Thread: Short WW2 Movie named ".303"

I came across this well-made short movie ".303". It shows the Lee Enfield No. 4 .303 in action.

- The use of 5-round stripper clips under fire is direly demonstrated.

- A glimpse of the fast rate of fire possible with the Lee short bolt throw (from having rear locking lugs) and only a 60-degree bolt rotation, both together enabling the shooter to keep sights aligned on target when cycling the action.

- As for how the movie ends, well I won't spoil it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awL4nMkVrtk

shit that ending

Drops into Nazi occupied Italy carrying only 5 rounds loaded in a rifle with a capacity for 10?

Bloody hell

Crap ending - the 'fortunes of war' eh.

They should make that into a full length feature.

Originally Posted by WallyR

Crap ending - the 'fortunes of war' eh.

Yes, that is war. You could view it in a way that Brits shooting Germans was similar crap. Brits and Germans are really quite similar people, both speaking Germanic languages. Just see how at Waterloo they worked together and licked the French. It was quite a successful venture but quickly forgotten.

If we'd done that in 1914 (face it, we could as unjustly have joined any side of that squabble) WW1 would have been over as fast as the French could organise their surrender (just look how they dropped the British Expeditionary Force second time round). Then, going back to end of WW1, the French would not have pushed for such a vindictive humiliating Versailles "treaty", and there would have been no National Socialist Workers Party arise from the bog this created, never mind WW2.

I digress. The Lee Enfield: a great rifle incorporating great features. Including even a half-cock safety.

There would have still been a war in the pacific with Japan desperate for resources to fuel their economy.

And if the French had lost, and had to sign a treaty of Berlin, maybe the national socialism would have started there and nazi france would have started the war with the help of the Russians :-)!

There it is the fortunes of war and why no right minded person (who knows about war) would ever knowingly want to fight one, As for the .303, IMHO the rimmed cartridge is it's greatest downfall as a military rifle, if they had only been chambered in 8x57 or 7x57 or 6.5x55. But they were a black powder rifle anyway.

Re-writing history never works. The British usually fought what ever government was trying to dominate Europe this included at times France, Spain, Protugal, Germany, Italy and Russia. Basically everyone..

I don't really agree that Britain has "Invaded" all these countries but it is an amusing commentary none the less.

British have invaded nine out of ten countries - so look out Luxembourg - Telegraph

Add on to my first post.
For hunters - identify your target before letting the shot go.
Used these in the ATC 50-55 years ago as a skinny teenager (oh the flinch these taught me), but slick action, 10 rounds - wow.
Ignored the lesson I learned from full wood 303's about flinching, and always had a cut down, sporterised 303 or 2, in the gun cupboard.
Along with a semiauto 223, 6.5 x 55 milsurp Swede and a couple of 12ga shotties.
Oh the days when I had money *sigh*

Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

There it is the fortunes of war and why no right minded person (who knows about war) would ever knowingly want to fight one, As for the .303, IMHO the rimmed cartridge is it's greatest downfall as a military rifle, if they had only been chambered in 8x57 or 7x57 or 6.5x55. But they were a black powder rifle anyway.

Re-writing history never works. The British usually fought what ever government was trying to dominate Europe this included at times France, Spain, Protugal, Germany, Italy and Russia. Basically everyone..

I don't really agree that Britain has "Invaded" all these countries but it is an amusing commentary none the less.

British have invaded nine out of ten countries - so look out Luxembourg - Telegraph

Yes, it is futile but still great to rewrite history, if nothing else to trace actions and consequences. The poison seed of National Socialism, apart from its roots in atheism and (Internationale) socialism, was very much sown at Versailles.

Yes, interesting .303 black powder ancestry, an interim measure while the Brass (pun intended) decided which smokeless powder type would get adopted for long term use. The cases were actually primed with straight walls, a single pellet of black powder with central channel inserted, and then the cases got tapered and bottle-necked! Later when cord-ite was adopted, it was similarly inserted into a straight case and the case tapered and bottle-necked. Hence, the only way you can remove cordite from a .303 case is to cut it open, the bundle of cordite strings will not pour out.

Rimmed cartridges are stronger, more reliable on extraction. The LE rifles were made with strong actions and wide tolerances so they would not jam on out-of-spec ammunition. They are for the same reason not that accurate as a hunting / target rifle. But try and feed out-of-spec ammo to a Kar98. Chamber rireforming and neck-sizing-only of brass can get better accuracy of the .303 but at expense of reliability in the mud, so to say, and at real-life hunting ranges below 30yds what is the point of all that effort? For a military target rifle, I'd go for the Mauser any time.

Speaking of extraction, this assumes the cartridge FED in the first place. The SMLE magazine tilts the cartridges a lot more than would be required simply to accommodate the rims and tapered case bodies. This is to avoid rim lock. Here is a very interesting debunking youtube vid on rimlock by Bloke_on_the_Range, a lost soul who loves Lee Enfields:

Why Lee Enfield Rimjams Are No Big Deal

Also:

Why are Lee Enfields So Fast?

Enjoy!

Having managed a couple of jams I am not that keen, mostly shooting goats with a full mag, filled in a hurry! Try it with a bunch of green people off the street! Remember that is your average soldier. Yes a rimmed cartridge will have more radius to grasp but I don't remember reading about rim breakage being a big problems with the Mauser rifle. Unfortunately the actions are rear locking and prone to stretching over time also. I had one that was danger long! Anyway they did serve a purpose admirably filling the long gap between black powder and reliable semi autos. All rifles had their pros and cons.

Originally Posted by Mauser308

Generally the action stretching was more correctly caused by some dofus replacing the bolt head with a shinier, newer looking one. I had one that was perfect on a #3, but was fitted with a #0. Enquired why and the ex-owner got the newer one for looks and then got rid of the gun because it wouldn't shoot. FFS. I have seen one action body that was cracked in the lug recesses, cut that one in half with a grinder. That one was scary long, would have been interesting to pile a few sand bags on it and let it rip till it failed...

Well that may explain a lot. Unfortunately the 303 has definitely suffered from the number 8 wire mentality at times.