A Budget Build .303

[LawrenceN]

I just thought I'd share this with my fellow gunnutz. *DISCLAIMER*!!! No military rifles were harmed (by me) in the making of this build!!!!! So, here's the backstory. I cut my teeth on the Lee Enfield platform, as did many older guys in Canada. Like most, I learned on a Cooey .22, and when I got into hunting money was tight and since I knew the .303's and they were inexpensive and plentiful, as was the ammo at that time, I decided to get a dedicated hunter so as not to muck about with a nice milsurp. I picked up a "Sussex" re-worked English No.4 Lee Enfield. I believe the "Sussex" and "Surrey" sporters were produced by BSA for the civilian market. They're not as pretty as the Parker Hale builds, but for a tough no-nonsense hunting rifle, they're just fine. Sadly, the foresight blade was missing off the ramp. The seller told me it was just plastic anyway. Who puts a plastic foresight blade on a hunting rifle without some form of sight hood or other protector fer Gawd's sake! I took off the ramp and filled the holes with metal epoxy. I fabricated a scope mount from a piece of angle iron (nice job, eh?) since I'm pretty tool handy and an inveterate tinkerer. I established my centre line on the mount and bought a Marlin 336 scope rail. They are flat bottomed and sit nice and snug on the metal mount. I bought some rings, mounted and bore-sighted the scope, and it was off to the range. Many rounds later, I have a 150 gr. Hornady Interlocks for my deer load, and 180 gr.RN Speer for larger game. I know the set-up looks awkward with the high cheek piece, but those who look askance or laugh at it become true believers once they shoulder it and fire off a few rounds. The first piece of glass it wore was a Bausch & Lomb that I had kicking around. It worked just fine, but it was a long scope for a 3-9X40 and it just LOOKED wrong. I had a buddy who loved it, so we swapped for some other goodies and I went looking for a new/used scope. Thanks to Eagle160, I got a very fair deal on a Bushnell 3-9X40 XLT, and there it is, ready for the range and hunting season. Total out-of-pocket costs (minus my time and labour) is $300. Like I said, I know she ain't pretty, but it doesn't miss if I do my part and my handloads will put 5 shots into 1-1/8" group at 100 yds. all day long, and at the end of the day, what do you want from a hunting rifle? So my fellow hunters, what do you think?

 

[nitro-express]

FYI, I had one (A BSA built sporter) that also came with a plastic front sight, dovetailed into the barrel. It looked to be factory issue. It was also a non-standard size dovetail, or to be correct, it was a standard size for British air rifles. When Britain went restrictive on firearms, air rifles were the only gun available that didn't have hoops and permits attached. If you are a farmer and need to scare away rabbits, you can own a 22. AFAIK.

You may want to try 150 Speer and /or Sierra bullets, they worked better for me.

Varget and a WLR primer did the trick for me.

 

[LawrenceN]

FYI, I had one (A BSA built sporter) that also came with a plastic front sight, dovetailed into the barrel. It looked to be factory issue. It was also a non-standard size dovetail, or to be correct, it was a standard size for British air rifles. When Britain went restrictive on firearms, air rifles were the only gun available that didn't have hoops and permits attached. If you are a farmer and need to scare away rabbits, you can own a 22. AFAIK.

You may want to try 150 Speer and /or Sierra bullets, they worked better for me.

Varget and a WLR primer did the trick for me.

Thank you, but I have worked up loads that are extremely good, given what these rifles are. For the 150gr. Hornady on 43gr. Varget and CCI 200 primers, I'm getting 1"-1-1/8" groups at 100 yds. For my 180gr. Speer RN (#2223) on top of 39gr. of IMR4895, I get the same kind of groups. I'm off Winchester and Remington reloading components. Strictly from a personal standpoint mind you, I've found quality control somewhat lacking and the one time I tried Winchester powder I found it smokey and dirty as hell. All I use now are Hodgdon, IMR or Reloader. They have all been very good performers for me. My Howa 1500 in 7.62X39 knocks down deer like nobody's business with 123gr. SST's on top of 26gr. Reloader 7. The groups that gives me are the stuff of dreams! I'm printing 5/8" - 7/8" at 100 yds. It opened up to 1-3/4" at 200 yds. but I don't know if I'd trust it's knock-down value over 100-150 yds.

 

[englishman_ca]

I like it!

Form follows function.

 

[TheCoachZed]

I just thought I'd share this with my fellow gunnutz. *DISCLAIMER*!!! No military rifles were harmed (by me) in the making of this build!!!!! So, here's the backstory. I cut my teeth on the Lee Enfield platform, as did many older guys in Canada. Like most, I learned on a Cooey .22, and when I got into hunting money was tight and since I knew the .303's and they were inexpensive and plentiful, as was the ammo at that time, I decided to get a dedicated hunter so as not to muck about with a nice milsurp. I picked up a "Sussex" re-worked English No.4 Lee Enfield. I believe the "Sussex" and "Surrey" sporters were produced by BSA for the civilian market. They're not as pretty as the Parker Hale builds, but for a tough no-nonsense hunting rifle, they're just fine. Sadly, the foresight blade was missing off the ramp. The seller told me it was just plastic anyway. Who puts a plastic foresight blade on a hunting rifle without some form of sight hood or other protector fer Gawd's sake! I took off the ramp and filled the holes with metal epoxy. I fabricated a scope mount from a piece of angle iron (nice job, eh?) since I'm pretty tool handy and an inveterate tinkerer. I established my centre line on the mount and bought a Marlin 336 scope rail. They are flat bottomed and sit nice and snug on the metal mount. I bought some rings, mounted and bore-sighted the scope, and it was off to the range. Many rounds later, I have a 150 gr. Hornady Interlocks for my deer load, and 180 gr.RN Speer for larger game. I know the set-up looks awkward with the high cheek piece, but those who look askance or laugh at it become true believers once they shoulder it and fire off a few rounds. The first piece of glass it wore was a Bausch & Lomb that I had kicking around. It worked just fine, but it was a long scope for a 3-9X40 and it just LOOKED wrong. I had a buddy who loved it, so we swapped for some other goodies and I went looking for a new/used scope. Thanks to Eagle160, I got a very fair deal on a Bushnell 3-9X40 XLT, and there it is, ready for the range and hunting season. Total out-of-pocket costs (minus my time and labour) is $300. Like I said, I know she ain't pretty, but it doesn't miss if I do my part and my handloads will put 5 shots into 1-1/8" group at 100 yds. all day long, and at the end of the day, what do you want from a hunting rifle? So my fellow hunters, what do you think?

Nice work.

I was all hot to buy a new .308 or .270 last fall, but I think I am going to try some high-end factory ammo in my Parker-Hale .303 first, and if those results are good, look into reloading. I vehemently dislike plasticky guns and junky breakable guns, but there's nothing weak about the Lee Enfield.

 

[LawrenceN]

Nice work.

I was all hot to buy a new .308 or .270 last fall, but I think I am going to try some high-end factory ammo in my Parker-Hale .303 first, and if those results are good, look into reloading. I vehemently dislike plasticky guns and junky breakable guns, but there's nothing weak about the Lee Enfield.

Good on you! S&B and Prvi Partizan both make budget soft point .303 ammo which you may consider as well. I like handloading for 2 reasons. Firstly, I can tweak a load for my game and rifle, and secondly, costs drop considerably. Being an old fart, I like a good recoil pad as easier on these old bones. If you're doing load development, you'll find that even a slip-on recoil pad will make for a more pleasant day at the range. Good luck to you.