Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anyone hunt with a .303 british?

I have an old enfield lying around ive decided to put to use. Anybody hunt with one? If so what bullet do you use? How does it compare to another more common cartridge ie 30-30 or .308?

have hauled around a cutdown No4Mk1* around but have not killed anything with it.....just used over the counter Winchester soft points....it will hold minute of milk jug out to 150-200 yards....i really would like a Lee Speed or similar commercial SMLE....

What does SMLE stand for? According to the chart i found I have a no1 mk3.

Short Magazine Lee Enfield.......covers the No1's onward.....

Ok so does that make mine an SMLE? I have little or no knowledge of these guns.

podunkkennels;
Some of my family still hunt with the .303 British and my late father used one for moose. I guess I've owned and played with more than a dozen of them over the years and have been there when 2 deer died and did post mortem on 1 moose shot with a .303 British.

The bullet used in one that has killed several moose and a few more deer is the Sierra 180gr. Game King. Backed by a book load of WW760 I think it was good for something like � 2300fps. I recall tissue damage and bullet penetration similar to what I'd expect out of a short barreled .308 using a C&C bullet of similar weight.

I also loaded some Hornady 150gr. Spires for a fellow and we ended up over 2500fps if memory serves. For the life of me I can't recall if he shot anything with that bullet, but it grouped well for a rifle that had seen a couple world wars.

From the velocities we've chronographed over the years it appears that the .303 British would be a twin to a .300 Savage, but I've never owned or shot a .300 Savage, so that's a guess.

The velocities we've seen put the .303 British a little closer to an 18�" barreled .308 Carbine than a 20" barreled .30-30.

Hopefully that was some use to you. Good luck getting your .303 back into service.

Regards,
Dwayne

podunkkennels;
If yours has a two piece stock with a metal socket at the wrist where the stock and fore end fit into, as well as a removeable magazine, it is an SMLE.

If it is more or less a large cock on closing Mauser, it is a Pattern 14 Enfield.

That is the very, very short version, but hopefully some use to you.

Regards,
Dwayne

Thanks BC30cal youve been very helpful, mine has apparently spent sometime in canada as it has a canadian quarter embedded in the stock. I hate that its just sitting in the cabinet doing nothing so im gonna fix it up and teach one of the young men i know to shoot it and probly let him have it. So it at least is of to use for someone.

podunkkennels;
You are quite welcome sir. Oh, one last thing on the .303 British we�ve learned.

If you shoot factory ammo they often show signs of insipient case separation on the first firing as the chambers on many were generous to say the least. I suppose an oversized chamber with a tapered cartridge was the ideal situation for muddy ammo and chambers, but not great for reloaders.

I�ve pretty much settled on opening up the neck of virgin brass to .338 or even .35 diameter and then necking it back down to create a 2ndary shoulder, just enough so it fits into the chamber with some pressure on the bolt. A snug, semi-crush fit is the goal here.

Doing that then means cases don�t stretch on initial firing and afterward I either neck size only or size with a full length die set to not touch the shoulder. Some cases are up to 5 firings now in a rifle that used to absolutely devour cases before.

I�ll add it shot so well that we didn�t want to modify it and a new barrel wasn�t in the budget for the owner anyway.

Again, hopefully that was useful information and again good luck with your .303.

Regards,
Dwayne

I use lee loaders so neck sizing is my only option. Im just gonna tinker it and see what happens.

some have more generous chambers than others.....had one that used to spit out brass that looked closer to a 308 than the nice tapered 303....my current one must be near right on as they are nearly the same coming out as going in....

they are nice dependable rifles but a tad heavy.....paid $70 for my current one and wouldnt sell it for 4 times that.....likely be one of the last rifles i would part with, but im a bit of an odd duck....

here is the No4Mk1* made by Savage here in the states for the Brits during WWII

we never hunted regularly with ours but in the fall of '08 we used it on a very sloppy rainy antlerless season hunt... the boy and i both took nice does with it...

a month later i had shoulder replacement surgery which resulted in nearly a years recuperation... i sold that rifle for 3 times what i paid for it... i'd pay a premium to get it back now that i'm working again...
we used winchesters 180 grn loads in it... it shot pretty well for an old tomato stake...

the boy just reminded me that his deer was a button buck... 13 yr olds!!!

I would be more likely to hunt with mine if one of the major bullet companies would make a good 215gr. soft point RN in the correct diameter.

I agree that there is a lock of good bullets out there, i believe im gonna load the 150gr hornady interlock first then see what else there is.

