- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
ah yes those bench seat covers were great, and they had some pockets for ammo and other bits.
Using an sporterized Enfield 303 for mule deer in BC
- Thread starter Droopyface
- Start date
ah yes those bench seat covers were great, and they had some pockets for ammo and other bits.
Droopyface
New member
- Location
- Victoria, BC
I do need to get it zero'd and I talked to a gunsmith near me - gonna throw a good scope on it so I can keep up with my group.
Shoots so nice and the bolt action is so nice and smooth. I just wish the rounds weren't quite so many $$
Shoots so nice and the bolt action is so nice and smooth. I just wish the rounds weren't quite so many $$
Everything on the planet that can be killed, has been killed with a .303. Most of those .303 rounds were launched by a version of J.P. Lee's action. No problem. Take a look at the ballistics of the M118LR 7.62 NATO round - something vaguely familiar there.
There was a huge amount of R&D invested in old military rounds like the .303, 8×57, 7×57, .30-06 and 6.5 Swede; and they still work well with modern powders and bullets.
I've shot a few truck loads of whitetails and mulies, a moose and a bear with a sporterised No 5 JC. I was hunting mulies with 2 friends using new 7mm STW magnums loaded with 140 gr bullets and close to 80 grains of powder for around 3400 fps. I was using a sedate 7x57 Mauser with the same bullet and 49 grains for 2800 fps with much less sound and fury. My deer fell over just as well with much less lost venison.
I've shot a few truck loads of whitetails and mulies, a moose and a bear with a sporterised No 5 JC. I was hunting mulies with 2 friends using new 7mm STW magnums loaded with 140 gr bullets and close to 80 grains of powder for around 3400 fps. I was using a sedate 7x57 Mauser with the same bullet and 49 grains for 2800 fps with much less sound and fury. My deer fell over just as well with much less lost venison.
- Location
- pallisers triangle
its funny more people haven't figured this out before. guys loading 175 grain bullets in 308 are almost the exact same velocity as 303 174. when I have pointed this out to a few they get all pissy, cause usually they are the ones calling down the 303. like a lot of us we started with a sportered 303 that was dads or grampas before. still a very hard to beat all round rifle for hunting
The LE stock has a lot of drop at the comb, so a high scope is very uncomfortable and slower to use.
Use low rings and a small scope that can sit low. I use a fixed 2 3/4 on one and a 1-5 on the other.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
pretty much any big brand still loads .303 british I'm partial to prvi just because the brass is close to the military style. for those who want to get into loading for .303 on the cheap lee still makes the classic loader in .303 british and I think they have a nice advantage over the cheap dies because they neck size only if you are going to reload for a lee you may want to do the oring trick
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Ppu makes 150 & 180gr sp
The easiest to find and in my No.4 the most accurate
S&B 150gn
Federal 150 & 180gr
If you can find the ppu 174gn fmj it shoots the same poa/poi for me as the federal 180gr sp that I hunt with, it’s $24-26 a box and I will plink with it at the range and not have to re zero my scope. At 100 & 200yds it’s dead on my hold overs.
Yes, I do.
If your friends with their new 30-06s do better than you with your old .303 it's only because they have newer, more advanced equipment. If you do as well or better with your old Lee-Enfield, they must admit you are the better rifleman.
Thank you for the suggestions.
I DID buy an RCBS rock chucker kit, AND 303 dies... and have done zip with it. Too many other projects sucking up time.
Thanks again- much appreciated.
I also have a nice 303 sporter with Warne rings and Leupold scope. It will work well within its range envelope. Most are at best a 3 to 5 MOA rifle using factory ammo. (The Enfield was never designed to be a precision rifle. It was designed to be a tough fighting rifle and it did this job very well).
I assume you've already shot this at the range and are sighted in. If so, you've also got a good idea of how far out practically you could take an animal. I use the rule of thumb that I need to put all shots into a 6-8 inch circle to effect a good chance for a humane kill on a good sized deer.
This limits me, at most to a 200 yd shot under good conditions. Good conditions would be a standing, fairly broadside shot, steady rest.
That being said most shots that I encounter in B.C. are under that range.
The limiting factor to me is not the power of the round but the design and condition of the rifle shooting it.
I assume you've already shot this at the range and are sighted in. If so, you've also got a good idea of how far out practically you could take an animal. I use the rule of thumb that I need to put all shots into a 6-8 inch circle to effect a good chance for a humane kill on a good sized deer.
This limits me, at most to a 200 yd shot under good conditions. Good conditions would be a standing, fairly broadside shot, steady rest.
That being said most shots that I encounter in B.C. are under that range.
The limiting factor to me is not the power of the round but the design and condition of the rifle shooting it.
You used to see a number of hunters using the SMLE, but it's not as common anymore. I haven't seen anyone use one in many years, actually. The reason is that you can get a budget priced modern rifle for not much more than a SMLE and the new rifle will be scope friendly, more accurate and have plenty more ammo options.
I wouldn't pick one for hunting myself, but if that is all I had, I wouldn't be staying home and not going hunting with it!
I wouldn't pick one for hunting myself, but if that is all I had, I wouldn't be staying home and not going hunting with it!
Not a whole lot if you don't live near the big city. Local hardware stores stock maybe 2 brands - usually Winchester Power Point or Remington corlokt (sp) both in 180 gr SP. Price is edging up toward 40 bucks a box with tax so about 2 bucks a round.
No one seems to stock a premium brand as people who own Enfields are usually not interested in purchasing Premium Factory.
Sometimes you can get cheaper surplus FMJ but of course you can't hunt with that legally.
LE's can be surprisingly accurate. I worked over one for a hunting buddy and experimented with handloads for it which made it a MOA shooter. The trigger pull was waaaay too heavy, so I lightened it for him. He asked me to change it back because he was used to something approaching a 10 pound pull.
My sporterized No 5 JC, which I've used since 1962, will shoot 3 MOA, but I've never shot anything with it much over 100 yds. When I hunted in the heavy timber in NB I sat in blinds and shots came fast and close. I actually loaded it down a bit. The last animal I took with it was a nice chocolate/cinnamon bear at about 30 yds.
My sporterized No 5 JC, which I've used since 1962, will shoot 3 MOA, but I've never shot anything with it much over 100 yds. When I hunted in the heavy timber in NB I sat in blinds and shots came fast and close. I actually loaded it down a bit. The last animal I took with it was a nice chocolate/cinnamon bear at about 30 yds.
it's my all around favorite for those pemby mountain blacktails
In fact I picked up a sportered Lithgow with really nice headspace and shinyish bore for a winter project.
when I'm done it will look like this one here in the pic..... which I sold to a fellow cgn'er…. silly me. If that guy is reading this I might offer to buy that rifle back LOL
the moose don't mind the .303 either
