rounds. These were forerunners of the plastic tips common today and seemed to work very well at the modest .303 Brit velocity.
With 150, 180 and 215 grain loads the .303 is good for deer, bear, elk and moose. For deer on the open prairies I used 150's.