What .303 Factory ammo do you prefer?
- Thread starter kayaker1
- Start date
I love Winchester, their 180 grain bullet is longer than the ones used by Federal, etc. and feeds better than most ammo. It is very accurate. The only ammo I use in bear country. The 180 silvertip was deadly on coastal blacktails, but seems to have been discontinued.
I like the Remington UMC best but cant find it (easily) in the GTA area. Bass Pro used to sell it for about $15 for a box of 20. Any sources in the GTA area?
Recently I put through some WW1 era Mark 7 from Dominion (DC 18) and Lindsay (LAC (c-broadarrow)) marked between 1915-1917-an interesting shoot with some nice bangs, some click-bangs and some just clicks.
Recently I put through some WW1 era Mark 7 from Dominion (DC 18) and Lindsay (LAC (c-broadarrow)) marked between 1915-1917-an interesting shoot with some nice bangs, some click-bangs and some just clicks.
Thanks for the info,
I picked up more Win 180's - Rem 180's are actaully $30/box!
I saw some older silvertips in Calgary last weekend for $20/box. I probably should have picked some up!
I have shot PMP 174's as well and they were good. They should be, PMP made almost 50% of all the .303 ammo used by the allies in WW2!
It seems that mil-surp .303 is really thin on the ground...
I picked up more Win 180's - Rem 180's are actaully $30/box!
I saw some older silvertips in Calgary last weekend for $20/box. I probably should have picked some up!
I have shot PMP 174's as well and they were good. They should be, PMP made almost 50% of all the .303 ammo used by the allies in WW2!
It seems that mil-surp .303 is really thin on the ground...
Remington 180gr Core-Lokt is still $23 at WalMart. LeBaron has bumped their price to $30. The cheapest LeBaron has is Winchester stuff for ~$22, if I recall correctly.
Even $22 is too spendy for me. The best bet for commercial .303 right now is Igman, anywhere between $14 and $18 depending on where you buy it from.
Igman shoots just fine, exactly the same POI and groups as Rem in my #5, though the quality of the brass may not be tops. If you're not reloading though, it won't matter.
Even $22 is too spendy for me. The best bet for commercial .303 right now is Igman, anywhere between $14 and $18 depending on where you buy it from.
Igman shoots just fine, exactly the same POI and groups as Rem in my #5, though the quality of the brass may not be tops. If you're not reloading though, it won't matter.
I really liked the Privi when I could get it, but lately its just been WIN, FED or REM, and all three seem to perform about the same for me. As a result I tend to get the Winchester as it's more available and less expensive. I for the most part reload my own now, and on that note but I have enough brass saved up from before I haven't been able to compare which brass has the better life span as I haven't worn any out yet. I suspect Winchester's economy may decrease in that area however. I also found the Federal seemed a lot dirtier and fowled barrels faster than the others.
My No. 4's don't like Round nose bullets, so for them the Remington is useless.
Igman on the other hand is cheap crap which I won't buy again no matter how inexpensive. Loads seemed to very and a lot of them had blowback around the primer. It was the dirtiest ammo of the lot. Was playing tic-tac-toe with the Privi, but just gave up when we changed to the Igman it was too inconsistent and groupings were too unpredictable.
My No. 4's don't like Round nose bullets, so for them the Remington is useless.
Igman on the other hand is cheap crap which I won't buy again no matter how inexpensive. Loads seemed to very and a lot of them had blowback around the primer. It was the dirtiest ammo of the lot. Was playing tic-tac-toe with the Privi, but just gave up when we changed to the Igman it was too inconsistent and groupings were too unpredictable.
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I wonder: Do you think General Dynamics (or SNC, or whoever) would sell me the equipment they use to make the Rangers' 303 - I'd be willing to sell the ammo back to them at cost for the Ranger contract, as long as I can make and sell new .303 ball for civillians. I'm pretty sure I could sell a few boxes a year, cover costs anyway.
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DO IT MAN, DO IT! Hell, I heard they are going to replace the Enfields the rangers use with a more modern rifle so they might not need the equipment after that, they might just give it to you. But on the downside, they will most likely scrap the Enfields.
I highly doubt they'll replace the Rangers' Enfields, where are they going to find anything that has enough power to deal with any North American game (including Polar Bears) and the necessary ruggedness to survive the potential for abuse that Ranger Rifles see. Oh yes, and keep the cost under $400 per unit. Reality (and a few previous attempts) say it ain't gonna happen - modern bolt guns have real issues with working for a living the way an Enfield will.
If you could get the equipment, I'd buy some off you, not a problem there!!
I'm sure many would.
I was thinking that,- probably sell quite well, both here and in other Commonwealth countries (Australia and New Zealand) and the US (there are a couple of Enfields there I hear). The trick would be to make enough that the cost would be low, but really there's not much competition, kind of a niche market. Wonder if you could do 30-06 on the same machines?
- Location
- Pile of Bones, SK
I usually buy the cheapest which is usually Winchester.
I like this stuff:
HEY!! thats the same stuff I use!!!
I tried both federal and winchester I like the Winchester 180 grain power point - I noticed the primers back out a little with the federal stuff - loaded wimpier?
I noticed the same thing with Federal 150gr in my No4, they sure shoot good though. I didn't even know I could shoot Iron sights so well until I tried them out at a hundred yards and got them into 2 inches.
Steamwhistle
Regular
- Location
- North 'Berta
Loads
I used a bunch of 150gr. federal, they shot pretty well, but I found my Enfield really liked the PRVI partisan 180gr.
I used a bunch of 150gr. federal, they shot pretty well, but I found my Enfield really liked the PRVI partisan 180gr.
Can't beat the price either. Every range day is like an income tax rebate.
Ditto.
But for when I used to buy commercial stuff, I found that Sellier & Bellot was the best of the bunch. It's loaded hot and it groups well in all of my rifles, especially My No4 Mk1. Coming in second is the Federal UMC stuff, which gives good brass afterward, but doesn't group as well as S&B.
I've shot everything from Federal, to Winchester, to Remington, to Igman. Igman was the worst, and the rest weren't anything to write home about either. When the prices started rising above $16 a box I bought a reloading kit and I haven't looked back since. Anything more than $20 a box for commercial .303 ammo is highway robbery, and I refuse to pay it for sub-par ammo.
Most of the commercial stuff is underloaded and uses undersized bullets, usually .310 or .3105, and in some cases, .308
For my reloads I'm using 174grn, .3115 Sierra Match Kings as well as the .312 offerings from Hornady, I back it up with H4895, and my group sizes shrank considerably from the commercial crap.
In short, reload.
PerversPépère
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Shawinigan (Quebec)
My M-1910 Ross likes the WW 180gr. loads. The brass extracts very well.
By comparison, the Federals stick in it, go figure.
PP.
By comparison, the Federals stick in it, go figure.
PP.
