Shooting .303 British

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bryan.14

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Hi all,

Just picked up an .303 British Rifle to get ready for hunting this fall. It's in Nice condition. Sporting a 25'' barrel and a 3x-9 power scope, deep blued finish and a nice stock. I also bought some 150 grain Cartridges for deer.

How effective is it compared to cartridges like .270 winchester, or .30-06? Good Stopping Power?

Anyone have experience hunting with .303 british?, What bullet grain do you use?

Thanks in Advance!

I was acually planning to buy a .270 winchester, however this .303 british set up cost me just over $100. I expected the barrel would be shot out, but when I checked it still has a nice bore!!, I'll bring it to the range tomorrow for a sight in and find out how it groups.
 
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150 or 180 grains are your only options if you don't reload. Trajectory is like a .308 win

Your good to hunt moose, deer and blackbear with your .303, as long as it is hunting accurate
 
It's very effective. Let's compare the Winchester 2011 product guide's .303b, 30-06spring, and 270Win ballistics information:

.303BRITISH 180G PP
BC .369
MUZZLE: 2460FPS.
ENERGY @MUZZLE: 2418
TRAJECTORY @200 -5.5INCHES @300 -19.3INCHES

30-06 SPRINGFIELD 180G PP
BC .381
MUZZLE: 2700FPS
ENERGY @MUZZLE 2913
TRAJECTORY @100 -4.2 @200 -15.4

270 WINCHESTER 150G PP
BC .344
MUZZLE: 2850
ENERGY @MUZZLE 2705
TRAJECTORY @200 -.37 @300 -13.8

The only issues with the Lee Enfield I can think of are accuracy and reloadability of the brass. You can find ammo for these guns anywhere in Canada, but you're looking to pay a bit more per shot than 30-06 unfortunately. If you got a good barrel, you really don't need another rifle. Anything that walks in N. America will fall to an Enfield. You have a hunting rifle that has a smooth action, detachable mag, backup iron sights, and great knockdown power. If I could get a jungle carbine in stainless, I'd never hunt with anything else.
 
Ammo is more expensive than most, and a tad heavy, but for versatility and knock down power you have all you need for most game animals in North America. I've got one with a nylon stock and a newer Bushnell scope that I put on last year which made a huge improvement. My Uncle in Alberta has used his Enfield to drop Moose, Mule and White-Tail deer, and Antelope for the past 40 years. I'd feel more than comfortable using it on Bear and large Hogs. I've considered something a little more versatile and the only thing I've considered buying for an all round hunting rifle was a .308 becasue it has a much wider, and cheaper, variety of ammo to choose from. Good luck..
 
"...picked up an .303 British Rifle..." A sporterized Lee-Enfield? Check the headspace before you shoot it. Thousands of 'em have been assembled out of parts bins with zero QC. You should slug the barrel too. Hammer a cast .30 calibre bullet or a suitably sized lead fishing sinker through the barrel with a 1/4" brass or AL rod and measure it with a micrometer. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure from .311" to .315" and still be ok. Over .315" the barrel is shot out. Commercial hunting ammo uses .311" or .312" diameter bullets. They won't shoot well through a .313" plus barrel.
The .303 British will kill any game you care to hunt. A 150 will do nicely for deer if your rifle likes the brand of ammo you bought.
 
My first deer was taken with a .303 LE flat iron sights. The factory ammo can be a bit more expensive than comparing to the .270 and .30-06. However, if you stay away from Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire, and go to the smaller gun shops instead, you will find ammo brands that you've never heard of, making rounds for the .303, and some of these boxes go for 10-15 dollars. I won't say a lot of guys actually buy these cheap shells, but I will say that I do for mine.

No real sacrifice in performance, you just have to make sure they don't turn out to be FMJ's before taking them hunting.
 
I started with a .303 le have used many different rifles since but it is the one cartridge I truley trust I took my first coyote back in 86 or 87 at little over 300 yrds in a blueberry field with a Parker and Hale with 150's and I have an E.A.L. that is deadly 1 1/2" @200 open sites .I prefer 180's for deer though
 
180's for me as well, and my experience has been that the .303 dropped deer as quick or quicker than many other popular hunting rounds. I also found that it is quite accurate and easy on the shoulder.
 
I have a LEC (Lee Enfield Calvary Carbine) built in 1898 that hates 150's, will tolerate 180's (4" group), and absolutely loves the 200's I just bought this winter from a friend.

That being said, the majority of my .303's all perform quite acceptably (hunting standards) with either 150's or 180's. My jungle carbine likes 125's quite well.

Rifles have counted for numerous deer during the poor years ... years before I was able to buy a "real" (read NIB) gun. Since moving to newer guns, I have found that my 303's get used less since they are not as accurate. But they still get used when situations under 100yds are the norm for my hunting situations. Several of them are acceptable out to 200. I tend to match my hunting with my rifle and it may change each day if I am changing areas. My best brush pushing rifle is my jungle carbine. Highly accurate with anything I throw in it.
 
rookie wildcat said:
I have a LEC (Lee Enfield Calvary Carbine) built in 1898 that hates 150's, will tolerate 180's (4" group), and absolutely loves the 200's I just bought this winter from a friend.

