.303 vs .308?

Ammo availability favors the .308 by a WIDE margin.

Ballistically (muzzle/terminal energy), they are almost identical.

Accuracy nod goes to the .308, but that's true for any of the .30 caliber cartridges so that's no surprise.

Haven't heard of too many people shooting 1000-yard matches with .303's. :D

Hope that helps a little.
 
Is there any advantage to the .303 at all, besides, of course, the big one: dad has an Enfield in .303 and nothing in .308? ;)
 
Hey, Bob Locke! You said, "Haven't heard of too many people shooting 1000-yard matches with .303's."

Well, not since the Limeys were winning in the 1930s, when those matches were far more common and Limey-land was still sort of a warrior nation.

:), Art
 
The .303 is a relic of bygone days--and interesting and usable relic, but a relic. It is a lot like the .30-40 Krag; available in factory rounds, but a very limited selection and no doubt expensive (by my standards). The .308 is obviously much more modern and available in a thousand varieties at any sporting goods store.

Reloading the .308 is very straightforward and like any other rimless ctg. Reloading the .303 is 'interesting' due to very large tolerances in chambers and headspace in Lee-Enfields, and neck sizing and moderate loads are the only way to get normal case life out of the brass. If you full length size the brass head separations are chronic on 2nd and 3rd firings.

I have 5 .303 Lee-Enfields, and each one is a rule unto itself. That said, the round is serviceable and I could get along with that and nothing else if I had to. It served the Brits well enough for 65 years.

Like I said--'interesting'.

------------------
 
Now why do you have to go dumping on the fat white guy, Art? You think that because this forum is entitled The ART of the Rifle that is means you can come in here and make silly comments like that?!? ;)

Too bad the spirit of Churchill is dead over there. And it most certainly has gone the way of the dinosaur.
 
Bob, I respectfully disagree with you.

Canadians have for years showed up at high-power rifle matches with .303 #4 Enfields, many times upstaging 308s and even 30-06s especially at the longer distances such as 600 and 1000 yards. The heavier bullets thrown by the 303 (215 grains) combined with the 303's 1-in-10 twist makes up for this phenomenon.

It's easy to poo-pooh the .303 because of its older age and "quasi-relic" status. But the reality of the fact is that the old .303 is every bit as good as the .308. A good post-WWII #4 Enfield or a P-14 shoots just as accurately as any iron-sighted military .308 of the same class. I know because I have taken both to High Power rifle matches and achieved excellent results.

As far as ammo availability, well, that's a bit different. But it shouldn't speak negatively of the intrinsic capabilities of a round.

As a hunting round, the .303 is perhaps even superior to the .308. With the long 215-gr bullet at a moderate 2100 f/s, it can flatten anything on Earth, as it has the better part of Bell's 1,000+ elephants. I use it and I have yet to register a failure.

Sure, the .308 is more *practical*, due to the sheer amount of factory and surplus ammo available. But the .303's undying popularity and increased sales in the past few years speak highly about its effectiveness as the well-designed round that it has always been.

[This message has been edited by 416Rigby (edited August 18, 2000).]
 
Ballistically, the two are nearly identical. What hampers the .303 British are the (previously mentioned) large dimensioned chambers and indifferent bore and groove dimensions of wartime produced Enfields. The brass expands noticably on firing (especially the No. 4 Mk 1), every case is fire-formed much larger than SAAMI dimensions. The Canadians have had match grade ammo and selected chambering, barrels, stock bedding, and sights developed for the Enfield and the results are truly astounding. If you could buy one of those...you'd have an excellent, inexpensive match rifle. I think of the usual Enfields (my own) as superb plinkers with Berdan-primed, corrosive war surplus ammo that can hold a 3-to-5 inch group at 100 yds. Cheaper than an '30A3, with 10 shots to boot (in Korea, it was found they could get 13 in the mag + 1 in the chamber in the No. 4 Mk 1) for some real firepower...if WWI ever comes back, I'm ready.

------------------
God and soldiers, we adore
In times of danger, not before
With the danger safely righted
God is forgotten, and soldiers slighted
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top