My grandfather has one just like the above photo, but many years ago he had a different 2 piece wood stock installed. More of a standard hunting stock than the above. Hunted with it a few times, missed a buck at 200 yards and later found out the scope wouldn't hold its zero.

I have taken both deer and hog with the 303. I use BLC2 and Reloader 15 powders with the 150 & 174 Hornady. The 174 round nose went from the brest to the butt on a deer with a close shot 50-75 yards and all the way though a 130 Lb pig. The stock sights were set with 175 grainers zeroed at 200 yards with about 2400-2500 fps, if you max out with Reloader 15 you can get pretty close. 150 grainers might shoot low in Enfeilds with stock sights. You must try different bullets and weights to find what your rifle likes. These rifles seem to be ammo sensitive more so than others. One I have that likes Rem. 180 factory loads and 174 hand loads and HATES all 150's. Also some, do not like to feed the last round do to wear on the mag lips. Buy some powder bullets and have fun, the old SMLE will get the job done.

Im gonna put a fixed four power on it and see what itll do, im just looking for a 100 to 150 yard truck/backup rifle.

Literally tons of meat brought into the larder in our family #1mkIII. It graces my gun safe, and gets use still from time to time. I have used 150 gr but I like the 180 better. It far surpasses the 30/30 but is not up to 308.

Randy

A gunshop in my area has a Winchester M1895 in .303 British,
only the second one I have seen in that caliber. On the
SMLEs dont lose your magazine, the prices on them are
getting pretty high.

The Amish use it a good bit around here.

They kill LOTS of deer with them. Too many....

I have a scoped 303 and it had to be restocked to get my eye up to the scope. I went from a B-square mount which was rock solid but really high to a ATI mount, not has tall. Just put the ATI mount on and tried it out yesterday. It can shoot 2 inches at 100 all day if I do my part with the hold and the loads so far the ATI mount has held zero but has not taken the beating that B-square took. This rifle likes the flat base 150's but not boat tails? A scoped 303 should take deer to 150 yards no problem. I agree the 303 is a rimmed 300 Savage. I have both, recoil is about the same ballistics, Real close, Both are true Classic killers. Love taking my as issued NO1 Mk3 303 hunting I know it will work under ALL conditions plus I can sick the 15 inch byonet on the front to scare'em to death! I hate having old eyes it will suck not taking my Aussie No1 girlfreind with the big knife for a stalk in the woods. Oh well the plastic stocked scoped NO.4 will do just as good plus it's lighter.

I have a restocked MK V Jungle Carbine that I use in bad weather. Load 180 Sierra Game Kings for it. I really like the sights and the quick bolt.

Expat

Thats what im seeing it coming to is a quick bolt brush gun im a lefty shooting a right hand bolt and itas still pretty fast.

Okay...here goes....Yes.....






Ingwe

What model of rifle is that?

I can never get this straight...a No. 4 MK I...or a No.1 MK 4...anyway..it got " sporterized" by me as a project and turned into a right nice and handy light rifle afield...


Ingwe

I thought it used to be the same model as mine what modifications did you do? Whered that wood come from?

Cut the Bbl...installed front ramp sight and barrel band swivel,drilled flat side of reciever for a Williams Foolproof,ordered the wood from a gunstock company I refuse to reccomend to anyone, and rasped it out on an H&H pattern I scrounged up somewhere...ebony forend tip, steel grip cap, English red pad, simple checkering pattern, and matte finished the metal..used an almost flush five shot mag...
heres another pic older campfire members are tired of seeing by now...



Ingwe

is that a Lyman receiver sight on a MK3 ? how far away were you when you took them beasts? The first one looks pretty big

Im wanting to scope mine and put a synthetic on it but yours is a sharp looking rifle ingwe.

I'm pretty sure it was a Williams Foolproof...critters were taken from 60 yds....on a jackal and the Impala out to about 160 yds on a huge Gemsbok bull...

Ingwe

That rifle is the bane of my existence. I am so going to do that when I feel like I am flush with money.

Sorry steelie....you should never read my posts in connection with .303s......



Ingwe

Now you know why I got you kicking on the 223AI, I ain't done with you yet.

BASTID!!!


Ingwe

They certainly can be made into nice handling, exceedingly quick to operate, and not at all bad looking rifles
Like this one recently completed by Lon Paul

A real Lee Speed and one under construction

Best hook Steelie up with Lon Paul!!!

that looks like a version of MY rifle...except done properly!

