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

It may have been built in 1944 to halt blitzkrieg and banzai charges, but the old 303 still fills the freezer.... Took the old girl out for a walk today; the first things it's shot in nearly 10-years! I am going to get a set of ear plugs though; I'd forgotten how badly that 17.5" barrel barks...........

I love the old girl.... It's short because it was used for a bail gun many years ago

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

I love the old girl.... It's short because it was used for a bail gun many years ago

Greetings Bumblefoot,
Imagine how much better it would have been with your own loads. Next time perhaps. You can dial down the loads as well to reduce both boot and bark.
Grandpamac.

you could always fit suppressor...... sacrilege but well worth it and still be awesome.
I could never do very well with the open sights....

Geez; everyone calm down please

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

Geez; everyone calm down please

Greetings Bumblefoot,
I'm with you on this one. To my knowledge (I must admit I skipped over some of the posts halfway through the first sentence) no one has suggested that the Lee Enfield is the last word in sporting rifle design. Some of us, perhaps a lot of us, just like to keep one or two around. Few if any of us keep one as a primary hunting rifle, we just like to load for and shoot them. We work around their shortcomings to produce usable loads suitable for the limited hunting and shooting we do with them. Some, like me have a long family association with the rifles and its cartridge. My first shot with any rifle was with my Uncles P14, at a rock, close to Makino Hut on the last Saturday in March 1963. No amount of jawboning will change that.
Regards Grandpamac.

Well done Wallabies!.Go hard ABs!!

Bloody hell; enough of the arguing already..... Shit it's making me think twice about even posting here anymore. 2 posts about having a bit of fun with an old 303 derailed by people starting shit storms... Probably simpler to PM people I think maybe able to help out with a question rather than start threads here.............

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

Bloody hell; enough of the arguing already..... Shit it's making me think twice about even posting here anymore. 2 posts about having a bit of fun with an old 303 derailed by people starting shit storms... Probably simpler to PM people I think maybe able to help out with a question rather than start threads here.............

Time for a couple of yellow cards perhaps ?

Well I like lee enfields and don't care if they have a few eccentricities, at there age they're entitled.
I like the cock on closing system
I like the 2 stage trigger
I like the geometry of bolt handle and trigger
I like the short bolt throw
I like the smell of Youngs 303 cleaner
Etc

@Marty Henry I know of 2 goats that don't like them as of Friday!

Oops; wrong pic

I would dearly love to own a left hand SMLE ( and yes I know it's no big deal to reach over and use the bolt ).
But I like things to be correct

Doubt there has ever been a true left hand version made but happy to be corrected

There have been a number of wrong handed ones passed on and down to me over the years and I have moved them all on
But it always left me longing for that special one worth keeping

I think it a technically brilliant rifle for what it was intended
I think the 303 is superb for what it was intended and considering when it was conceived and is still a cartridge that could do practically everything most NZ hunters would ever want it for
I can see a whole lot of reason why some of its features that irritate some are taken out of context
For instance a two piece stock is vastly more efficient if you are making a few million of them
Much easier to get a lot more units out of the same amount of materials
Regarding the light barrels. Once again it will be a saving in barrel steel and taken over millions at a time when resources were extremely valuable it all counts

Like I said I would love one in my gun cabinet And would have lots of circumstances where it would be ideal
So I will just have to build a nice 303 single shot or buy a friend's 303 double rifle if I really want to scratch that itch

Enfield are awesome.

Fucking awesome!