Thread: Resurgence of interest in the old "Three Oh"?

I dunno; maybe it's me. Or maybe I have too much non-hunting time on my hands during lockdown. But there seems to be a bit of resurgence in interest in using the old 303 for hunting. Or maybe I just tend to gravitate to "Three Oh" posts because I love my old 76-year old girl and have just fitted her out with a new Nikon Prostaff 2-7?

There does seem to be.

I did the the .303 thing last year, bough a nice example of a cut down MkIII*, didn't put a scope on it, just used the original irons. I very much enjoyed mucking around with it at the range and getting it sighted in (which involved some mathematics not just clicks!). I shot a couple of deer with it, and that achieved two goals, get a deer with a .303 and get a deer with iron sights.
My goals achieved so I move it on to a fella who had similar plans.

Shot my first deer with an open-sighted Jungle Carbine. One day I’d like to have a nice example of a Lee Speed in the cabinet.

Yes shot my first deer with a Parkerhale sporterised .303 (think that's what they were called) had a Bushnell Banner 4x scope on it .
I was 18 I think so 45 years ago and it was my most prized possession , and thinking about that rifle now it was actually a good reliable gun. Cheers

Would love to get my hands on one to have a go at cleaning them up, but the prices of them do seem to have gone up a bit, even for one in proper rough condition. (doesn't help having a sprog on the way either)

Shot my first deer with a Parker Hale sporter .303

I have some excellent examples of .303 rifles in my collection including two pristine Parker Hale standard sporters (No1 and No4). Sadly I cannot focus on front sights anymore, and I have absolutely no intention to drill and tap them to fit scopes. I used a .303 for about 4 years before I got my first .30/06 and shot literally hundreds of animals with it, both as a hunter and a professional shooter. I think it is fair to say no other calibre I have used has accounted for as much game with the exception of a 12 guage shotgun, and possibly the .22 Long Rifle.

I loved mine but have just passed on the love to another forum member. Reducing the number of firearms I own and I must admit the old 303 has a huge part in my past hunting exploits. I used to use a jungl e carbine whilst meat hunting. I also shaped the rubber pad into a pig hoof shape and used it to confuse my other hunting mates LOL.

Originally Posted by Gapped axe

I loved mine but have just passed on the love to another forum member. Reducing the number of firearms I own and I must admit the old 303 has a huge part in my past hunting exploits. I used to use a jungl e carbine whilst meat hunting. I also shaped the rubber pad into a pig hoof shape and used it to confuse my other hunting mates LOL.

Great story @Gapped axe !

The pig hoof - what was it like under recoil ?

I'm the same, first deer with my dad's target III* and aperture sights then sporterised it and used it for 30 years.

Recently my strategy is to reduce number of guns in the cabinet and it was a choice between keeping the 303 or a Sako 85 as backup rifle ...
Gave the 303 away to a new hunter with all the old brass and Lee Loader. A line under that chapter and a good chapter it was.

I'd assumed the recent interest is as a substitute for MSSAs, although head to head semi 7.62x39 or 5.56 are better for rapid fire competition. My 303 used to occasionally have a rimmed round step over another so, while trusty, it wasn't 100% reliable for that sort of thing.

Mine wasn't 100% reliable. The safety flopped around under recoil, blocking the bolt and therefore unable to open the action and reload quickly. I taped it forward when hunting and just ran it with the bolt half open. Push it closed if a shot presented its self, actually a good way to hunt I found.

It had a factory 5 shot mag and without a scope it was a joy to carry.

I discovered how hard it is to use open sights in the dark dank bush, I missed out on on a lot of opportunities that would have been easy with a scoped rifle. That's the main reason for moving the rifle along, while it was cool, I didn't see myself using it again for hunting. My eyes seem to be showing signs of aging! The two deer I got were in the open on a sunny afternoon (it had just cleared from several days of rain, they were enjoying the sun as much as I was!), about 60m away and slightly down hill, so easy shots in the end.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Great story @Gapped axe !

The pig hoof - what was it like under recoil ?

I'm the same, first deer with my dad's target III* and aperture sights then sporterised it and used it for 30 years.

Recently my strategy is to reduce number of guns in the cabinet and it was a choice between keeping the 303 or a Sako 85 as backup rifle ...
Gave the 303 away to a new hunter with all the old brass and Lee Loader. A line under that chapter and a good chapter it was.

I'd assumed the recent interest is as a substitute for MSSAs, although head to head semi 7.62x39 or 5.56 are better for rapid fire competition. My 303 used to occasionally have a rimmed round step over another so, while trusty, it wasn't 100% reliable for that sort of thing.

Suppose like getting back-kicked by a really big pig?

I thought that too, for the full 10rd capacity and I agree with your comments on rapid fire. You'd need to put a compensator or muzzle brake on it, or maybe download the rounds to something more manageable recoil wise.

The original spec for the .303 (like the 7.62x54R Russian) had radiused rim edges to help prevent rim lock, which few manufacturers bother doing, but it is easily done with a file and the round in a drill press. The magazine design also helps "arrange them right" when you push down on the back of the stach with your thumb - but ONLY IF the ammunition is loaded to full COAL so the bullet tips interact properly with the magazine front wall.

Originally Posted by Gapped axe

I also shaped the rubber pad into a pig hoof shape and used it to confuse my other hunting mates LOL.

You can use the brass buttplate on the SMLE to make a realistic boar print in mud too. Usually results in a "F&&&ing useless dogs, that's bloody fresh" type comments from their owner. Well he was usually right; it was VERY fresh...... Always a laugh when you told them you did it.

Terrible action, pathetic slow lock time, awful trigger creep. Probably the best NZ calibre for pigs matched with a poor rifle.

Originally Posted by Cordite

Suppose like getting back-kicked by a really big pig?

I thought that too, for the full 10rd capacity and I agree with your comments on rapid fire. You'd need to put a compensator or muzzle brake on it, or maybe download the rounds to something more manageable recoil wise.

The original spec for the .303 (like the 7.62x54R Russian) had radiused rim edges to help prevent rim lock, which few manufacturers bother doing, but it is easily done with a file and the round in a drill press. The magazine design also helps "arrange them right" when you push down on the back of the stach with your thumb - but ONLY IF the ammunition is loaded to full COAL so the bullet tips interact properly with the magazine front wall.

The charger clips for Lee-Enfield is base of bullets 1,3 & 5 hard down in the clip and bullets 2 & 4 sitting rim on top of the other bullets rims.
That’s the official army method.

While it seems counterintuitive it worked and I can’t recall any jams caused by one rim ‘snagging’ on another.

the old girls work......what more praise is needed.....the round itself doesnt give much to the .308winchester and you can now once again get new barrels for the calibre... If I end up with spare $$$$ I would like to get a single bakail 7.62x39mm and reem it out to 303brit....the recoil factor can be managed with loading,but if you look at the stats the old .303brit sits closer to .243 than .308......it was the SMLEs cut down and lightened that gave impression of boot...suppressed they tell me its like .223 .....I shot quite a number of goats and pigs with one before moving onto the .30/30..... shot a few wallabies with .303 years later,got one as spare rifle..sold them on when finaces were tight.....