Ingwe

I used one for my first 3 years deer hunting. The gun was kind of a POS, but I like the round. It shoot completely through the deer I shot with it and made it dead. Can't really ask for more than that can ya?

Ingwe, that is by far the finest looking Brit .303 I've ever seen.

That is a sharp rifle. Well done. Don't know that I've ever seen one w/ a two piece stock.

Woodleigh makes a 215 RN .312" @ ~75� each. Try the Hornady 220 RN .308" @~ 26� each. They work well in my .312" Mosin-Nagant.

I've used a #4 in the past, but never got to pull the trigger on game with it. I recently picked up a sporterized P14 with a Redfield receiver sight on it that I might try, but not this year.

i shot my very first deer witha sporterized 303, then used it as my only hunting rifle for the next 10+ yrs. never lost a deer even though that rifle was not a MOA rifle. i would get anywhere from 2" to 3" groups at 100 yrds with the open sites and extreamly creepy trigger pull but don't tell the 15 or so deer i took with it that. my rifle would tend to have some vertical stringing of the groups especialy after the third shot, i understand that 2 piece stock was not helping in that department. it is a fine whitetail rifle and will serve you well when kept within it's and your capabilities. good luck.

good heavens how much do they want for it? I'd love to own that.

A vintage N0. 5 Jungle carbine was my very first rifle. I took my second deer with it. A doe with a headshot at 75 yards. I still own two Enfields.....

A box of those Woddleighs would cost more than I paid for the rifle.

Thanks Tom!!!

ingwe

The late Finn Aagard wrote an article published by Wolfe on the Lee Enfield rifles and the .303 cartridge. It's worth the read if you want information on them.

Yeah I've had good luck with .308 220 Partitions in these two.
Pete

my das 303 is identical to this one. it has killed roughly 45-50 deer. the 303 is a wonderful deer round. i hunted with a very nice sporterized one for a couple years and ended up selling it for 3 times what i payed for it. sure with i had it back,

though i did watch it sell on gunbroker for double what i sold it for.

Good looking stuff !!!

It is more like a .308 in performance, that means just a tad behind the .30/06. That old 10 shot magazine was a ripper for culling. Had everything worng with it by today's standards, push fee action, no feed rails, just lips on the magazine, one size fits all bolt with bolt face exchanges to adjust headspace, but smooth, reliable and functional. Bet your life dependability.

JW

Cut all the extra wood off, loose the foresight ears, the magazine cut off, the sling swivels, anything that isn't essential. Hacksaw off the charger bridge, throw the safety away.
Sharpen one edge of the magazine spring (in case you loose your knife) two spare rounds and a piece of candle in the butt trap for lighting fires...shoot her in for 200 yards and with ten in the mag and one up the spout and she's the best wilderness rifle ever made...

I have a #4mk2 Irish Constabulary that was NIB until I got it. I paid 220 bucks for it, and it has a twi stage trigger of course, but stage two is 3 lbs and as crisp as glass. It weighs almost nine pounds loaded and I chuckle when I shoot it because it just plain shoots nice. I would as soon take a hacksaw to my left thumb as to alter that rifle. It is ugly as sin until you shoot it, then it gets very pretty.

Randy

BTW incase it has not been already mentioned. care must be taken when stacking the rimmed cartridges in the magazine. each time you place one in the magazine be sure that it's face is in front of the one underneath or it will not feed properly if not at all.
well at least mine was that way. sorry if this is a repeat and i didn't see it posted.

Paid $40 for my first one and got a full cannister of 400 cordite rounds tossed into the deal. They didn't last long.

JW

Darn, can't believe I missed this thread. Look at my name in here. The Jungle Carbine is an Enfield Mk.5. I wouldn't use British .303 on game any bigger than a white tail or black bear, as the balistics aren't powerful enough to reliably take down an elk or grizzly.

JungleCarbine

I have eaten a lot of moose meat brought down with 303 BR. One year Dad shot a bull moose and the calf behind it went down as well. That was with 180 gr CIL sabre tip, a precursor to the ballistic tips. Two moose with one shot has me convinced. That was at about 100 yds. Too often we think we need a heavy hitting round, when what we really need is a well placed shot.

Hunt your 303 and enjoy the tar out of it.

Randy

I would drop the hammer on an elk with a .303 without a second thought as long as i was inside 200 yards.

Expat

I never said you couldn't take out an Elk or Grizzly with the round. Heck, this round has taken large African game. However, I wouldn't choose it to be my primary hunting rifle with larger game like Elk. The ballistics just aren't strong enough for a reliable kill and there are so many other more preferable rounds for such game. And I do plan on hunting the heck out of my rifle for black bear and white tail.

