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

303Brit

Enfields I have a few, but sporters really don't interest me unless I am going to restore them.

However a Parker Hale sporter is something. And EAL's are another fine example of sporting enfields.

What I may be looking for in the near future is a lever gun win1895 I think thats the one, chambered in 303Brit to round out my selection.
 
snowhunter said:
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.
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and the lee rifle must have been the deciding factor.....
 
303s

Bought my first hunting rifle at 14 yrs old. A Lee-enfeild from Woolco. Sporterized by some one still packed in grease. Cost all of $30. Shot my first deer with that gun with open sights. It was a nice 4 point Mulie (thats 4 on each side) that took 11 yrs to better. I now have my dads Parker Hale 303. Its quite a short handy rig. I watched dad drop many, many deer and Moose with it. As far as power goes its got all you need for N/A game at reasonable distances. Do I ever use one now, hell no.:) The safe is full of super, ultra killer magnums.:dancingbanana:
 
as far as value is concerned-you can get a very nice Parker Hale 303 for around $200-$250, nice wood,good barrel,and as my dad once told me when I asked him if my 303 could kill a bear or moose-''yes-if you hold it straight''I wonder how many guys can shoot their big magnums as accurately as their 303's or 6.5 x55 swedes?
 
ratherbefishin said:
as far as value is concerned-you can get a very nice Parker Hale 303 for around $200-$250, nice wood,good barrel,and as my dad once told me when I asked him if my 303 could kill a bear or moose-''yes-if you hold it straight''I wonder how many guys can shoot their big magnums as accurately as their 303's or 6.5 x55 swedes?
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And that ladies and gentlemen is the key. I used to be a magnum afficondo. I would tell everyone, "You need a .300!" And to pat myself on the back, i could shoot a magnum well. Recoil doesn't bother me. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. Most deer are shot well under 300 yards. The .303 british cartridge is more than capable of hitting out to that range. I've found that it's a pleasure to shoot the older rounds. The 6.5x55, 7x57, .303 British and 8x57 are all perfectly adequete for anything that walks on our side of the world. And most of the otherside as well. We've all heard about using these old timers on elephant. Heck, I even have an article speaking of using the .257 Mannlicher to control elephant herds. But that doesn't mean I'll go looking for a grizzly with a .303. But I wouldn't feel handicapped hunting anything else with it. A deer doesn't care if it gets shot with a .243 or a .700 Nitro Express. The point is these little rifles are easy to shoot, and give you the oppertunity to practice more with it. And practice is what makes a good shooter. And a good shooter is an ethical hunter.
 
MIG25, historically, carrying a ten shooter 303 British, versus a five shooter Mauser, appears to have had some advantage in battle conditions ?
 
snowhunter said:
MIG25, historically, carrying a ten shooter 303 British, versus a five shooter Mauser, appears to have had some advantage in battle conditions ?
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machine guns, artillery, airplanes, etc do the heavy lifting. not to mention tactics, leadership, resupply capabitity, and so forth are much more important than whether a rifle has a 10 or 5 round capacity. IMO (and that is what it is since i wasn't there, nor am i a historian) the issue rifle has little to no bearing on the final outcome of a war between modern, industrial countries. to suggest that the boers, turks, and germans (WWI and WWII) were defeated because the mauser magazine has less capacity than the lee is dubious at best.

btw, i like the 303 and the lee enfield and ross rifles.
 
and last but not least,you can go into anyplace in Canada that sells ammunition-and pick up a box of .303 shells,mostly for about $20.My neighbour[who got me interested in rifles and hunting]used to cast bullets for his 303 and load them down for casual shooting
 
my no1 mk3 is my fav gun even though it gets used the least:redface:

reasons:

-it was my grandmothers moose gun
-i can shoot 2 1/2" groups sitting with no rest at 100 yards
-cheap to shoot
-######y wood on it:D

no2.jpg
 
I had a No 5 that I just couldn't bear to bubba so I sold it and bought a Parker Hale No 1 MKIII conversion for hunting deer, bear and moose. I am still working on a load but it has shot sub 1 moa groups more than once. I may replace the rear sight with a more commercial piece but that is all, I also have a nostalgia thing for the 303BR cartridge.
I almost sold it a couple of months ago but it is quickly becoming my favorite hunting rifle so I am holding onto it, my 338 WM is jealous.
PHSporter.jpg

Cheers
 
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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Yep no contest! mkIII or no4, or 5 hands down in a SHTF scenario.
 
MIG25, doubious perhaps, but still a historical fact that the forces using the ten and eight shooters won over the forces that used the five shooters. Clearly, throughout history, the forces that was able to spend and and use more of everything won the wars.
 
snowhunter said:
MIG25, doubious perhaps, but still a historical fact that the forces using the ten and eight shooters won over the forces that used the five shooters.
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maybe is was just the brown uniforms they had rather than the grey ones. maybe it was because they used revolvers instead of autoloading handguns. maybe it was the superior "manstopping power" of the 455 over the 9mm parabellum. maybe it was the helmets with better sun protection.

why didn't the italians with their 6 shot rifles defeat the greeks with their 5 shot rifles in WWII?

another reason for germany's defeat in 1918 must have been the french wonder weapon, the 8 shot M1886.
 
Ike said:
I had a No 5 that I just couldn't bear to bubba so I sold it and bought a Parker Hale No 1 MKIII conversion for hunting deer, bear and moose. I am still working on a load but it has shot sub 1 moa groups more than once. I may replace the rear sight with a more commercial piece but that is all, I also have a nostalgia thing for the 303BR cartridge.
I almost sold it a couple of months ago but it is quickly becoming my favorite hunting rifle so I am holding onto it, my 338 WM is jealous.
PHSporter.jpg

Cheers
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That looks like original Sile furniture, not made any more and damn fine!
I have a similar one but its a BSA 1917.
 
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