Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Revisiting the 303

Back in the late 80's I bought a surplus, but almost new, Mark 4 to use as a toss around Rifle instead of beating up any of my other more valuable Rifles. I never used it for hunting and have only fired a couple hundred rounds through it for adjusting the sights and playing a little.

Last week I dug it out and decided to remove the full wood Military furniture and embed it into a synthetic sporter Stock. I got to tell you that from the first time I shouldered it I realized that it was now the most balanced, stable and steady Rifle to shoulder that I now own!

Since they make Hunting rounds for the 303, I would be very interested in what opinions you all would have concerning the mark 4 or the 303 round for hunting?

Edit for correct terminology: I should not have used the term "Embed" since these have a two piece Butt and Forestock configuration. I should have said I had to "Fit" a bolt on Sporter Stock Set.

You need to catch up with Steve Redgwell(sp). Great wealth of knowledge in all matters 303 British and the Enfield rifle.

Thank you! I will go see what I can dig up on Steve. I looked around on here a bit but without a search feature it is hard to locate anything related.

Look what I found...Thanks!

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

Ingwe had the best looking 303 British rifle I've ever seen! and Vongruff makes some awesome martini's in 303!

I found it! thank you!

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...9336501/1/303_British_7_62x54R_and_30_40

I hunt with the 303 quite a bit. An 1895 Winchester, and a Lee (I think, as it's been highly butchered) i found in a gun shop a couple of years ago. Both love the 150 Hornady SST and the 174 & 215r Woodleighs.

Here is this year's deer with the Lee and 150r SSTs

Wow! The voice of experience! I am privileged that you joined in and shared your experiences with this Rifle and Rounds.

Thank you for the picture of your Rifle and great buck! I think the Barrel length of these Rifles could be a real advantage in accuracy!

Good to see you are still at it!

that is a nice 303!

I really liked the results I got on deer with the 180 power points in my Jungle Carbine.

Back in the day when I was less monied than now my only hunting rifle was a .303, it did not group as well as I would have liked but I surely killed a great many deer and elk with it. In reality anything the 308 Win will do the .303 Brit will do.

Have fun with it - it will serve you well.

drover

Yes it is! that is Old School stuff there!

Who needs a 5K Rifle when you are sporting a Barrel that long!

Thank you. I'm thinking it will get tried out on the next hunt. I picked mine up for $69.00 and gave 30.00 for the Stock set right after but never put it on. I guess judging a Rifle by Price paid isn't always accurate.

Not a purist, I broke down and bought one of the Ruger #1's chambered for 303. Took a while to find what the rifle wanted, but now it's definitely a favorite. Pleasant to carry and plenty of thump. Mine prefers the Sierra Pro Hunters, either 150's or 180's, seated over Varget.

I have two Brits, a BSA model "E" P-14 Sporter and a Ruger. I honestly haven't done much with the Ruger but the BSA has been a real joy. It shoots the 174 gr Hornady RN very well and absolutely loves the Woodleigh 215. The very first group I fired with the Woodleighs went into 5/8".

Thanks. I believe the rifle is a (sadly) butchered Lee Speed. Made in 1916, it has some WR markings on the metal and i am in the process of identifying its origins.



The three shots in the bull are 150gr SSTs and the three below (off target) are the 215 Woodleighs.

The 303 is one of my favourite cartridges and the Lee Speed styled sporting rifles are definitely my favourite stock configuration.
This is a coupe of threads on some I have done

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?246222-A-Lee-Enfield-Sporting-rifle

http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/19093/Bills-Lee-Speed-cure#.VqVqsORunIV

And then there is these two with one being a 375 and then mine in 400

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=260603&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1

The martini makes a great little 303 as well even in the original military configuration
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?226756-A-Martini-Enfield-303-again

But it much nicer in the sporting stock
http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=273104&an=0&page=0#Post273104

They're about as common as hockey sticks up here. I'm told back in the day many a hardware store would have a barrel of No. 4s and a barrel of jungle carbines the 4s were five bucks and the carbines 6 or 7. I've got a J C that was my gramdpa's and had a Parker Hale sporter for a bit.

The surplus rifles were made to put a lot of rounds down range in a hurry and reliably and accuracy took the back seat, if you can get 5 or 6 moa you're doing OK. The sporter I had though with a tighter chamber and 4 groove deeper rifling was much more accurate 1.5 to 2 moa. I used to see the Canadian Rangers at a range I belonged to they still use the No. 4s. They were pretty handy at swapping parts back and forth and tinkering and some of them could beat 5 or 6 moa but not by much and only a couple rifles out of a dozen would maybe make 3 or 4 moa. They are what they are cool old units and the actions super reliable and dependable. Good magazines too actually.

I wouldn't mind a Ruger no 1 one day. Other than that the cartridge doesn't lend itself to much other than the Lee Enfield action. Which, I've seen them customized to shoot other rimmed cartridges 45-70 fairly often. That would be kinda kewl too...

Salty303;
Good evening to you sir, I hope this finds you well and the weekend was an acceptable one for you.

My first center fire rifle was a P14 in .303 which if memory serves I gave $15 for to a buddy. That would have been '74 or so I want to say.

I recall in around that time seeing 45 gallon drums of full wood SMLE's in the old Army & Navy store in Regina and they were $15 - the barrel full of "sporterized" ones were $25.

Honestly as a life time gun trader I can't recall how many I've owned - has to be over a dozen, though at least one got sold before I'd exited the gun show where I'd just bought it.

The most accurate I've played with were both SMLE's - both No 4's with 4 groove barrels. One was a Parker Hale sporter and the other still in cut down military wood.

The PH will group 180gr Sierra Pro Hunters into about an inch for three shots if one can work around the two stage trigger. The No 4 with the military wood we fooled with the bedding and trigger some to see what it'd do.

Strangely using 173gr .308" Lake City Match full patch bullets that goofy rifle put in a couple 1" groups with 5 shots. It shot way, way better than it had any right to, but there it is.

Oh, I've been front and center when at least 3 local mulie bucks were on the receiving end of one of those 180gr Sierra's and they certainly died forthwith. The same load killed a few BC moose too I should mention.

My late father killed a few Saskatchewan moose with a .303 before going to a .250 Savage 99 first and then finally a .308 Model 100. He said he liked the .308 best for moose, but they all worked well enough for our family to eat the results.

Lastly and I apologize for repeating this information, but in a lifetime of knocking around the edges of civilization in a couple provinces, the most common firearms in the hands of subsistence trappers and farmer/trappers back in the day was either a 94 Winchester in .30-30 or some variety of .303 British rifle.

They're not fancy, but the evidence indicates they work when asked to.

All the best to you in the upcoming week Salty.

Dwayne

Why thank-you for the well wishes Dwayne and back at you sir. It is evident that you know your way around the various incarnations of the 303 British service riles. $15 in the 19 early 70s you say wow that's quite a bit of inflation since right after the big one when like I was told a fiver would seal the deal... Now as I'm sure you've seen an unmolested no 4 goes for more like 500 when you can find one for sale.

Dan