.303 Enfield Sporter

[wishn4more]

I've spotted a Mk 4 No 1 sporter at a price of $150. The rifle looks pretty clean for a milsurp, but I haven't inspected the bore yet. Cosmetically acceptable so far. I have an 03A1 and a K11, so like going milsurp. While I'm thinking about it, I have an Arisaka in .257 Roberts (from my FIL)...

What do y'all think about a Enfield for deer/elk/etc...? I see no reason why the .303 wouldn't be just fine. I hate to pass up a good looking rifle, even though it means adding another caliber to the ammo shopping list.

Finding ammo for the K11 is already mail order "only", i.e. I might get lucky and find some GP11 if I walk into enough gunshops. How scarce is .303? I thought I read that there's no milsurp ammo any more.

I could always buy a Mosin instead... Opinions?

 

[wishn4more]

PS. How do you pull the bolt from an Enfield?

 

[Jeff F]

I hunt with Enfields and the .303 British. The .303 has taken every animal in the world at one time or another. Anything you would be comfortable shooting with a 30-06 will fall the the .303.

There are two flavors of No4 Mk1's. The No4 Mk1 and the No4 M1*.
To pull the bolt on a No4 Mk1 you pull the bolt all the way to the rear and push down the little bolt release lever, pull the bolt back a bit more and rotate the bolt head upright and pull it out. If it has a ladder type rear sight you will have to raise it also for the bolt to clear it

To pull the bolt on a No4 Mk1* the start the bolt back just a bit and there is a slot in the rail the bolt head rides in toward the front on the right of the receiver. Get the bolt head in that slot and raise it up then pull the bolt to the rear and out. Again if it has the ladder rear sight you will have to raise it for the bolt to clear.

 

[303tom]

I took a Elk one year with this.........

 

[bobbo]

I'm slowly turning a No. 1 Mk III* sporter I found for cheap into a hog/scout gun. My model is a bit older (as in the first war, not the second). It will kill pretty much anything with the right bullet (including elephants, but I wouldn't recommend that). It will kill anything in the Western Hemisphere very well.

I have a Mosin, too. I prefer the SMLE for the magazine, the slick bolt (as in it's almost as good as a Krag) and I like the cock-on-close.

Your probably going to want to reload, as a 20-round box of Remington is about $40 now (it's not super-popular in the US). First, the bore size is .313, not .308 like a 30-06, so pay attention to bullet selection (there's fewer, but plenty of choices in this size). Second, the chambers are oversized (so you could still load and fire with dirty ammo), so the cases tend to stretch. You can get a couple reloads out of a case (only neck size, not full length, to preserve case life, but only use cases shot in your gun in your gun, not another L-E) before it stretches too much and you have a failure.

 

[Red October]

Jeff Cooper once estimated that the .303 cartridge had probably killed more game than any other cartridge due to the prevalence of the SMLE rifles. Whether or not this is true, it probably isn't missing by much. As earler posters have indicated, the .303 doesn't lack much from the .30-06 (or .308), so anything they will work for, the .303 will probably handle (as always, assuming good shot placement). As a fan of both the SMLEs and the Krags, I have to agree that the SMLE actions are close to as smooth as the Krags. Hard to beat these fine old rifles.

 

[303tom]

.303 is not that expensive, http://www.midwayusa.com/product/52...on-303-british-150-grain-soft-point-box-of-20

Here is a pic. of my No1, it`s a 2A........

 

[rule303]

I hunted in Canada once, and a lot of the old timers up there were shooting .303's. If it will bring down a bull moose, it should do just fine for any deer or elk. Winchester, Remington and Federal all make good hunting ammo for the .303, along with the imported stuff from S&B and Prvi Partisan. Surplus ammo still turns up once in a while, but there hasn't been a steady supply of it for years. With the millions of Enfields out there, it is a pretty safe bet that you will always be able to find factory ammo, just not on the shelf at your local wally world.

 

[wishn4more]

Hey, Thanks!

I appreciate the comments and especially the instructions for removing the bolt. I will stop by tomorrow and see if it's still there. Wish me luck!

 

[303tom]

Good Luck................