Glad to know there are two of us.

Hell, I already have one or two barreled actions ready to go.

Ballistics don't kill stuff; bullets do. .303 British bullets have killed everything on the planet, many times over, and routinely take elk, moose, and big bear in Canuckistan.

I'd feel far from undergunned with a .303Brit, damned near anywhere.

I "NEED" to do up a twin to that rifle, in the worst way.

Bought a nice one from a guy here at work. Gonna try it on some pigs next time I catch some.

I used one for deer and elk for a number of years back in my "poor boy" days. Never an issue, ballistic wise they are near enough to a 308 Win that no animal noticed the difference. Depending on the model they can be problematic to scope if you are planning on doing that to one.

drover

I still have a couple of sporterized Number 4 Mk1s. Simply the military wood has been cut down. Anyway They will shoot with ammo they like . The one once shot a 100 yard 10 shot group into 1 3/4 inches at 100 yards with the military peep sight. It also liked the old CIL 180 gr roundhouse, shooting into one inch at 100 many times. Of course I shot those groups 50 years ago with young eyes. I hunted exclusively with mine from age 13 until age 24 when I got my first paying job after university and bought a pre 64 featherweight in 270. That was what Jack OConner recommended and that became my primary rifle. The 303 was very effective on deer at least out to about 200 yards, my longest shot with it. I used the 150 gr hornady loaded by a friend, 180 gr Norma factory load and 180 gr CIL roundnose. The 180 gr roundnose was my favourite. being a very effective, always expanding and always penetrating. I never did recover one from game, but did recover one from a hard packed snowbank and it was the perfect mushroom.

I didnt answer you question. I would use either the speer 150 gr hot core, or if factory the federal 150 gr ordinary soft point. I have found the winchester 180 gr power point and the remington 180 gr corlock both to be too hard for light deer, although they would be good for moose. I have had excellent results with speer 150 hot core and 150 hornady interlock in 30 cal and I expect they would be about ideal in 303 if they shoot in your rifle.

Some were given the "improved" treatment. Called the 303 Epps.

http://www.303british.com/id20.html

There is an unfired beauty on usedguns, were it not Christmas this month I would be purchasing it and salting it away as these don't pop up in this condition very often.
It would also be a bucket of fun at the local military shoot.

USEDGUNS LINK.






Not my listing, nor do I have anything to do with the owner.

Now those are serious rifle pornography.

I don't think it makes any difference what caliber they use.....they kill more than they need to. I am surrounded by Mennonites, and most of them deer hunt. I have tried telling them that they are killing more deer than can be reproduced, and that at the rate they're going, there won't be any to hunt pretty soon. But, they look at like free food and won't stop the slaughter. I have a 300 acre farm, and we take one, maybe two deer, a year.....max. I have a Mennonite neighbor that owns 5 acres, and he and his brothers often take 7 or 8 off it.

Anyone now where I can score on a 5rd Mag? The rifle pictured is an unfortunately chopped up Lee Speed but the price was right:


Second from left ins an 1895 in 303. With 215gr Woodleigh RNs, it will shoot through just about ANY size hog.

Well I don't know Jorge, I had you pictured as more...well... Errol Flynn. Taller, more debonair, flamboyant, maybe with a cigar, the physique of an Adonis, and the profile of a gypsy Prince with flowing dark locks sporting a devil-may-care smile.


Getting old sucks doesn't it.


A local fellow has a gorgeous early commercial Lee made in Ireland, I have been in his ear for the past twenty-odd years, but should he ever decide to part with it I will be somewhat disappointed as it is a lovely piece that should be enjoyed and cherished...as I know he does.

Those 5 rounders are getting hard to find, esp the factory offerings. The one I have is marked "Made in England" on the bottom and cost a bit under $100. The chopped 10 rounders go for a bit less, but even the std 10s go for about $50 here.

Flattery will get you everywhere....

The #4MkI taught me that headspace gauges were invented for a reason.



But at least you can buy longer bolt heads to correct excessive headspace

Occasionally you see a double rifle in .303. They can be a thing of beauty

These are very nice rifles! I'd like one similar. Have a factory 5 rnd mag and a Lyman receiver sight as a start.

Just sticking a 5 shot mag in that rifle of Phils would be like putting the cherry on top of the Sundae. That thing is PERFECT!

Very Rigby-esque!

Been looking for a nice rounder for a looong time