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

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

hmmmAttachment 137898

Look Micky,
A left handed .303 for sale!
Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Look Micky,
A left handed .303 for sale!
Grandpamac.

Are the more pricy ones the left hand ones?

oh come along now fellas....I found you a genuine advert.....the picture tells all.......no photoshop back when that add was printed......

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Look Micky,
A left handed .303 for sale!
Grandpamac.

Well spotted. Respect!

Originally Posted by Kiwi Sapper

I think it goes back to the 40's The 25 - 303 also appeared, filling a void for Australian hunters and farmers, because at the time there was not a wide variety of choice in firearms or calibers and civilians were prohibited from owning any military calibers.

Australia had a dumb law back then that banned military calibres so resulted in the 25-303 270-303 and a few others I think a 375-303 was one.

Originally Posted by shooternz

Australia had a dumb law back then that banned military calibres so resulted in the 25-303 270-303 and a few others I think a 375-303 was one.

IIRC that law banning mil calibres was in NSW only. Which was weird as Mick Smith Sports started out his business buying milsurp rifles an selling them interstate. Mick Smith also developed the 7.7x54 to get around the NSW laws of the day. Basically a 303 barrel set back 1 or 2 threads (cannot remember which).

The only people permitted to own an ex mil calibre in NSW were graziers, pest destruction, maybe a few others cannot remember. Micky D's posting of 303s for sale at Melbourne Firearms, Vic (a biggy in its time, still going) shows unadulterated 303s for sale.

In its day Mick Smiths in George Street Sydney was huge. Visited a couple a times in the 80's when the store was already in decline. Closed a few years ago.

Are the .303 gaining popularity ? Having a resurgance ?
I think yes, partly on the back of Jacinda bucks, and partly due to folk realising there is a lot of charm / history to these.
Growing up I spurned the "three oh " relying on levers, and shy of all the information regarding poor safety design ( the reason we are a nation of 1/2 cockers )
This was probably also due to my hunting mentor only having fingers on his off hand. He could fire and work a lever with his thumb more readily than work a bolt.
Most govt deer culling had gone by the way side and choppers filled the sky ( ten four good buddy ) as I approached hunting age..

Fast forward 40 years and I find my interest in them raised, and I can now usually tell the difference from a 3 and a 4. With taking up TR ( full bore ) I keep looking for something unmolested or even in traditional range configuration.
But dare I say it a P14 would be betterer.

Originally Posted by johnd

Are the .303 gaining popularity ? Having a resurgance ?
I think yes, partly on the back of Jacinda bucks, and partly due to folk realising there is a lot of charm / history to these.
Growing up I spurned the "three oh " relying on levers, and shy of all the information regarding poor safety design ( the reason we are a nation of 1/2 cockers )
This was probably also due to my hunting mentor only having fingers on his off hand. He could fire and work a lever with his thumb more readily than work a bolt.
Most govt deer culling had gone by the way side and choppers filled the sky ( ten four good buddy ) as I approached hunting age..

Fast forward 40 years and I find my interest in them raised, and I can now usually tell the difference from a 3 and a 4. With taking up TR ( full bore ) I keep looking for something unmolested or even in traditional range configuration.
But dare I say it a P14 would be betterer.

Gasp!!!

A mate gave me two well used old 303s when i was about 20 years old (2000's) as he didnt have a firearms licence, they were found in a family estate,fired one once it threw bullets end over end , at the time i thought "old peices of shit" after i offered them back to the guy that gave them to me (he didnt want them) i took them to the cop shop.
kick myself every time i think about it,IDIOT

Originally Posted by muka88

A mate gave me two well used old 303s when i was about 20 years old (2000's) as he didnt have a firearms licence, they were found in a family estate,fired one once it threw bullets end over end , at the time i thought "old peices of shit" after i offered them back to the guy that gave them to me (he didnt want them) i took them to the cop shop.
kick myself every time i think about it,IDIOT

Gasp!!! (now also wheezing).

Haha I have a heap of them now after being bitten hard by the BSA Sporter/Lee Speed bug & this is after I got rid of ever single mag & part for MLE SMLE No4 No5 from when I was younger, spent last 10yrs getting the bits back .

In fact just today was give a nice old No3 SMLE from a old guy with no FAL !

Originally Posted by Scout

Haha I have a heap of them now after being bitten hard by the BSA Sporter/Lee Speed bug & this is after I got rid of ever single mag & part for MLE SMLE No4 No5 from when I was younger, spent last 10yrs getting the bits back .

In fact just today was give a nice old No3 SMLE from a old guy with no FAL !

And you said to him, "Thank you for making New Zealand safer!"

Oh Crap, good point, I didn't, he gave it to me, are you sure that made NZ safer ??

i feel way fukn safer thank you @Scout

Originally Posted by GDMP

Seeing as semi's are now gone,maybe there will be a resurgence in the classic bolt action milsurp rifles.There will still be quantities of such rifles in storage around the world, but they must surely be hard to find now even with the huge numbers manufactured in the past.I have always had a bit of a fetish for Mauser carbines myself.....

Yes, the Americans have a thing for "scout rifles". No real NZ equivalent, and "bushpig" does not quite have the same cool factor.