How many of you guys love your .303's?

BIGREDD said:
I dislike them... they are capable big game rifles and a part of history but I think they are old news.:eek:
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OLD NEWS! :eek:

Speaking of old news ............ Wouldn't a lever action in a certain almost obsolete caliber (like 356Win) be considered "old news" as well? At least the .303 Brit has history :D


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The .303 is great in all it's rifles. Carefull with getting interested in Ross rifles that can get real addictive!

Like is said above no other bolt gun shoots as fast as a SMLE.

I can't help but notice that wether a guy carries an "ugly sporter" or a synthetic remington with a leopuld has very little bearing on his hunting prowess.

For the money saved between a .303 and a modern whiz bang gun a guy can take almost 2 weeks off work and go hunting!

The best (and most successsful) deer hunter I know is limited by his POL to a smooth bore 870 he figures that a P14 is god's gift to whitetail hunting!

But he does'nt read magazines or watch yank hunting shows.
 
My dad used to talk about shooting coyotes with a Ross in Manitoba when he was a boy. My cousin had the rifle and said he was going to send it to me, unfortunately he was killed in an auto accident and I lost out. It would have been happy next to my Long Branch.
 
The scottish born american, James paris Lee's patent of 1878, is the very first functional, 10 shot detachable magazine, turnbolt rifle.

The US military rejected his rifle in 45-70 caliber, over the short lived, norwegian Krag. However, this fine James Paris Lee rifle, served the British Impire well for over 71 years.

The 303 British cartridge dates back to 1888.

The surplus 303 British rifle and cartridge, as well as the "sportorized" versions has become the part of the canadian huntring scene, and will continue to but meat on the table for generations to come.

The 303 British has become a collectible piece of canadiana.
 
Damned straight snow, I have a picture, Nat geo., I think of a guy way up north finishing off a huge polar bear with a #4. For everything else, there's mastercard.
 
snowhunter said:
The 303 British has become a collectible piece of canadiana.
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Well said. I have two rifles in 303 Brit, a 1915 BSA No1 MkIII and a 1943 Longbranch No4 MkI*. A mild recoiling round powerfull enough for deer, moose and black bear, whats not to like?
 
snowhunter said:
The scottish born american, James paris Lee's patent of 1878, is the very first functional, 10 shot detachable magazine, turnbolt rifle.

The US military rejected his rifle in 45-70 caliber, over the short lived, norwegian Krag. However, this fine James Paris Lee rifle, served the British Impire well for over 71 years.

The 303 British cartridge dates back to 1888.

The surplus 303 British rifle and cartridge, as well as the "sportorized" versions has become the part of the canadian huntring scene, and will continue to but meat on the table for generations to come.

The 303 British has become a collectible piece of canadiana.
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Actually from December 1888 until the L42A1 was decleared obsolecent in April 1992.
 
John Y Cannuck said:
Not liking the 303 is Un-Canadian.
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SuperCub said:
OLD NEWS!

Speaking of old news ............ Wouldn't a lever action in a certain almost obsolete caliber (like 356Win) be considered "old news" as well? At least the .303 Brit has history
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Yeah... Now I just feel like a slapped down School Boy.;)

I pawed a sporterized Enfield at the Gun Store the other day that was stocked very well and pointed like a dream..... I still wouldn't give a nickel for it.:(
But on the other hand there is a Jungle Carbine that is excellent that I would like to buy and put away.:runaway:
 
This fine James Paris Lee rifle predates the famed Mauser 98 with 20 years, 15 years ahead of Mauser 93, and the 303 catridge was five years ahead of the "grandfather of all modern catridges", the 7X57 Mauser.

Unlike most soldiers that used the Mauser rifles in battles, the soldiers who used this fine James Paris Lee rifle, actualle came out victorious, all the time.

I would also like to point out, that the 303 British rifle is first rifle that used the "controlled fed" system, where upon the bolt and cartrige becomes one when loading the gun, and thus prevented a "doubling" an already loaded chamber, a feature copied by the Mauser action.
 
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My sport'd No.4 is my hunting rifle. It's made short and long kills on deer for me.

I like the look on the other guy's face when I execute a difficult shot.:eek:

To me it's easy to have a current rifle to hunt with... much like driving a newer truck vs. a classic old one. The "old one" in my case has been this refinished rifle.

I'm the only guy in my circles that uses it and I am very proud to do so.

If there was a left handed version I'd be even happier.

Regards
Ron R
 
snowhunter said:
This fine James Paris Lee rifle predates the famed Mauser 98 with 20 years, 15 years ahead of Mauser 93, and the 303 catridge was five years ahead of the "grandfather of all modern catridges", the 7X57 Mauser.
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mauser was designing rifles all the way back to the 1860's. the 303 and the 7.9x57 (patrone 88) both pretty much date to 1888 (which by the way was not a mauser cartridge at all but was developed by a commission board at spandau). the first modern mauser cartridge was the 7.65x54; belgian, argentine, turkish, etc.


snowhunter said:
Unlike most soldiers that used the Mauser rifles in battles, the soldiers who used this fine James Paris Lee rifle, actualle came out victorious, all the time.
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so magerfontien, colenso, tanga, gallipoli, kut, battle of france, gazala, and market-garden were victories?
 
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Speaking English on this forum arent we?
I have one of the 1945 surplussed No1 mk3 that was sporterised by Parker Hale, I sued it for a fun range rifle for ten years till last october it finally bagged by Fallow Doe. It will be my regular back up rifle and I have about 4 sets of furniture for it!
 
I've always really liked the Lee Enfields. I shot my first deer with a No.4 MK1.

The only two things that have irked me enough to temper my enthusiasm for these rifles, chambered for the .303 British cartridge are these...

The "cocking on bolt close", seems to me undesirable. Also, I had trouble with cartridge feeding before I was "taught" that with the rimmed .303 British cartridges, they must be aligned so that the rims of the cartridge above is ahead of the one below it. If this is true then...

I always wondered how these rifls could be efectively loaded using stripper clips?

Can anyone here comment on this whole thing?

Thanks, Jeff/1911.
 
Loading with the chargers requires sequencing, loading a mag by hand just requires that the base of the round below is closer to the back of the mag!
 
The Trusty Old .303

... Where I went to school, every Thursday afternoon, classes ended early, and one either went to Cadets or 'Scouts. Thursdays if you were a Cadet meant bringing your No.3, bayonet and all, to school and stacking it with 15 or 20 others, in the classroom corner. On a personal level, since about 1961 I've always owned one, and when growing up, took I don't know how many Kangaroos, and one large salt water Crocodile, hunted Deer and Goats, and finished off a dozen or so large , very f..... large , sharks that had been hooked ! In my mind, for the money, history, function and versatility, it has to be rated one of the top rifle and cartridge combinations of all time. There's no big game on the North American Continent, that couldn't be taken with the venerable old .303 British ! .... David K.:)
 
MIG25, even though some battles were lost by the military forces using the 303 British rifle, the wars was eventually won by those forces using the 303 British rifle. In comparison, most military forces that used the Mauser turnbolt rifles,even though in won many battles, eventually lost the wars.

Also, I have great respect and admiration for the fine Mauser rifles as a hunting weapon. However, if I should chose between the 303 British and the Mauser rifle for a military battle, I would prefer using the James Paris Lee's 303 British rifle.
 
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