That being said, the majority of my .303's all perform quite acceptably (hunting standards) with either 150's or 180's. My jungle carbine likes 125's quite well.

Rifles have counted for numerous deer during the poor years ... years before I was able to buy a "real" (read NIB) gun. Since moving to newer guns, I have found that my 303's get used less since they are not as accurate. But they still get used when situations under 100yds are the norm for my hunting situations. Several of them are acceptable out to 200. I tend to match my hunting with my rifle and it may change each day if I am changing areas. My best brush pushing rifle is my jungle carbine. Highly accurate with anything I throw in it.
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Thanks for the info, Do your .303's rifles have scopes? or open sights?,

I just bought one nice one I descibed with the 3x-9 scope.......

....and another one(2nd .303 rifle) with open sights, It was only $50, that I bought at the same time. Has the original barrel, and is drilled for a scope mount. At the moment I dont have a mount for it but If it shoots good with open sights I might not scope this one right away. It needs a good cleaning but it should turn out nice, and shoot good. It has a very good+ bore.
 
How effective?
The 303 is enough gun for Deer, Moose, Elk, Black Bear, as well as basically any North American big game animal (although I'd most likely not use one for a Grizzly), and nazi's.
 
kinda funny seeing this inquiry ,cause the 303 was the mainstay of the canadian hunters for decades-bubba'd too-with no apologies.If you really had some extra cash, you scoped it with a Weaver k4.It would kill anything in NorthAmerica-as long as you held it straight.My first one cost $8-from Sears catalogue,and I killed a lot of deer with it until I went to the 6.5x55 swede,which is probably the best milsurp ever manufactured in terms of fine workmanship
 
ratherbefishin said:
kinda funny seeing this inquiry ,cause the 303 was the mainstay of the canadian hunters for decades-bubba'd too-with no apologies.If you really had some extra cash, you scoped it with a Weaver k4.It would kill anything in NorthAmerica-as long as you held it straight.My first one cost $8-from Sears catalogue,and I killed a lot of deer with it until I went to the 6.5x55 swede,which is probably the best milsurp ever manufactured in terms of fine workmanship
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There ... you've said it all.

Just one milsurp I would like to add to the pre-eminent star's list ^ .
Model 1909 Argentine Oberndorf Mauser. A jewel. Unsurpassed before or since.

It's the lucky man indeed, who owns one of each.

Truth be told, it's the No4Mk1 that spends the most time with me in the bush.
 
Rocket Surgery said:
It's very effective. Let's compare the Winchester 2011 product guide's .303b, 30-06spring, and 270Win ballistics information:

.303BRITISH 180G PP
BC .369
MUZZLE: 2460FPS.
ENERGY @MUZZLE: 2418
TRAJECTORY @200 -5.5INCHES @300 -19.3INCHES

30-06 SPRINGFIELD 180G PP
BC .381
MUZZLE: 2700FPS
ENERGY @MUZZLE 2913
TRAJECTORY @100 -4.2 @200 -15.4

270 WINCHESTER 150G PP
BC .344
MUZZLE: 2850
ENERGY @MUZZLE 2705
TRAJECTORY @200 -.37 @300 -13.8

The only issues with the Lee Enfield I can think of are accuracy and reloadability of the brass. You can find ammo for these guns anywhere in Canada, but you're looking to pay a bit more per shot than 30-06 unfortunately. If you got a good barrel, you really don't need another rifle. Anything that walks in N. America will fall to an Enfield. You have a hunting rifle that has a smooth action, detachable mag, backup iron sights, and great knockdown power. If I could get a jungle carbine in stainless, I'd never hunt with anything else.
Click to expand...


.303British is a solid 200yd Deer Rifle.

The 180PPSP listed above only gave 2260FPS in a Parker-Hale sporter(24" Barrel) I test fired over the chrony. The standard deviation was excellent with an extreme spread of 16FPS over around 25 rounds fired.
If this translates into 2300FPS in your 25.25" sporter, the .308WIN and .30-06 firing .308" higher BC bullets of the same weight at 15% more veloity means 30% more energy at the muzzle and a proportionately more energy as the range increased due to the .308" higher BC.

Putting the lagging behind the .308Win and '06 in energy aside, the Parker hale was deadly accurate with the 180PPSP on the Bench(MOA if I recall), and will kill deer cleanly out to 200yds.
Dropping the BC of the .303 180PPSP into a ballistics calculator with 2300FPS and 150 yd zero, tells me you got around 1500ft lbs of energy at around 175-200yds and this I believe is a safe minimun for cleanly dispatching Deer. This means to drop an animal within sight usually lessing the chances of a lost animal. If 1000ft lbs is used as minimum energy(This usually means looking a little for hit deer) than you go to 325yds!

