and now... .303 for moose??

sametwinnie

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Hi everybody,
I'm new to hunting large game and I want to try moose this season. What I have is a lee enfield no1 mk3 in .303 lee enfield. I'm set up with a scout rail and a 2x LER scope. Do you think it is a good set up and caliber?
Please don't tell me to buy another rifle; the safe is full and this is the only large game rifle I have.
What's your opinion?

Thanks
 
I've only ever shot deer with the 303 but my dad dropped 15-20 moose with a Parker Hale 03. Some at rairly long range. He was a good shot, never had a problem.
 
Has been done many times, moose will still continue to fall to the 303 no matter when magnum crap comes out. Go ahead and use it, the 180gr round within reasonable ranges and you will have no problems.
 
Thanks folks!
I really taught it was not enough for this type of game. I will probably limit my shot to 200 yards since I want a clean kill and maybe that the ''moose fever'' exist:rolleyes:

Thanks
 
Everybody talks about ''limiting'' shots to under 200 yards-I wonder what percentage of moose [or any game for that matter] are killed OVER 200 yards?I also wonder how many guys can shoot accurately over 200 yards under hunting conditions and be sure of a clean kill?
As for the 303 being ''adequite''-I suggest up until a very few years ago-the 303 was the most common rifle seen in the Canadian bush-and maybe still for all I know.I sugest the 30-06 would enjoy equal favour in the US-most hunters were ex-military guys,and both guns and ammunition for these calibers was cheap and plentiful
 
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I seem to remember the 303 came in factory loaded 220 grains,which was the recommended bullet for moose.I would be interested in learning why it was dropped-and why.Any comment?
 
Oh no, a .303 british is far too underpowered, gotta get a Lazzeroniultramagrocketlauncher and never mind the millions of moose that have fallen over and promptly expired since surplus enfields started coming back after 1918 - if only someone had told them that they were only hit with a lowly .303, they all would have just walked it off and gone back to whatever they were doing before they were shot.... :)

As for range, if you can be 100% sure that you are going to deliver an ethical, well placed shot into a moose's vitals at that distance, considering the Lee Enfield iron sights then you will probably have plenty of energy to put the animal on the ground.

PS, yes, I am a sarcastic bastard, thank you very much!
 
ratherbefishin said:
Everybody talks about ''limiting'' shots to under 200 yards-I wonder what percentage of moose [or any game for that matter] are killed OVER 200 yards?I also wonder how many guys can shoot accurately over 200 yards under hunting conditions and be sure of a clean kill?
As for the 303 being ''adequite''-I suggest up until a very few years ago-the 303 was the most common rifle seen in the Canadian bush-and maybe still for all I know.I sugest the 30-06 would enjoy equal favour in the US-most hunters were ex-military guys,and both guns and ammunition for these calibers was cheap and plentiful

Fair point for deer, but moose are an awfully big animal. That is a big kill zone. At 200 yards a moose looks huge in your scope.

Personnally, I feel very comfortable out to 300 on moose. Now deer are a completely different story.
 
Maybe you are a ''a sarcastic bastard'' as you said but if you read the first post, you will notice that I'm not using iron sight;)

Thanks everyone for your advice. I think that if I do my part, my rifle will do it's job well

Thanks
 
At the risk of stirring up the ire of a group of 308 Winchester owners out there, :rolleyes: :p I am going to say that the 303 British is practically the ballistic twin of that [very adequate] moose round. In fact, If you are shooting the 303 in a P14, and loading the round to it's potential In that rifle, you have the exact same performance available. I use 308 Winchester data to load for my own Winchester built P14, and it will safely drive 180 grain bullets to 2630+ fps, plenty to lay old swampdonkey low.:) I have recently been experimenting with Steve Redgwell's Mk9 bullet for the 303 British, 200 grains and .313" diameter. It will make 2500 fps and shoots under 1" for 3 in my P14. This should be a real moose killer by any standards. Regards, Eagleye.
 
ratherbefishin said:
Everybody talks about ''limiting'' shots to under 200 yards-I wonder what percentage of moose [or any game for that matter] are killed OVER 200 yards?I also wonder how many guys can shoot accurately over 200 yards under hunting conditions and be sure of a clean kill?
As for the 303 being ''adequite''-I suggest up until a very few years ago-the 303 was the most common rifle seen in the Canadian bush-and maybe still for all I know.I sugest the 30-06 would enjoy equal favour in the US-most hunters were ex-military guys,and both guns and ammunition for these calibers was cheap and plentiful

FWIW, our rifle rodeo has a special class for the .303 Brit!
It is limited to iron sights, with ranges out to 500 meters.

There were a lot more hits than you would think on the 300 meter gong ( 20") from fellas that had never shot their rifles at that distance before on a range!:D
Miute of lungs for a moose.....:)
In fact, a No1 Enfield that looked like it has seen both wars won last year.
Cat
 
303 and moose

I have taken lots of deer and a few moose with the 303 , it works well and I have always used iron sights with mine and the steaks taste the same. :) But if you have a scope on yours then your shot placement can be better and your range can be extended also.:D I would never shy away fom a moose because all I had was a 303.:p
 
hutchster said:
weren't .303's popular in africa in the early 20th century?

Yes, I've seen an old movie clip of a fellow shooting elephants with a full wood .303 rifle.

And yes, the .303 is a great ctg for moose, too. ;)
 
NAA,

Where did you see that clip? I would really like to see that.

Have seen a few short clips of guys shooting full wood SMLEs and it was quite impressive to say the least. They were shooting ten inch groups at 600 yds with this issue sights.

Ted
 
sametwinnie said:
Hi everybody,
I'm new to hunting large game and I want to try moose this season. What I have is a lee enfield no1 mk3 in .303 lee enfield. I'm set up with a scout rail and a 2x LER scope. Do you think it is a good set up and caliber?
Please don't tell me to buy another rifle; the safe is full and this is the only large game rifle I have.
What's your opinion?

Thanks

A .303 to hunt Moose? For Cripes sake Yes! :D
With any rifle you want to Practice lots at the range anyway.

Also IMHO As soon as you can... start to reload, and find what load works best for you and your Rifle. I do with my P14 and I'll never look back at store bought CaRp.
 
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