.303 British opinions
- Thread starter Chaz88
- Start date
tahunua001
New member
well the only rifle I know of that was chambered for 303 brit was an enfield. they are all pretty good quality for being old war relics. they make nice hunting rifles but I probably wouldn't try to get moa groups at 600 yards with one
Some Enfields, actually a lot of Enfields can and will shoot MOA to way way way out there. If you get serious about reloading for the Enfield, look into neck sizing only and keeping your brass separated for each rifle if you have more then one. I can almost guarantee that if you get bit by the Enfield bug and catch the disease you will end up with more then one.
.303 British is one of my favorite rounds. If it hasn't killed every type of big game animal on the planet it's only missing one or two. I find that a good Enfield will hold very tight groups. Probably harder to come by but .303 British was also used in Ruger Number 1's, Winchester 95's, and Parker-Hale sporters.
About 15 years ago, I owned an Enfield No.4 Mk1* that was sporterized by Century Arms. The barrel was shortened about 4 inches, recrowned, and had a nice front sight on it. It had beautiful wood for a $150 rifle. Unfortunately I can’t remember exactly what I reloaded for it, other then 120 grain soft point bullets and BLC-2 powder. As mentioned earlier, it’s highly recommended to neck size only the brass. Otherwise a light yellow ring forms about a half inch above the rim. It’s from thinning of the case wall. Shortly after that ring forms, the case will separate. I only reloaded 4 maybe 5 times then scrapped the brass. With a scope, I could easily get 2 inch groups at 100 yards. Plenty good for hunting deer sized game, and it did a very good job of knocking down a deer.
Due to the chamber shoulder...
being 1/16" farther forward and normal. [British Army decreed that any picked-up ammo chamber ibto the rifle and fire during battle.]
That's the reason for neck-sizing.
Well regarded for hunting in NA, was in shop in Vermont labor day week-end and surprised by the loaded shelf of .303 boxes.
Try for late 50's made rifle or better if you're an "informed accumulator" one of the Savage made "Lend-Lease: #4's.
Also any rifle with 'brass' butt-plate is normally considered to be Royal Navy issue, other are BA or RAF.
being 1/16" farther forward and normal. [British Army decreed that any picked-up ammo chamber ibto the rifle and fire during battle.]
That's the reason for neck-sizing.
Well regarded for hunting in NA, was in shop in Vermont labor day week-end and surprised by the loaded shelf of .303 boxes.
Try for late 50's made rifle or better if you're an "informed accumulator" one of the Savage made "Lend-Lease: #4's.
Also any rifle with 'brass' butt-plate is normally considered to be Royal Navy issue, other are BA or RAF.
). meatgrinder42
New member
I picked up a SMLE at a show for 125, it was definitely very VERY well used.
Tikirocker
New member
Do a search for a post I made a while ago about Gale McMillan and the Enfield 1000 yard match winning rifles at Bisley - might change your opinion about Enfield accuracy and their capabilities.
Me? I have lots of them and roll my own ...
Tiki.
Me? I have lots of them and roll my own ...
Tiki.
Don't forget the P-14/M 1914 "American Enfield" in .303 Brit.
It's a Mauser type action & there was a U.S. Issue version called the P-17/M1917 that took 30-06 ammunition as well. 'Course it's not a real Enfield to purists
If you can find a post war #4 Mk2 You'll probably find one of the best-made versions. The wartime pressure to produce was gone & several expediency measures were reversed to make what, to me is the best of the lot. Mine will whack steel out to 650 yards all day & has produced some MOA groups as well.
My infamous '55 Blonde Fazackerly.
About average 100Yd.group with 150 Gr handloads.!
It's a Mauser type action & there was a U.S. Issue version called the P-17/M1917 that took 30-06 ammunition as well. 'Course it's not a real Enfield to puristsIf you can find a post war #4 Mk2 You'll probably find one of the best-made versions. The wartime pressure to produce was gone & several expediency measures were reversed to make what, to me is the best of the lot. Mine will whack steel out to 650 yards all day & has produced some MOA groups as well.
My infamous '55 Blonde Fazackerly.
About average 100Yd.group with 150 Gr handloads.!
One thing to remember is that due to the long service life of the SMLE/No. 1 MkIII and the No. 4 Mark I and the number of manufacturers and subcontractors, there are variations in barrel diameter that make slugging your bore and choosing bullets accordingly a must for accurate reloads.
tahunua001
New member
it used to be that you could pick one up for about the same price as a mosin nagant, it was not uncommon to go to a gun show and come back with a $90 enfield no4. now however the surplus has drieds up and the rifles are going for around $350 in some places. I would think that you could still go to a gun show and grab one for $250 though. with these guns most of the quality concerns are cosmetic rather than mechanical.
and I forgot about the ruger no1s though I hear the accuracy with them are much lower than the enfields.
SwampYankee
New member
I've got 4 of them (used to have 5) and really enjoy shooting them but reloading for them is a real pain. You have to neck size for accuracy and safety: if you don't you'll also cause case-head separations (done that a bunch of times). And it is very easy to buckle your shoulder with standard dies. It is a very slow and tedious process but it is sure cheaper than buying ammo...
Yes they are rear locking but by no means are they weak or "springy". They have a military over sized chamber and military head space. Thats one of the reasons we neck size our brass thats been fire formed to the chamber. And we don't try and hot rod the Enfield with hot loads.