Hunting with Lee Enfield

Well - Lots of folks reload for 303 - just check out the reloading forum. By zeroing at 200, you know that you have a nice, narrow "band" of bullet drop from 0 -200 y. If you zerod at 100, that "band" would increase in size - roughly by a factor of 2.
For those of us that only have access to 100 y range, we sight in approx 2 in high at 100.
 
jgbryant said:
i decided to do all my hunting this year with my no1mk3 i got this gun a couple of years back it was a bubbad 303 in rough shape the stock was almost black with water damage and the metal was rust from one end to the other but with some elbow grease and tlc got the stock sanded and shaped to my liking straight grip shnabel forearm with rosewood cap wite birch and bloodwood spacer added a cheek peice and some ivory and blood wood inlay
nocked the barrel down to 23 inches and reblued customized a b square mount and mounted a scope 150gr sie pro hunter handload and firs load at the range put up a 1 inch group 5 shots called it good for hunting firs week of the season took a white tail at 300 yard and that deer was just as dead as any shot with a 30-06 it maybe whent 10 yard was very impressed with what that old 1917 lithgow did
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JG, just a hint, but you may want to try punctuation, capitilization and paragraphs. This isn't texting and it hurts to read messages like the one above.

Congrats on the deer, sounds like you rescued a solid hunting rifle there.

Mark
 
I've done a bit of hunting over the years with most popular calibers. The .303, whether it is a no 1 or a no.4 is an excellent deer and/or moose rifle. I know there are many out there who think it is too light, but not so. The contraversy will rage indefinately, but the proof is in the shooting.
As for the sighting in process when using the 200 yd battle sight, set up on a known 100 yd range and using the rifle's 200 yd battle range sight configuration fire one round off target to warm the barrel. Then fire 3 rds using the same consistant target point of aim to confirm your firearms MPI (main point of impact). Once zero'd and If you've done it right, the grouping should be about a 1/2 to an inch above the aiming point you selected at 100 yards. One of the observations prior is dead on, all you need to do then is beware when you engage your target to remember the point of aim, but in the case of the deer you will do just fine as long as buck fever doesn't do you in.
A lot of hunters actually site in at 100 yards and select the MPI about an inch above anyway.
 
Inetrestingly enough, I went deer hunting yesterday with my Dad's old Lee-Enfield and immediately ran ino the "200 yd sight, hits 10" high at 100" problem. I decided to use a 6 o'clock hold and make sure I could see deer above the sight. At dusk, a small doe (probably a fawn) came out at 160 m. I held at the belly line, squeezed through that cool2-stage trigger and, boom-whooop, spined it dead in its tracks. Amazing. First time I've used iron sights for deer in years.
That 6 o'clock hold let me get a good sight picture of the deer and should work at ranges out beyond where I can tell if its a buck or doe.
 
The trend is for scoped rifles,there is nothing wrong with using iron sights at all. I find you get a better sight picture and can keep a better eye on your prey after your shot, the scope tends to give a tunnel vision effect, putting more emphasis on the scope sight picture than surroundings, especially if you have a runner. Remmy 180gr softpoints,no problems at all.
 
I had my first lee enfield when I was 5 years old.
My first deer was taken with a 303 and I have taken many more since with a 303.

Nothing wrong with them
Excellent guns that will always go bang no matter if your action is full of hemlock needles and bush grungs. Thats what it was made for.

As for accuracy they are fabulous.
A lee enfield in good shape will perform out to 500 metres consistently when using open or peep sites. I know because I compete with the CNo4Mk1* and have very good success with them.

I'm not suggesting anyone shoot at furry criters at that distance with any calibre. Just stating a fact. Follow up shots? The elee enfield is the fastest bolt action battle rifle ever built by humans.

A Sergeant Instructor by the name of Snoxall at the College of Musketry in 1914 put 38 bullets into the bull of a target at 275 metres within one minute using a SMLE.
That’s one aimed shot every 1.6 seconds and includes stripper clip changes. However these shots were taken using a lee enfield supported by sandbags. To my knowledge no one has been able to officially beat that record.
 
Riflechair said:
As for accuracy they are fabulous.
A lee enfield in good shape will perform out to 500 metres consistently when using open or peep sites. I know because I compete with the CNo4Mk1* and have very good success with them.
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The key wordage is...in good shape ie in full wood original condition in good shape.

In bubba "sporterized" form most of them are horrible rifles.

I know as I have owned several flavours in the past.

The best so far has been a wood cut down Pattern 14.

The sportered number 4 and 3's I have had have left me wanting to use them as boat anchors, and I could not get rid of them fast enough.
A major flaw in the design being the weak mag feed lips and the lack of a cartridge cut of like what is in the Mosin.

Your results may vary.
 
Riflechair said:
I had my first lee enfield when I was 5 years old.
My first deer was taken with a 303 and I have taken many more since with a 303.

Nothing wrong with them
Excellent guns that will always go bang no matter if your action is full of hemlock needles and bush grungs. Thats what it was made for.

As for accuracy they are fabulous.
A lee enfield in good shape will perform out to 500 metres consistently when using open or peep sites. I know because I compete with the CNo4Mk1* and have very good success with them.

I'm not suggesting anyone shoot at furry criters at that distance with any calibre. Just stating a fact. Follow up shots? The elee enfield is the fastest bolt action battle rifle ever built by humans.

A Sergeant Instructor by the name of Snoxall at the College of Musketry in 1914 put 38 bullets into the bull of a target at 275 metres within one minute using a SMLE.
That’s one aimed shot every 1.6 seconds and includes stripper clip changes. However these shots were taken using a lee enfield supported by sandbags. To my knowledge no one has been able to officially beat that record.
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Well said!
 
Another workable solution if you handload...

Load up some 220 grain RN bullets (.308 dia bullets work fine) and shoot them. You'll find they will shoot noticeably lower than factory 150's at 100 yards. They'll also kill at least as well as any other 303 Brit load.
 
Northman999 said:
Another workable solution if you handload...

Load up some 220 grain RN bullets (.308 dia bullets work fine) and shoot them. You'll find they will shoot noticeably lower than factory 150's at 100 yards. They'll also kill at least as well as any other 303 Brit load.
Click to expand...

I have tried .30 cal. bullets in several .303 's, they are very inaccurate.
 
jgbryant said:
i decided to do all my hunting this year with my no1mk3 i got this gun a couple of years back it was a bubbad 303 in rough shape the stock was almost black with water damage and the metal was rust from one end to the other but with some elbow grease and tlc got the stock sanded and shaped to my liking straight grip shnabel forearm with rosewood cap wite birch and bloodwood spacer added a cheek peice and some ivory and blood wood inlay
nocked the barrel down to 23 inches and reblued customized a b square mount and mounted a scope 150gr sie pro hunter handload and firs load at the range put up a 1 inch group 5 shots called it good for hunting firs week of the season took a white tail at 300 yard and that deer was just as dead as any shot with a 30-06 it maybe whent 10 yard was very impressed with what that old 1917 lithgow did
Click to expand...

I demand to see a picture:)
 
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