Looking for best quality .303 commercial ammo for deer hunting

Tarkus

Tarkus

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I have a super accurate Lee-Enfield with a very good scope that I like to use for deer hunting. I used to buy ammo from a reloading friend but he's got health issues lately so I need to buy commercial ammo this year.

Anyone with experience to share on commercial .303 ammo for hunting (soft point) ? I'm looking for the best quality and accuracy. Cost is not my first concern, quality and accuracy first.

Thanks
 
A long time ago (think 80's teenager) in NS, I shot .303 Rem Core-Lokt 180gn but not more than a box and never got the chance to feed any to a deer (doe walked out; buck tag).
Seemed accurate, was just irons though. Could put a 2" group on at 50 yards which was good enough for where we hunted (read: jungle).
I moved away after that and haven't been since. Working to change that next year ;)
 
There's not a ton of premium ammo for the 303 these days. I'd grab one box each of whatever your local shop has in stock and give them a try. There's enough variation in the barrels of the old girls that what works well in one may not work well in another.
 
Oh, I ran some basic Federal 180 grain ammo through my P14 this spring. It did fairly well. Some Winchester silver boxed stuff too, it was alright too. Sighted in, either would kill a deer out to 200 yards. (Maybe more, the range ends at 200 :) )
 
kennymo said:
There's not a ton of premium ammo for the 303 these days. I'd grab one box each of whatever your local shop has in stock and give them a try. There's enough variation in the barrels of the old girls that what works well in one may not work well in another.
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^^^This is your best option, next to loading your own.^^^
 
Tarkus said:
Anyone with experience to share on commercial .303 ammo for hunting (soft point) ? I'm looking for the best quality and accuracy. Cost is not my first concern, quality and accuracy first.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I would pick whatever brand/bullet weight is most accurate in your rifle. No one can tell you what this will be, you have to test it for yourself. I have a Parker Hale No.4 sporter conversion that does very well with Federal blue box 180gr ammo. Within appropriate ranges that would be perfectly adequate for deer, black bear, moose or elk. The .303 runs moderate velocities that do not require fancy bullets. The premium bullets may actually perform worse at the lower velocities of the .303, they are built tough to withstand high magnum velocities and may not open reliably out of the .303.


Mark
 
The above posters are correct.

There are so many variances with Lee Enfields, you really have to try different brands to see what works best for you.

Aside from the Hornady, I'm not aware of any 'premium' ammo for .303. It's all the same under-loaded, under sized junk with a lot of variances in the crimp and powder load. If you want real premium stuff, you've got to roll your own.
 
Tyler said:
The above posters are correct.

There are so many variances with Lee Enfields, you really have to try different brands to see what works best for you.

Aside from the Hornady, I'm not aware of any 'premium' ammo for .303. It's all the same under-loaded, under sized junk with a lot of variances in the crimp and powder load. If you want real premium stuff, you've got to roll your own.
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American stuff tends to be under loaded prvi and S&B tend to be bang on
 
Got me. I forgot about S&B, probably because it has been about 5 years since I bought a box of commercial .303. :D

I hope Prvi brass has gotten better since I last got some. I found a lot of off-centre primer holes in those.
 
I didn't reply in here :S I thought I would of for sure...

Well, I bought 2 boxes of High land AX 150gr, it shot very wel in a Ruger number 1, an was a Buck a shot...

I havnt tried any of the other brands of ammo as this stuff worked great for starters, im sure Federal and Remington stuff would work fine, I have to try 180gr stuff next, the 150s seem nice an light an would be fine for deer hunting.

Didn't appear to be much flies on the Highland stuff, but without shooting it side by side other brands its hard to tell.


Reloading obviously will be the money shot, if you need velocity etc.

wl
 
The PRVI stuff does seem to be a bit snappier, but I have not chronied it. I have also hear that the Sellier stuff is hot. Either way, as mentioned before, the .303 isn't hard on bullets, so anyone load that shoots well in your gun will do just about any job on this side of the planet.
 
Haunting the gunshows for older loadings would be another option. It's really time someone started loading 215gr. SP's in .303 again.
 
215 grain soft points in .303 are the bomb. It sure would be nice if someone factory loaded them like a Hornady Superformance load running them at a little higher velocity. Penetration like crazy!
 
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