303 British, how good is it?

Say, I don't know if you guys heard, but "a tiny tap" is all it takes to throw those Lee Enfields off so they shoot like a shotgun. I just learned this tonight, so you're gettin' it first.









As if.
 
RRCo. said:
Say, I don't know if you guys heard, but "a tiny tap" is all it takes to throw those Lee Enfields off so they shoot like a shotgun. I just learned this tonight, so you're gettin' it first.









As if.
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Actually, with some of the Long Branch and wartime Brit No.4 forearms, that can happen. Mostly due to shoddy work by RCEME armourers, I believe. I checked out several ranger rifles that shot badly, the forearm bedding was at fault in all of them. Of course, I am not allowed to touch Her Majesty's weapons, so I couldn't fix them. :mad: The SMLE has a better bedding system, once it's set up right. That big nosecap keeps everything the way it should be. A lot depends on the wood quality, though. I gave up on restoring SMLE's once I couldn't get British wood. I've had two Indian forearms break down in service, the bedding surfaces just squashed out. I did two with little walnut blocks grafted in to absorb the shock, but that is very time consuming.
 
This cartridge is designed to shoot a 174gr bullet at 2440 fps. Its a combination that has worked (and continues to work) extremely well. I can hit targets reliably with this round out to 500 metres in the prone unsupported position and open sights.

I love lee enfields.
 
Feel free to bash the Bubba'd gun. The deal was fantastic though. And wow it has a good recoil and excessive muzzle blast.
Blondie1-1.jpg

The only unmolested L/E I've ever seen was a Jungle carbine, the rest bubba'd. But this is the nicest Bubba'd one of the lot.
 
Nice photo. It's nice enough that Bubba can be forgiven. But for recoil and excessive muzzle blast it's much tougher to get beaten up by a No.5 "jungle carbine" with the original butt stock. Having gone this far with your No. 4, or having acquired it this way, you might as well stick QD swivels and a recoil pad on it if it bothers you.
 
Whats it good for? That makes me smile just trying to think of the history and uses this round has been put to. It might even be the most successful and long lasting round ever developed.

For the past 130 years or so it has probably killed every animal known to man and been used against every machine of war in use during that period as well. From submarines to fighter planes to zepplins and tanks. From gophers and crows to lion, tiger, elephant and whales it has been pressed into service all over the globe and not in insignifigant numbers either.

What corner of the world has been visited by some form of explorer, hunter, or soldier related to the British Empire in that time?
 
BUSHMAN79 said:
Actually, with some of the Long Branch and wartime Brit No.4 forearms, that can happen. Mostly due to shoddy work by RCEME armourers, I believe. I checked out several ranger rifles that shot badly, the forearm bedding was at fault in all of them. Of course, I am not allowed to touch Her Majesty's weapons, so I couldn't fix them. :mad: The SMLE has a better bedding system, once it's set up right. That big nosecap keeps everything the way it should be. A lot depends on the wood quality, though. I gave up on restoring SMLE's once I couldn't get British wood. I've had two Indian forearms break down in service, the bedding surfaces just squashed out. I did two with little walnut blocks grafted in to absorb the shock, but that is very time consuming.
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RCEME armourers? There haven't been any of them since 1968, and of course many of the ones around now have very little experience on the Enfields, the ones that have any.

Do the rifles not get accuracy tested before they go back/out to the troops?

Still, I'd rather have problems on a rifle that I can fix in a few hours than problems the designer included that I can never fix.

Someone should really start producing some nice walnut wood for SMLE's. There's a market for it. Teak would be nice too.

Tokguy, that's a nice bit of stock work there. I assume the laminations were put in to make those contact areas even tougher. Should last just about forever now. The rifle is a '42 Long Branch?
 
It came this way. Globe firearms worked them over in the 50's and early 60's I'm told. I'm guessing the stock is Maple.
The matching scope is kind of a cool thing too; but it's got very thin cross-hairs.
Blondie2.jpg

All of the military markings have been polished out.
It has a really nice feel when you aim it; not so nice after you light up a round. Had a Jungle Carbine as a kid; pretty close sensation when firing.
 
I've mentioned previously that I'd picked up a pair of JC's from a friend, one of which had been his fathers and the other his. The one belonging to his Dad is in very nice condition, has a metal tipped forestock, sling and I've recently purchased a bayonet to go with it.

MyJCwithbayonet.jpg


The JC that was my buddys isn't in quite as good shape and at present has a butt stock made by Bishop on it although I do have the original as well. Oh, and it has a plain wood forend. Just for a bit of accuracy testing, a friend picked up a couple of scope mount bases from Brownells and I've put one on this JC and mounted a 3-9 Bushnell Buckhorn on it.

SmokeyBobJC303Br.jpg


I took it out to the range today and tried out some handloads using some 174gr FMJ's. I received the bullets from a guy on site and was pleasantly suprised at the results today:D.

303BrJCBG.jpg


Not bad for an 'old girl':D.
 
Thus, I have to say that without doubt, the 30-30 accounted for more big game shot in Canada than any other calibre.
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Well, in this neck of the woods (Upper and Lower Ottawa Valley) the .303 outnumbered 30-30s by a large margin. I only knew a few guys who hunted with a 30-30. The next most popular caliber after the.303 was the 30-06, and by the late 60s it had probably taken over as the number one cartridge.

But most homes had a .303 behind the door at one time or another. And it was the same thing on the other side of the river - lots of "trois-cent-trois" in La belle Province.
 
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