.303 British

[Ignition Override]

Some Euro/British (maybe UN sponsored [Sen. Feinstein]) so-called "arms control groups" use their taxpayer funds to pay countries to destroy not only surplus AK rifles, but even obsolete bolt-actions such as Lee-Enfields along with the ammo.

South Africa is being paid to destroy Enfields, and guys have witnessed this in gun shops.

Cop Bob:
Less than a year ago there was a tiny bit of .303 surplus again (SOG and Classic), but it has dried up.

For .50-.60/rd., why not buy new Non-corrosive (Prvi Partizan) ammo with Boxer primers? You can reload it several times.

 

[Steve Marshall]

.303, in reloads, basically match original 30-06 and .308 rounds with a 150 ish bullet. i.e. 2700 fps. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[MJ]

Love my Enfields.

 

[goon]

Another thing about the .303 - with only neck-sizing (which I'd do to add life to the brass) it's a very easy round to reload. No lube, no real effort - it's just too easy!

 

[Maverick223]

MJ, I aways liked the looks of the Mk. IIIs...despite the fact that they are neither as accurate (for several reasons...the short sight radius not the least of which) or generally in as good of shape as the newer No. 4s.

 

[MJ]

Maverick I don't see it that way one bit but to each his own,,cheers.

 

[Maverick223]

With regards to which one...accuracy (inferior due to style of sights, sight radius, and bore condition), condition (which is typically worse simply due to age and service life), or both? Like I say, I prefer them to the No. 4 rifle, though I find the SMLE to be a bit less practical.

 

[MJ]

So shooting the ten ring on a pistole target at 100 yards is poor performance? LOL Your cracking me up,, Pura Vida

 

[Jim NE]

I would love to have another Enfield .303. It's the only rifle I really have a hankering for. Is there a good source for these rifles in decent condition with excellent bores?

 

[Maverick223]

So shooting the ten ring on a pistole target at 100 yards is poor performance? LOL Your cracking me up,, Pura Vida

I never said that the SMLE was a poor performer (the Brits would have never adopted it if that were so), only that the No. 4 generally does a bit better (or the Brits wouldn't have transitioned to it were that not true). Again, I like the Mk. III better, if it were not adequate, that wouldn't be the case either.

 

[Cop Bob]

Sorry all... I DO STAND CORRECTED... the surplus stuff does seem to be scarce today... Glad I got what I did, when I did... Sportsmans Guide does seem to have a selection of aftermarket loads, but your right, the surplus is scarce today... Midway only carries two loads for it..

 

[35 Whelen]

Actually, the OP's question was answered only vaguely.
With a 150 gr. bullet, the .303 is 250-300 fps behind the 308 and 350-400 fps behind the 30-06. About the same with a 174-180 gr. bullet. These figures are quoted from the muzzle.
In the field at typical, reasonable hunting ranges with good bullets, I doubt any animal would know which of the three cartridges was used to kill him.
Regarding ammo, I have a hard time understanding why people base the choice of rifle on how much surplus ammo is available. If you really shoot that much ammo, get a reloading setup!
35W

 

[MJ]

I will tell you that the front blade is soooooo small/thin I lose it in any dark back ground. Isn't it grand war is a young mans job.

I saw some great 300 and 600 yard SMLE shooting at Bisley. I shot a 1916 I will never forget at action targets from 200 yards.

Pura Vida

 

[Ignition Override]

goon:
Maybe so, but if you have three-five LEs, reloads often allow the bolt to close only when a given round was first used in that specific rifle.

The only easy solution is to keep multiple plastic bags with labels for brass and reloads, such as "Green sling #4, "Blue (RAF) sling #4", "Dark #5" etc.

One additional complication is that new commercial BT (boat tail) bullets cause bad keyholes in one of my Longbranch rifles from 100 yards.
This can be caused by two-groove rifling.

 

[MJ]

I use one load fits all and FL size. Now and again I stick with one rifle for a time and then I neck size. I use two bullets 150g and 174g depending on the range.



Pura Vida

 

[BrocLuno]

I like the one in the bottom of the picture. Can I have it?

 

[roadliner]

The last 303 ammo I bought came from Sportsman Guide a few years back. Vintage 1941-42. A lot was click-wait-bang. I did get some mid '50s stuff in 32 round boxes that was very nice.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

The .303 is much nastier than .308. We were shooting .308 wolf (don't know weight) out of a Saiga, and Remington soft point .303 (174g I think) out of my no.4. at a supposedly rifle rated steel target.

The .308 knocked the paint off, and cracked a weld (we later found out), the .303 went clean through the steel plate.

 

[Maverick223]

^Me thinks that had more to do with a already weakened target than the .303Brit. cartridge having greater penetration. Wolf is steel jacketed which, versus most any SP projectile, will afford greater penetration, particularly on hardened targets. That said, the ole three-oh-three is a pretty decent cartridge...and oft performs better than one might think just by looking at the numbers. Especially when loaded with the surplus Mk. VII bullets, which have a good BC and construction (so they penetrate well), as well as a great BC and terminal ballistics (due mostly to the hollow nose cavity). They perform much like the 5.45x39.5mm "poison bullets" which were, in all likelihood, designed based upon the aforementioned Mk. VII.