to those that say the .303 can't kill deer

[kevin.303]

i give them this

[Thebear_78]

I don't think I have ever heard anyone say the .303 wouldn't kill deer before??

[Mikey]

Kevin - congradulations.  It sure looks like you used the right caliber to take that whitetail.  I used a 303 British exclusively for about 9 months when I hunted in Colorado years and years ago.  The only reason I ugraded to a 30-06 was because of a large bear that didn't go down quite as quickly as I would have appreciated.  I still take my 303 for a walk now and then although she is mostly relegated to the safe these days, but the caliber is quite effective.  Good on ya.  Mikey.

[jh45gun]

Kevin you must be saying that tongue in cheek as I know the 303 is well accepted in Canada and in the US as a hunting round. I hear in Canada they use it for moose even.  Congrats on the deer

[kevin.303]

yes tongue in cheek for sure, but working the gun counter at a sporting goods store, i hear a lot of poo pooing on the .303, .30-30 and other greats. usually from the guys that have been working on the same box of cartridges since 1988....

we use it for moose up here, as well as elk, caribou, seals even polar bear. i dropped a black bear with this same rifle last May,i plan on replacing it as my main hunting rifle with a 7x57 CZ-550 Lux, but it won't be retired, just placed in back up service

[bbqsnbeer]

I took a nice fat spike this year...fell on the spot like so many others.
I've used this rifle for 35yrs .  Lost count on deer taken but it's 20plus....and 1 cow moose which dropped like a big sac.
 Over the last 3 years , I've picked up other stocks and keep the original military furniture safe from any more dings .

[rockbilly]

Congradulations on the kill. Keep shooting the .303, and remember, it will take anything on North American soil.

To all of those that don't think the .303 is a game getter. let me remind you, this cartridge is, perhaps, responsible for more game world wide that any other cartridge on the market.  Think of all the countries where the British flag flew, think of the animals in those countries, and think of all of them being killed with the lowly .303.  The .303 has taken everything from elephant to jack rabbits.  This issue can not even be debated,  intelligently.

[bbqsnbeer]

I've had a few debates over the lethality / accuracy of the .303brit.
Most often the "disbelievers" are trying to justify spending big $$$ on their super-duper-bigger-better-more improved magnum moose  rifles that they might shoot 5 rounds a year with  at a target . Other's will get their info from hearsay and rumors .
  We all get together for a "shoot" just prior to the fellas heading north for moose season.
Targets are set up to zero in on , then we'll have some fun with waterballoons set out in a field from 100yd to 300yd.
One fella , in particular , was very vocal about his crappy old .303 and I bought it from him for $50
It was a sportered '43 No4Mk1* Savage ( which he knew absolutley nothing about ). I refurb'd it back with mil-spec furniture and added a cheekpiece to the buttstock and scoped it with a B-Square mount and a 2.5x Ruko scope.
 I told him nothing about what I did to his X-rifle , or the fact that I was getting 1 1/2" groups at 100yd , until we met again for the yearly shoot-off...
At first he didn't believe it was his old rifle ... and I nearly had to pry his hands off "my" rifle





 


 

[S.S.]

Back Many Many years ago, One of the ammunition Manufacturers
created a large lot of .303 ammunition that had such a heavy jacket that
it simply would not expand ! You might as well have been shooting FMJ.
This led to many good shots that were not lethal and thus the reputation as a mediocre
deer killing round. I put one through a nice Buck about 15 years ago.
I saw the hit just behind the shoulder. I tracked that deer the rest of the day
and never recovered it. Blood trail just quit. That is the only deer I have ever lost.

[Mikey]

S. Sumner - I had a bunch of those rounds and you could hardly dent them with a 2 lb hammer.  I wound up using them for raccoon, coyote and other fur-bearing critters.  After that I found a whole bunch of Winchester white box fmj and used that.

bbqsnbeer:  very nice restoration on that #4 and a nice scope set-up too.  One of the aspects of the British 303s that I really appreciate is being able to scope it without having to deal with the bolt.  Do you handload for that #4??  Mikey.

[Siskiyou]

Bbqsnbeer:  I like what you have done to the Savage No4Mk1.  It reminds me of the Sniper rifles advertised back in the 60’s in sporting magazines.   

Now that the weather has changed it is reloading time.  I purchased fifty Winchester .303 Brit. Cases this summer.  I will load them with 174 gr. Hornaday bullets, pushed by 4320 powder.  I have a Golden State Arms Jungle Carbine.  A slip on recoil pad has made it a pleasure to shot. 

Funny, I have never heard anybody knock the British .303 killing power.  In fact the opposite is true.  As a kid in a rural Northern California county I was surrounded by gunnuts.  Everybody talk about the wonders of Weatherby, but nobody could afford one.  When somebody bought a new domestic sporting rifle in was a Winchester, Remington, Savage, or Marlin. 

Many of my friends Dads started them out with a Military surplus rifle.  Number one choice was the Springfield 03.  After that came the .303, K98, and the Swede M96.  There were others but they were in the deep minority.  I never seen an Italian rifle used to hunt deer.

When I was up in the Peace River Country I met a hard working farm family.  Alex the Master of the house loved to hunt.  After his 30-30 Winchester developed a bulge after being fired with snow in the barrel he switched to a .303 British.  He collected his moose with it.  The laugh of the hard working farmers in the area was people coming North with their magnums to hunt moose.  Of course it is hard to beat the advantage a farmer has hunting moose on his own property.  Alex felt the .303 British was a big jump in killing power over his beloved 30-30 Winchester.



Blue broken line is the .303 Brit, 174 gr. Hornaday
Red line is the 30-30 Win., 170 gr. Hornaday

[bobby964]

I read an article in a shotgun news mag. that was written by David Fortier and he had a friend who was a former spenatz with the soviet union and fought in Afgahnastan saying the most feared weapon that the enemy was using was the .303 British in the Enfield rifles.He stated that they could be hit with it from afar off and it would still be leathal.From what I gather he was talking in the 1k-1.5k range.

[JBMauser]

You guys, everyone knows the .303 is a Moose gun not a deer gun.  Where did you ever come up with such a notion.  JB

[EVOC ONE]

The .303 has a strong reputation for being very successful on Moose and Elk.  I've read countless reports over the years on how popular the .303 is for the large deer in Canada.  Heavy, fat bullets (.311) and moderate velocities make for successful penetration and good kill's.  I'm not sure it would be my first choice in big bear country, or the .30-06 for that matter, but I would not hesitate to use the .303 on Moose or Elk.

EVOC ONE

[Mikey]

bobby - as I recall, the 303 Brit was taking the Wimbleton Cup Trophy (1K) away from the 30-06 until they developed the 190 gn bullet for the 06, which then took the trophy consistently.  I have no doubt the 303 can hit hard at 1k.  I have three and the most accurate groups  at 3/4" at 100m at 2.5 power.  Mikey.

[1911crazy]

Kevin303;  People can knock the 303 britt as much as they want to but its second to the mauser in the amount of sporters i have seen so far so there has to be something to the 303?

My uncles and old timers I run into and talk with still like the 30-30 and the 303 britt. My uncles were still using the 303 britt when they were still alive too. He would take his BAR in 308 and the 303 on every trip.  In my off the beaten path town where my camp is there's always a box of 303 britt ammo on the shelf.

[qajaq59]

"That hunter just shot me thru both lungs, but I'm ok because he only has a 30-30."