what are your thoughts on the .303brit as a hunting round
- Thread starter Ian
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blinddog
New member
Ballisticly it is somwhere between the 308 and 30-30 it is fine for deer sized game I had one when Im was a teen ager back then about all that could be had was mil surp unless you got costom built ammo, so with me only able to work part time i had to trade it off for a Winchester 30-30 just for ammo avalibility.
sandhillshunter
New member
It's taken it's share of moose over the years, so should be good to go for deer. I had one years back and while I never hunted with it, I really enjoyed that gun and would not of had any problems taking it deer hunting.
Not the best cartridge to load for, due to the actions of most guns chambered for it. The cases tend to stretch a bit on firing, unless you have a P14 Enfield, or another similarly strong action.
But, there's nothing wrong with the cartridge for everything but longer ranged shooting. Consider it something akin to the .300 Savage in terms of range and utility.
But, there's nothing wrong with the cartridge for everything but longer ranged shooting. Consider it something akin to the .300 Savage in terms of range and utility.
CV32
New member
Case life is a bit of an issue, as CDR has alluded, and there is quite a bit of variation among milsurp barrels (.311-.312), but the round remains popular for big game. Here in Newfoundland, it probably accounts for the majority of the approx 20,000 moose taken here every year. There are also a number of wildcat chamberings based on the .303 British cartridge.
CV32
New member
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it is a custom rifle built ofo of an eddystone action, is that a strong action?
IIRC, Eddystone was a subsidiary of Remington, and unless you have a rebuild with a Johnson barrel, you're probably ok. Was the action rebarreled during the custom build?
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do winchester and remington still load it?, the only factory sp rounds I can find are from either wolf or seiler&bellot
Winchester, Remington and Federal all still make hunting ammunition. The S&B stuff is quite good too, great brass.
it is a custom rifle built ofo of an eddystone action, is that a strong action?
IIRC, Eddystone was a subsidiary of Remington, and unless you have a rebuild with a Johnson barrel, you're probably ok. Was the action rebarreled during the custom build?
Quote:
do winchester and remington still load it?, the only factory sp rounds I can find are from either wolf or seiler&bellot
Winchester, Remington and Federal all still make hunting ammunition. The S&B stuff is quite good too, great brass.
Quote:
it is a custom rifle built ofo of an eddystone action, is that a strong action?
That is the Pattern 14 action I was alluding to in an earlier post. I think there were some heat treatment issues with the Eddystones, or at least some of them. Some were on the brittle side, or so I have read. But, I know very little about them. Some research could turn up the serial numbers of the ones which were considered at risk of being brittle and those which were not.
That being said, I had an Eddystone action reworked and rebarreled for a 7mm Rem. Mag and it worked and shot very well, albeit being a very heavy rifle.
it is a custom rifle built ofo of an eddystone action, is that a strong action?
That is the Pattern 14 action I was alluding to in an earlier post. I think there were some heat treatment issues with the Eddystones, or at least some of them. Some were on the brittle side, or so I have read. But, I know very little about them. Some research could turn up the serial numbers of the ones which were considered at risk of being brittle and those which were not.
That being said, I had an Eddystone action reworked and rebarreled for a 7mm Rem. Mag and it worked and shot very well, albeit being a very heavy rifle.
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could it be possible to rebarrel it to a more common caliber like, .308?, just wondering, as long as factory ammo is avalible, I have no problem with it being .303
Sure, but there's more involved that just rebarreling. You would have to have the extractor reworked and possibly the bolt face to fit the .308 Win. case head. You may have to have the feed lips on the action reworked for the .308 case.
Actually, the .30-06 would be a better cartridge, in that size than the .308 Win. The American versions of the P14 were chambered in .30-06 Springfield and it was called the 1917 Enfield.
However, the bolt face of the rifle in .303 British should be a bit larger than that for the .30-06, so it may involve welding up the bolt head and that would involve re heat treating, new machining for the .30-06 case head. It's probably best just to leave it as a .303 British unless you want to get a bunch of money wrapped up in it, far more than it's worth.
could it be possible to rebarrel it to a more common caliber like, .308?, just wondering, as long as factory ammo is avalible, I have no problem with it being .303
Sure, but there's more involved that just rebarreling. You would have to have the extractor reworked and possibly the bolt face to fit the .308 Win. case head. You may have to have the feed lips on the action reworked for the .308 case.
Actually, the .30-06 would be a better cartridge, in that size than the .308 Win. The American versions of the P14 were chambered in .30-06 Springfield and it was called the 1917 Enfield.
However, the bolt face of the rifle in .303 British should be a bit larger than that for the .30-06, so it may involve welding up the bolt head and that would involve re heat treating, new machining for the .30-06 case head. It's probably best just to leave it as a .303 British unless you want to get a bunch of money wrapped up in it, far more than it's worth.
CatShooter
New member
The 303 British has killed just about every critter known, including Ephalants.
You will not be undergunned.
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You will not be undergunned.
.
Colorado Pete
New member
What keeps cases from stretching in one rifle vs. another is two things. First, the P14 Eddystone is a front-locking action, the locking lugs are on the front of the bolt like a Mauser 98/Rem 700/Win 70 etc. The other Enfield rifles (SMLE, No. 1, No. 4) locked at the rear and the action could flex a bit. Second, it is a rimmed case and headspaces on the rim, and the rest of the chamber (in military rifles) was often cut a bit generously, to say the least. Reloading fired cases was not a concern to the Crown, while getting dirty/corroded/bent ammo to chamber was. If you have a custom barrel the odds are very good you have a tighter chamber than mil-spec.
The P14 is a good heavy-duty rugged rifle.
Winchester and Federal both make 180 grain soft points in .303, and Remington may as well. Through AIM surplus you might be able to find some Czech or Serbian ammo in both 150 and 180 grain weight in soft point design (Igman and PRVI Partisan brands I think). If you zero for 200 yards (scope or irons?) you should be about 2-2.5" high at 100 with the 180's and have acceptable (4-5"?) drop at 250. It'll work just fine.
The P14 is a good heavy-duty rugged rifle.
Winchester and Federal both make 180 grain soft points in .303, and Remington may as well. Through AIM surplus you might be able to find some Czech or Serbian ammo in both 150 and 180 grain weight in soft point design (Igman and PRVI Partisan brands I think). If you zero for 200 yards (scope or irons?) you should be about 2-2.5" high at 100 with the 180's and have acceptable (4-5"?) drop at 250. It'll work just fine.