.303 ammo
- Thread starter bgrav321
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It's still made. I bought a couple boxes of Wolf Gold... mostly for the brass, since I reload for everything I shoot... I think I paid $15 per box of 20, which included shipping. Probably better deals somewhere else.
Federal makes 303 also.
Federal makes 303 also.
alamo
Member
Mikee Loxxer
Member
Watch out for surplus .303 British. Not sure what is available on the market but we had a guy at the High Power match this weekend try and shoot some surplus .303 British in his no. 4 that a local shop had in stock. He was getting hang fires where the cartridge would light off a second or so after pulling the trigger. Needless to say he did not finish that part of the match.
basilfnfal
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Surplus .303 is a mixed bag - much of the good stuff is gone, and what's mostly being marketed these days (ie, by AIM, Century, Sportsmansguide, etc) is POF, or Pakistani Ordnance Factory. Although made on British equipment, quality and process contol is much different, and there are the aforementioned hangfires. Remember, any surplus you buy is going to probably from the '60's, at the newest.
I have about 1500 rnds of mixed headstamp English .303 made in the '50s, and there are hangfires - click bangs, in popular Enfield parlance. They're good for breaking you of any bad habits - look at them as a live fire ball and dummy drill.
.303 is loaded commerically by several companies - Wolf Gold (made by PRVI Partisan), Hot Shot (Century's brand, I believe), and Remington UMC are 3 that come readily to mind. The only one of the bunch I've shot has been the Remington UMC 174 gr FMJ-BTs, and they were abysmal - I actually called Remington to complain. Every round out of multiple rifles keyholed. I later found out that Enfields are known to have problems stabilizing boat tailed bullets - something to keep in mind. Bullet diameter was .310, also, I've always been told it should be closer to .312.
If you have a reloading rig, get yourself a set of dies and have at it. Best thing I can recommend. There probably isn't any new .303 surplus that's going to come to light in the future - although I have to wonder if the Indians are sitting on a substantial stockpile they haven't surplused yet.
I have about 1500 rnds of mixed headstamp English .303 made in the '50s, and there are hangfires - click bangs, in popular Enfield parlance. They're good for breaking you of any bad habits - look at them as a live fire ball and dummy drill.
.303 is loaded commerically by several companies - Wolf Gold (made by PRVI Partisan), Hot Shot (Century's brand, I believe), and Remington UMC are 3 that come readily to mind. The only one of the bunch I've shot has been the Remington UMC 174 gr FMJ-BTs, and they were abysmal - I actually called Remington to complain. Every round out of multiple rifles keyholed. I later found out that Enfields are known to have problems stabilizing boat tailed bullets - something to keep in mind. Bullet diameter was .310, also, I've always been told it should be closer to .312.
If you have a reloading rig, get yourself a set of dies and have at it. Best thing I can recommend. There probably isn't any new .303 surplus that's going to come to light in the future - although I have to wonder if the Indians are sitting on a substantial stockpile they haven't surplused yet.
I've got some Pakistani stuff from the 60's
A whole case of it. Dirty, mercuric primer, unreliable ignition. I got it for pretty cheap, but a bargain it's not. There may be some greek stuff floating around of 70's manufacture. That seems to be the best.
A whole case of it. Dirty, mercuric primer, unreliable ignition. I got it for pretty cheap, but a bargain it's not. There may be some greek stuff floating around of 70's manufacture. That seems to be the best.
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
is anyone making flatbase 174gr bullets, so I can duplicate the MkVII loading?
DougW
Member
Surplus ammo is pretty much gone except for POF. You would be better off getting into reloading. Greek HXP has been out of circulation for a few years. I have a stash of wonderful South African, a little Brit and Aussie, and a bunch of my own reloads. There is Wolf, S&B, and maybe Hot Shot available.
Sunray
Member
"...is it still manufactured?..." Nearly every commercial ammo manufacturer loads .303 British. No country still uses it for their military. Some Third World countries issue Lee-Enfields to their rural cops and game wardens though.
Limeyfellow
Member
Canada still issue it to the Rangers patrolling the north, but there pretty much only a reserve force. Pretty much because it performs very well in the Arctic.
Some Nepalese military forces used them recently in the civil war there and also used by some government military forces on the Solomon Islands.
mustanger98
Member
I've been wondering about a 174gr flat based soft point spitzer component bullet, too. The only 174grainer I tend to find is a round nose.
To approximate Mk7 ball, my understanding is that 174gr flat based bullet only has to run 2440fps. I did have a link for that. That same page included the 174gr BT-FMJ running the same 2440fps as Mk8 ball.
To approximate Mk7 ball, my understanding is that 174gr flat based bullet only has to run 2440fps. I did have a link for that. That same page included the 174gr BT-FMJ running the same 2440fps as Mk8 ball.
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
mustanger,
I have the same problem. I can find the FMJBT bullets, but i want the Flat base so the ladder sight works. I suppose i could dig up some info and figure out how much it would be off due to the differnt BC.
I have the same problem. I can find the FMJBT bullets, but i want the Flat base so the ladder sight works. I suppose i could dig up some info and figure out how much it would be off due to the differnt BC.
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