Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada What's the perferred deer cartridge for guys in Canada?

Yes, 303s haven't been produced in many years and people tend to replace things that they consider "past their prime". Except for the Ruger, the last production rifles chambered in 303 were made in India in the 1970s.

People want new, powerful and shiny. That's fine, but many hunters and shooters will end up trading away magnums that are too much for their shoulders. Good for them! If you cannot shoot it comfortably, it's not worth the bother.

Much of the reason that we used to outsource rifles for the military, NWMP/RCMP and other government agencies was because we had trouble building factories or getting existing rifles sent to us from the UK. We were dependent on Britain for many things back then, including rifle production.

Some of you may know the story of the No1 Mk III Lee Enfield that we adopted in 1916. Prior to WWI, Britain would not sell us any LEs, so we ended up producing the Ross: a wonderful hunting rifle for its time, but dismal as a military arm. The Chambers were too tight and would jam when feeding British made ammunition. The cartridge specs were different between CDN and British made stuff. The Ross was officially taken out of first line service and replaced with the No 1 LE.

You could tell that the govt was outsourcing from many different suppliers because of the number of different cartridges used by official agencies. It must have been a nightmare at times getting ammunition.