Bullet weight for deer .303 cal?

[mkonecny]

Hey Guys,

This is my first season deer hunting and I was just wondering what weight of a bullet from a .303 would be most practical to use, 150 grain or 180 grain?
Thanks

 

[catnthehatt]

The 150's will be fine, but most of the guys I know use 180's because they hunt moose and deer at the same time.
I use 180's
Cat

 

[SuperCub]

Use the one that shoots best in your rifle.








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[madtrapper143]

I found that surplus Lee Enfields seem to shoot well with 215 grain bullets. I shoot some old stock Imperial 215s and Woodleighs from Australia. They hit hard and feed well in the old girls.

cheers Darryl

 

[todbartell]

Id probably shoot 150 gr Hornady ammo for deer in a 303, but the 180 gr Remington CorLokt load is good too, but at closer ranges due to its slower speed and less aerodynamic shape

that was *if* I was forced to hunt with a 303

 

[Workin Man]

Use the one that shoots best in your rifle.

x2 Try both on paper and use the ones that group best.

 

[Doc M]

x3 for whatever works best.

I've used 150's and 180's through my Enfield and both are great for deer.

-M

 

[Grouse Man]

The 303's got more than enough jam for deer using almost any bullet weight you can get for it. Elk and moose for that matter.

 

[Levi Garrett]

180's

 

[Scott_N]

I'd probably use 150s for just deer, as long as they shot good out of my rifle.

 

[sunray]

Check the headspace then try as many brands And bullet weights as you can to find the ammo that shoots best out of your rifle. 150's to 175's will do nicely for deer.

 

[Amphibious]

i would stick to 175-180 for deer. one load for deer to moose.

 

[aulrich]

Has the 303 been buba'd (read does it have a scope) I say this because of depending which era it is from 180's might be better since it is closer to the 174 grain load the iron sight were made for. I think the ww1 vintage rifles were calibrated for 215's.

Good luck with you first season, and don't worry many of us here shot our first big game animals with a mil-surplus rifle.

 

[TheTooner]

You should try different loads to see what works best for your rifle. In my No.4 rifles, the 174gr Hornady round nose seems to be slightly more accurate than the Sierra spitzers in 150gr and 180gr that I have tried, so although the Sierras were accurate enough and packed enough punch, for now I've settled on the Hornady round nose. (I have some CIL 215gr round nose that I will try eventually, but they are out of production so if they work well, I will probably save them for moose and/or elk and continue with Hornady for deer.

 

[John Y Cannuck]

I'll add to the heap of whatever shoots best in your rifle posters.
The 303 is morethan capable of taking any deer with either bullet weight.
So break out the targets.
My guess is that the heavier bullet will shoot better, as it's closer to what most of the rifles were designed around.

 

[Gibbs505]

If I were to stick to one load it would be the 180 grn for deer!

 

[Dean C]

I shot my first deer with the 150 gr. Federal shells 15 years ago. broke both front shoulders at 145 paces, but i do like the remington round nose 180 gr. for bush hunting deer and moose. but if you hit em in the ribs where it counts anything will work. if you hit em anywhere else with a heavy bullet you basically go home with half a deer. i reload 125 bullets fairly fast, still shoot 3 shots to an inch at 100 yards and only shoot if it's gonna be a sure hit.

 

[service rifleman1]

303 slugs

I have used the 180 remington slugs in my handloads and have now started using the Hornady 150's and the speer 180's. The speer 125's designed for the SKS also shoot well out of my SMLE. Shor my first whitetail buck with a factory 180 grain load and it walloped that buck into a 180 degree turn in direction at about 60 yards open sights. Great chambering for big game. Regards

 

[Eagleye]

I would take the suggestions here to heart. try several bullet weights and see which works best and hunt deer with that.
I own a bubba'd P14 of Winchester manufacture, 1916 Vintage. It has a Boyd's Laminate stock, Timney trigger and a 6x36 Leupold on top. It shoots the 150's and 180's with equal accuracy, and it is quite accurate for a 90 year old rifle. It will shoot the 150 Hornady and the 180 Sierra under 1" for 3 at 100 yards. I load the 150 Hornady with 48.5 grains of Vihtavuori N540, and the 180 with 51.0 grains of W760, they go 2840 and 2605 respectively. [These loads should not be tried in a Lee-Enfield, BTW.] Additionally, I purchased some of Steve Redgwell's 200 grain Mark 9 bullets (sized to .313, groove diameter of my P14). With a good load of Higginson 47N, it also shoots very well indeed. So I believe a decent barrel will shoot most weights well, but may show a preference for a given bullet, since they are made in several different diameters. I must be lucky, because the 3 bullets that shoot best in my rifle are all different diameters. [.313 - 200 gr.Mk 9; .312 - Hornady 150; .311 - Sierra 180] That being said, no bullet I have tried has shot over 1.6" in this rifle, and that includes the Speer 180RN, the Hornady 174RN, the Winchester 180 Powerpoint, the Sierra 150 Spitzer, and even some pulled military FMJ's in 174 grain weight. It is my "truck" gun, but I intend to shoot something with it this fall, since it seems totally dependable. Regards, Eagleye