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.

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 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.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

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

Agree with all the above. Add clanky noisy magazine and trigger over-travel. It's a battle rifle which only does OK as a hunting rifle. It's ironic that it was often the beginner's rifle when it really should not be.

There are of course certain special features ... like the shorter travel of the rear locker bolt so you don't have to pull your face out of its way, only 60 deg lift so you don't lose your sight picture when cycling the bolt, and the ergonomics of cock-on-close bolt that allows fast follow up shots while maintaining a pinch grip on the bolt.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

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.

"Bloke on the Range" did a recent video (2 wks ago) on full vs light loads and timed shooting. The rate of fire was surprisingly similar but the group was smaller with the light loads.

Firing fast from the bolt reaching the trigger with your middle finger seems to cause a 4-5 o'clock pattern.

Originally Posted by Cordite

"Bloke on the Range" did a recent video (2 wks ago) on full vs light loads and timed shooting. The rate of fire was surprisingly similar but the group was smaller with the light loads.

Firing fast from the bolt reaching the trigger with your middle finger seems to cause a 4-5 o'clock pattern.

Didn’t have sound on but why did he only load one five round charger at a time instead of filling the mag with ten rounds (two chargers) each time?

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

Didn’t have sound on but why did he only load one five round charger at a time instead of filling the mag with ten rounds (two chargers) each time?

Convention. The Lee Enfield's 10 shot magazine is really a 5 round magazine which can have 10 crammed in but does not do it too well.

Loading in the second 5 found charger is not smooth and slows you rather than just firing five and loading five, and as I said the rounds don't actually feed so nicely from a full 10 round magazine. So he starts out with 10, fires 10, and then loads 5 at a time.

The original mad minute I believe you start with 10+1, fire 6, [5 left] insert 5, fire 6,[4 left] insert 5, fire 6,[3 left] insert 5, fire 6,[2 left] insert 5, fire 6, [1 left] insert 5, fire 6... and you have an empty rifle and have fired 36 rounds.

In combat you'd start out with 10, and fire away, any chance you got you'd drop another charger of 5 in. The idea of the larger magazine seems to have been to ensure that there (usually) always will be space to take a whole charger.