Best off the shelf .303 hunting ammo

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davemccarthy707

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Can some of you guys who hunt and don't reload give me some suggestions for premium off the shelf hunting ammo for my .303 sporter?

Thanks
 
.303 ammo

My advice is that you try either Winchester or Federal in 180 grain. Stick to one brand name and one type of bullet (soft point or silver tip, for example). I have found that when I tried one box of each the results were frustrating because the groupings were very different.
 
good advice

Mosin42 said:
My advice is that you try either Winchester or Federal in 180 grain. Stick to one brand name and one type of bullet (soft point or silver tip, for example). I have found that when I tried one box of each the results were frustrating because the groupings were very different.
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This is good advice for ANY rifle...not just the .303's. Saw (and giggled at) my Father as he used his cheapest ammo for "sight in" the week before his hunt but, saved his "good stuff" for the actual hunt...needless to say, they don't hit the same!
 
You have to try a box of as many brands and bullet weights as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best.
Check the headspace and slug the barrel first. Lee-Enfield barrels can vary in dimension from .311" to .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" means the barrel is shot out. Commercial ammo uses .311" or .312" bullets. Needless to say a .311" bullet will not give great accuracy out of a .313 or .314 inch barrel.
 
I seem to get good groups out of my neutered 2 groove LB with a full stock with the Winchester 180g PP. but like mentioned, get a box of each (winchester, Federal in both grains, remington, privi, and S&B come to mind), get a sturdy rest, and see what your gun likes to eat.
 
I reload, but when I was short for a range day I picked up a box of Federal Fusion and it performed very well for factory ammo. In terms of hunting expansion it provides a decent bullet for the job.

That being said, try several brands to see what your rifle likes.
 
factory ammo for 303

in my past experiences with 303, when i wasnt reloading, i used winchester power point 180 grain with ex results, good deer bullet, vg expansion,
ive also had luck with the remington core lokt bullets, vg accuracy given your rifle has a good barrel, winchester stuff you can get at your local walmart or canadian tire store, for around 28$ plus tax /box

hope this helps
 
What ever you choose, save the brass, you can either reload later (if you choose to do so) or sell it to someone who does, either way will save you money later.
 
LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1 said:
I seem to get good groups out of my neutered 2 groove LB with a full stock with the Winchester 180g PP. but like mentioned, get a box of each (winchester, Federal in both grains, remington, privi, and S&B come to mind), get a sturdy rest, and see what your gun likes to eat.
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I zeroed a Parker-Hale sporter(No4 Action) for a chap with his Win. 180 PPSPs and on the bench at 100yds it was deadly. Seems i can recall it was MOA. My chrony was set up and it only chronographed 2270FPS@ 15 feet though. The Parker Hale had a 22 inch barrel. I see the Win Ballistic quoted 2480 through 24inch test barrel. Maybe that velocity(actual) would be obtainable in 25.2 military barrel.

Someone told me the Parker Hale sporter which looked new had a "New" factory installed barrel and wasnt a new military barrel shortened. If someone could clear that up it would be appreciated.:wave:
 
davemccarthy707 said:
Can some of you guys who hunt and don't reload give me some suggestions for premium off the shelf hunting ammo for my .303 sporter?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I don't hunt and I do reload, so here goes: :p

There is no such thing as "premium" hunting ammo in .303 Brit. You will be paying premium prices for the mediocraty that's on the shelves though.

Enough to "git 'er dun" I suppose...

I've dissected a few boxes of Remington UMC, Remington 180 SP's, Winchester 180's and Federal 150's. Not one of them had a proper .311 bullet. They were either .310 or .3105, not great when alot of enfields are .312's and up. The amount of force required to seperate them from the casing in my press varied considerably; from a light smack upwards, to a full two-hands on 'grab and push' of the reloading table. The powder weights varied as well, some by upwards of a full grain. As you can see, none of this is a good combo when great ammo is desired. I wound up leveling off the powder amounts (and adjusting for bullet weight) and dropping in some Hornady 150 SP's in .312 and some Sierra Pro-Hunter 180 SP's in .311. Worked like a charm and my groups shrank considerably, by about 60% or so. Great for my bull's eye hunts. ;)

So yeah, no such animal as "premium" for commercial .303 Brit.


If you like saving money and shooting, two things which are usually mutually exclusive, I strongly suggest that you get a Lee starter kit and learn how to use it, it's really not hard at all.

Sunray said it before I did:

1. Slug your barrel!
2. Check your headspace!

The first will determine if you're wasting your time on a bad rifle or not, the second will determine if it's safe to shoot and accurate as well.

Failing all of that... try Sellier & Bellot. If their hunting ammo is as good as their FMJ ammo I use, get it. It's amazing stuff for the price and it shot better in all 4 of my Enfields than anything else available. Avoid Igman like the plague.
 
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