good factory loads for a Parker Hale .303 (possibly Supreme No. 1 Mk III?)

TheCoachZed

TheCoachZed

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Got a Parker Hale .303 sporter off here a while back, with Monte Carlo stock built on a No. 1 Mk III action. Can't figure out what it originally was, maybe a Supreme.

I was going to move it off after moose season, but it just fits me really, really well. I tried some 180 grain Winchester loads and while they got the job done, weren't as good as Federal 180 grain loads and the best by far were some full metal jacket factory loads a friend gave me -- I suspect they were 174 grain.

I'd kind of like to try some other rounds through this rifle, but wondered what would be worth buying, instead of purchasing just everything I can find. I was thinking of looking for a 174 grain hunting load, and maybe some 150s?
 
I'd consider handloading, then you aren't at the mercy of the ammo companies for your choice of bullets. Woodleigh makes a .303 (.312") 174 gr protected point soft point, which driven at 2500+ would shoot nearly as flat as a .308 loaded with a 180 of similar profile. At one time CIL loaded full power .303 ammo in a variety of bullet weights and types, but American ammo companies typically under-load the ole gal.

I just checked Tradex's site, they have 150 and 180 gr soft points from S&B and Previ, 174 gr FMJ and Hornady Match ammo with 174 gr BTHPs.
 
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Purchase everything you can find and see what works best

Thats the only answer anyone can give you. Its the only way to know. Or just accept what you get and live with it. What group size are you getting? Hunting rifles dont need to be stupendously accurate.
 
blasted_saber said:
Purchase everything you can find and see what works best

Thats the only answer anyone can give you. Its the only way to know. Or just accept what you get and live with it. What group size are you getting? Hunting rifles dont need to be stupendously accurate.
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Really hard to say how good the groups were because I had a loose scope ring, but the FMJ was maybe coverable with my palm at 100 yards in field shooting conditions at 100 yards.
 
I reload but of factory ammo I have tried in several Lee Enfields (No.4s and No.5s) I've been best pleased with Remington Express Core-Lokt, 180grain.


"...some full metal jacket factory loads a friend gave me -- I suspect they were 174 grain. ..." Those sound like Remington UMC, I've bought a lot of those for target practice and reloaded the cases (neck size only) many times.
 
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Had a PH 303 for a few years, very nice rifle for a 303. Wouldn't shoot with any and all the different ammo I had accumulated, so sold it all and used the money to buy 2 boxes of Norma 150gn. Consistently shot just a tad over moa until I sold it. Also did some load development and was able to find a load to match it. But was way easier just to go buy some Norma ammo and go shoot stuff, 7 animals for the last nine shots I fired in anger, with only one miss. If the 150's dont work, then the 180's probably will, but I would try the 150's first.
 
If accuracy suffers from manufacturer to manufacturer of the ammunition you feed it, or if 150s don't shoot as well as heavier bullets, handloading is again your friend, because minor changes in powder type, even though burn rates are similar, can have a great affect on accuracy within bullet weight. Something as simple as switching powder can change the character of your rifle.

We can't discuss Lee Enfield accuracy without talking about bedding. There is more to bedding a Lee Enfield rifle than meets the eye, and the knowledge base for properly bedding these rifles has shrunk dramatically over time. There is a solution available to LE riflemen though, that is to purchase Nathan Foster's book on rifle accurizing and maintenance. He gives a detailed explanation of how to correctly bed a #4 rifle and makes the claim that his own rifle shoots .6 MOA. When I was in the Canadian Ranger's there were two rifles in our troop that shot particularly well, one would shoot MOA with Winchester 180 gr SPs, which was the issue ammo for a few years after the FMJs were dropped. The difference between these rifles and the others in our Ranger troop was that these ones retained the brass shims in the bedding. The brass shims can be easily replaced with glass bed resin, and the rifle's accuracy potential will return. I wish I had known about that back then. I doubt that PH or Churchill Arms paid much attention to the bedding of the .303 sporters they turned out, and accuracy problems was the result. Any given factory ammo will shoot better in some rifles than in others, but a good accurate rifle will shoot any decent ammo reasonably well.
 
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Backcountryal said:
Had a PH 303 for a few years, very nice rifle for a 303. Wouldn't shoot with any and all the different ammo I had accumulated, so sold it all and used the money to buy 2 boxes of Norma 150gn. Consistently shot just a tad over moa until I sold it. Also did some load development and was able to find a load to match it. But was way easier just to go buy some Norma ammo and go shoot stuff, 7 animals for the last nine shots I fired in anger, with only one miss. If the 150's dont work, then the 180's probably will, but I would try the 150's first.
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That doesn't surprise me. Weren't Parker Hales built to be optimized with Norma ammunition?
 
Boomer said:
If accuracy suffers from manufacturer to manufacturer of the ammunition you feed it, or if 150s don't shoot as well as heavier bullets, handloading is again your friend, because minor changes in powder type, even though burn rates are similar, can have a great affect on accuracy within bullet weight. Something as simple as switching powder can change the character of your rifle.

We can't discuss Lee Enfield accuracy without talking about bedding. There is more to bedding a Lee Enfield rifle than meets the eye, and the knowledge base for properly bedding these rifles has shrunk dramatically over time. There is a solution available to LE riflemen though, that is to purchase Nathan Foster's book on rifle accurizing and maintenance. He gives a detailed explanation of how to correctly bed a #4 rifle and makes the claim that his own rifle shoots .6 MOA. When I was in the Canadian Ranger's there were two rifles in our troop that shot particularly well, one would shoot MOA with Winchester 180 gr SPs, which was the issue ammo for a few years after the FMJs were dropped. The difference between these rifles and the others in our Ranger troop was that these ones retained the brass shims in the bedding. The brass shims can be easily replaced with glass bed resin, and the rifle's accuracy potential will return. I wish I had known about that back then. I doubt that PH or Churchill Arms paid much attention to the bedding of the .303 sporters they turned out, and accuracy problems was the result. Any given factory ammo will shoot better in some rifles than in others, but a good accurate rifle will shoot any decent ammo reasonably well.
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I'll probably take it apart to check it over the winter. However, I think you may be selling Parker Hale short. Their higher end .303 sporters really are quite nice rifles, from what I've seen. The one I have has been refinished, so the original factory faux rosewood is gone. Not sure what's left under the barrel.
 
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