Tell the story of your .303's!

triton

triton

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Would love to hear stories, see pic's of actual hunting experiences with your .303. Please include animal type, pic's (if you can), bullets used, and distance of the kill.

I only have one kill with a .303, it was pretty boring, and I didn't get a pic. I had just arrived at my drop off spot via atv, put my pack on, loadedmy parker hale #1,MK3,turned around, walked maybe 10 steps, and there was a whitetail doe maybe 50 yards almost broadside. I shouldered the .303, 1 shot, bang flop, done. Round was a win super x 180 gr., I believe. Not exciting, but meat!

Dave.
 
Never shot any big game with one, my first experience was a shot out #1mk3. Minute of sheet of plywood was about all it would do. Fortunately i got to upgrade to a Husqvarna 30-06. I`ve shot lots of different 303 British rifles but never hunted big game with one, just the odd porcupine in the yard.
 
I have shot 2 moose and probably a dozen deer with 303 rifles, mostly P14's.
I have a lot of respect for the "lowly" 303 British.
I have not found them to be lacking in any way as far as capability is concerned.
They are quite a bit like a rimmed version of the 308 Winchester, ballistically.
Right now my favorite 303 is a P14 rechambered to 303 Epps.
It is capable of factory loaded 30-06 ballistics, so is no slouch.
I shot a deer with it at 350 yards, using a Hornady 150 Spire point started at 2900 fps.
Bang-flop. Exit was about Toonie size, and lungs were very badly damaged.
What more can one ask for?
Regards, Eagleye.
 
When I was 17, I figured I was old enough to shoot something bigger than a goose.
Hold on a sec, this is a bit of a story....

I ordered a Brazilian Mauser from (I think) Princess Auto. When it came in, the shipping box had absorbed up some of the oil that the rifle had been soaking in for the past 40+ years. I cleaned it up and bought a box of Imperial 30-06 and went out to the dugout hill to test it.
Click... I went back to the house and took the bolt apart and found out that the firing pin was broken. Another letter went off to Princess Auto.
Two weeks later, a firing pin arrived and it was put in as quickly as possible. Back to the dugout and Boom! Boom! Boom!
This was at 25 yards, just to see where the rifle was shooting.
One round hole in the paper above the bull's eye, one hole missing the paper and the other bullet hit on the edge of the paper side ways. Yep the thing was key holing at 25 yards...

Moose season had already started and my oldest brother had gotten a Parker Hale sporterized No 1 Mk 4 Lee Enfield a few years before. It had the military aperture sight which he had not been able to get used to.
It was a beautiful rifle with lovely wood grain and a Monte Carlo stock. He said he was taking our Dad's old No 1 Mk 3 Lithgow .303 out this year and I could use his rifle if I could prove myself with it.
We went back to the dugout hill, which I think you now understand was our improvised range backstop. At 25 yrds, my first 3 shots were almost touching each other one inch high over the bull's eye. Time was short and ammo was expensive, so testing ended right there.

The next day that we could get out was Remembrance Day. It turned out to be an unseasonably warm day for the Alberta Peace Country. My brother and I headed up near the banks of the Peace River and and walked for a while down an overgrown logging road. After a short while, he continued on while I slowed my pace to catch any moose that he might stir up.

Not ten minutes later there was a great crashing coming my way. Soon a cow and calf moose burst into the blowdown I was in. They were going to run right past me at 40 yards, so I yelled Hey!
This worked and they both stopped and spun around to see what I was. I already had the rifle up, and centered my sights on the calf's chest. Boom!
The calf wheeled and headed the other direction.
I could not believe that I missed it!
Buck fever kicked into high gear and I began shooting at it's retreating form as fast as I could work the bolt. Then I charged after the moose when it disappeared. I don't even know what happened to the cow.
I was leaping over dead falls, when suddenly between two fallen trees I was jumping over, I spotted the calf moose trying to rise. As I sailed over it's head, I put the rifle to it's eye and pulled the trigger. It dropped like a stone as I landed on the other side of the deadfall.
My brother showed up a few minutes later to see if I had gotten a moose or if I was just shooting up the woods for no reason.
When we dressed out the calf which was probably 400 lbs, The Imperial 180 grain soft point I had first fired had hit right where I aimed. It clipped the top of the heart, exploded the lungs then caught a rib and moved up through the paunch. It then followed the backbone and exited beside the tail. The only other wound found, was the bullet in the head.
 
an ozztralian Nr1MkIII in full military stock
second day of bear hunt, I was taking a aluminium ladder for a deer tree stand, crested the hill and heard a sound of snapping branch and in a corner of my eye saw a black spot about 100yrds in a tree to my right; a young bear feeding on a oak acorns,
droped the ladder, shouldered rifle, bang first shot the bear froze, reloaded and I guess at the sound of the bolt it started to climp down, bang second shot and the bear now is just droping down, I thought it was inough till just by the bottom of the tree he squated on a last brunch propably trying to figure out how to negotiate last 15ft drop, the bear stack his butt in my direction, and laughing I tought I cant let that pass by, with a smile on my face I pulled the trigger again, he jumped into bushes behind the tree line.
I went over to check for blood and .....nothing :(
went back again to the spot where I shot from and realised I checked the wrong tree. I want over to the right one, lots of blood, he hit the ground hard too, I fallowed the trail for about 50yrds till he hit a stump, turned and the trail disapeared :(
this spot was pretty bushy too, try to track wounded bear in bush with a full length LeeEnfield :( not fun at all, realised if he decided to get even I cant really turn in time, I went out again and called my borther to come over with a dog
long story short, bear was dead not even 20yrds from the last spot of blood I found
there was one entry wound but 3 exit wounds :D
one lung was complitly blood soaked, hart was cut and his liver was jellyfied, dont think it took him too long to expire

I was shooting Winchester 180gr round nose
 
My one and only 303 was bought for $15 bucks and I got took then even.I shot at least one deer with it but it was so bad you could not hit a target with it most times. I sold it 35 years later to somebody for $150 bucks.I have no idea what they figured they were going to do with it.It was made in 1943 so what ever model that was.
 
I bought a sporterized 1944 Mark IV with the original "battle sights" (I think that's what they are called) in 1972 for $125. when I took up big game hunting. In the 20 years since then its given me 17 deer, one bull moose, and one cow moose. Although I do have a 30-06 and a 250-3000, the 303 is basically my go to gun as I feel perfectly comfortable with it.
 
I bought a sporterized Enfield years ago, still had the battle (peep) sights. For some reason with the sights down for close range, I could not hit a thing but flip it up and add some distance and it was impressive.


I set up a man sized paper target on a rock bluff at the end of a frozen lake years ago and took a few shots at it. At 800m with peeps I could only see a white blob in the distance, I was going to be satisfied if i even hit it.

Imagine my surprise to find 3 holes within a foot!
 
Got a Lee Enfield MKIV(I believe) from the Sears catalouge($29.95) in the early seventies.

Shot more partridge than moose with it.
 
When I was 12 my uncle gave me a #1mk3 with original sights and and bubba'd by himself. I got a whitetail every year till I was 18 when I bought a Rem 788 with scope for $89 on sale at sears. I gave the 303 to a younger cousin and have no idea what he eventually did with it .
 
When i first started to drive,some thirty five years ago,had my first flat tire.I had no jack handle in the trunk.To this day i have a soft spot for those old guns.Could have been a long walk.
 
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