Now if you handload and get 2500+fps like the load I shoot out of my No4 with a high BC PSP 180, than you just extended your range(1500Ft-lbs) by maybe another 100-150 yds!!
Accuracy will not get any better though, but trajectory will be more favourable.:canadaFlag:

A .270Winchester is in a different class sorry. With a 15ogr XP3 at 2950FPS you have nearly 1500 ft lbs remaining energy at 500yds! and still has 2200fps at 425yds which means devastating hydrostatic shock effect still alive and well at this long range. To put .270 and .303 on same chart is a mistake.
 
Yeah I noticed the 270 and 303 thing when I was typing that out. They're in totally different classes. The XP3 is about as fine a bullet you're going to find, I can't wait until they're available for reloaders. An article I read about them showed that they kinda sucked at long ranges, they need a lot of fps and energy to expand, unlike standard soft points. In 30-06 and 300win mag they'd just be devastating.
 
Get out and shoot your rifle!

The effective maximum range of your rifle is where you can keep the bullets on a 10" target on demand. That maximum effective range might be 100 yards or it might be 300 yards; it depends on the accuracy potential of your rifle, the ammunition you feed it, and it depends on your ability to shoot from field positions under realistic hunting conditions. Don't be so concerned with making a long range shot that you cannot manage a short range shot; in most areas, you will have more short range opportunities than long.

As far as the terminal performance on game animals goes, there isn't a huge difference between any of the cartridges normally used for big game. A 150 .30 caliber Remington PSP or Winchester Power Point for example will perform the same at the same velocity whether from a .30/06 (.308") or a .303 (.311"). The factory .303/150 drives the bullet at 2700 fps, the original .30/06 load drove a 150 gr bullet at 2700 fps, and it was with a 150 gr military FMJ load that Stewart Edward White killed all sorts of African game shortly after the turn of the 20th Century. Todays game is not tougher, but our game bullets are better than military FMJs. History has proven that a good medium weight game bullet that leaves the muzzle at 2700 is a good killer on all but dangerous game.
 
Boomer said:
Get out and shoot your rifle!

The effective maximum range of your rifle is where you can keep the bullets on a 10" target on demand. That maximum effective range might be 100 yards or it might be 300 yards; it depends on the accuracy potential of your rifle, the ammunition you feed it, and it depends on your ability to shoot from field positions under realistic hunting conditions. Don't be so concerned with making a long range shot that you cannot manage a short range shot; in most areas, you will have more short range opportunities than long.

As far as the terminal performance on game animals goes, there isn't a huge difference between any of the cartridges normally used for big game. A 150 .30 caliber Remington PSP or Winchester Power Point for example will perform the same at the same velocity whether from a .30/06 (.308") or a .303 (.311"). The factory .303/150 drives the bullet at 2700 fps, the original .30/06 load drove a 150 gr bullet at 2700 fps, and it was with a 150 gr military FMJ load that Stewart Edward White killed all sorts of African game shortly after the turn of the 20th Century. Todays game is not tougher, but our game bullets are better than military FMJs. History has proven that a good medium weight game bullet that leaves the muzzle at 2700 is a good killer on all but dangerous game.
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I agree on the shooters ability limiting most situations on effective range, if suitable energy and bullets are brought to bear.
I will chrony some .303 British in my No4 to see if they even come close to 2700FPS. Factory test barrels/universal receivers I believe, in the past anyways, were intentionally sized to obtain velocities with said factory loadings that were nowhere near the Real world performance in many well used Milsurps. They obtained SAAMI maximums as the ballistics suggested but in the N01MkIII used in hte field would fall far short of these figures. They were not lying because the velocities were correct in the test barrel. They were also insuring that Milsurps with Field headspace conditions in cirrculation, would not be dangerous to the shooters and therefore to their bank accounts through being dragged in court everytime a Rifle which needed a new bolt head or barrel set back, caused injury.
I've seen more than one and probaly yourself, No1 MkIIIs having head separation on first firing. And this with IvI loadings which probaly were using the same brass they used for Mk7 Ball ammo, and detuned to no end via the above rational!!
We need to verify the old girls legs on a chrony before referring to North American ballistics charts and comparing the effectiveness on game solely on energy alone. The hydrostatic shock effect in the .270 is devastating in itselt well beyond what energy alone delivered can cause. A temporary wound channel from velocity causing bullet RPM's in the 300 to 400,000 range produces tussue damage and nervous system shock that puts any mammal out of action. Death follows again only by permanent wound channel and some temporary wound channel damage. Yes I'm a Hydrostatic shock Disciple of Roy's. Roy Weatherby got it right in the 1940s, we are not talking about big, slow moving Rifle/ Pistol rounds, so thats another arguement for another thread.
 
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