Gibbs - 303 Jungle Carbine

[patmac]

Someone recently gave us a Gibbs - 303 Jungle Carbine Rifle.

I searched some older threads and seemed to find only bad stuff on it.

My shooting experience thus far has been limited to .22 cal rifles and Shotguns. I know I can't beat the price (free), but is this a gun I should be concerned firing?

Is this a candidate for deer hunting or should I stick with my 870 and a slug barrel?

Thanks,

Pat

 

[rbernie]

As far as I've heard, nobody ever got KaBOOMed or anything like that from a Gibbs - they just weren't happy having paid money for something that may or may not have been bolted together well. You'll never know which side of that coin this one falls until you shoot it.

The 303 is a fine hunting round suitable for almost anything you'd want to hunt in the lower 48 that's less than 300 yards away. I hunt with my 303 and think that it's just dandy.

In the end - it's an Enfield. Gibbs didn't muck with the basic action, so you're safe there. If nothing falls off when you shoot it, I'd say go for it.

 

[Sunray]

"...Is this a candidate for deer hunting..." Yep. And moose, bear and elk too. Gibbs took No. 4 actions and built them into carbines. The felt recoil on a .303carbine is stout to say the least, but lots of big moose, deer and bears have been killed with one shot up here. CYA and check the headspace before you shoot it. Any 175 or 180 grain hunting bullet will do nicely.

 

[Jac]

I read, I think on Kim Du Toit, about a guy who stopped on the side of the road to take a leak; had a No. 5 with him; got charged by a bear. Emptied the mag (apparently, the Enfield action is smooooth) and had the bear drop about 6" from the muzzle.

 

[patmac]

Guess I will take it to the range and give it a try....

Thanks!

 

[Father Knows Best]

I read, I think on Kim Du Toit, about a guy who stopped on the side of the road to take a leak; had a No. 5 with him; got charged by a bear. Emptied the mag (apparently, the Enfield action is smooooth) and had the bear drop about 6" from the muzzle.

Don't know 'bout the bear story, but the Enfield action is indeed smooooooooth. My brother-in-law has a No. 5 jungle carbine with the smoothest bolt action I have ever felt.

 

[greg531mi]

I wouldn't worry about Gibbs or Santa Fe rifles....They were mainly a factory rebuild, they checked for headspace, and did replace bad parts, like barrels, and extracters that were bad. They are not original, but remuddeled Jungle Carbines, and rifles....but as a shooter, they are good rifles....

 

[SMLE]

I read, I think on Kim Du Toit, about a guy who stopped on the side of the road to take a leak; had a No. 5 with him; got charged by a bear. Emptied the mag (apparently, the Enfield action is smooooth) and had the bear drop about 6" from the muzzle.

May not be the same incident, but THR member BruceB posted about a close encounter with a bear while carrying a JC. See reply #34 on this thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=155699

 

[patmac]

Any advice on ammunition for the 303 British?

I am ordering some stuff from Sportsman'sGuide, I saw the PMC Silver which seems like it would be OK. The had 174 Grain in HP for $13.77 per 20. Or FMJ-BT for $10.99 per 20. Is this the right stuff?

I need ammo for the range and probably just 1 box for the field. A friend also mentioned that a local shop sells reloaded 303's.

Thanks again,

Pat

 

[goon]

I always used Winchester 180 grain PSP's in my Enfield. Use the FMJ's for the range and some kind of SP for hunting. I am not sure but I think that the HP rounds may be some type of target round because I have never heard of a .303 round made for hunting with that type of bullet.

 

[greg531mi]

Hot Shot, from Serbia and PMP from South Africa is your best bet for good, inexpensive 303 loads....Dumhams had them on sale for $7/20....and you had the choice of soft points or FMJ.........

 

[patmac]

Thanks. I found the Winchester .303 - 180 Grain (Power Point). Is this a good round for deer hunting?

 

[rbernie]

Yup. The PMP is also good stuff, although it chrono's slow - 2200fps for the 180gr fodder. Hornady makes a 150gr 'light magnum' load that is quite spry...

 

[greg531mi]

Hornady makes a 150gr 'light magnum' load that is quite spry...

If your gun is adjusted for 150 grain rounds...

 

[goon]

The Winchester stuff was very accurate out of my Enfield but didn't shoot to point of aim. My handloads were slightly less accurate but they did shoot where the sights were looking.
If you have that problem though, just get a taller front sight and file it down a few passes at a time until you are on target.
Problem solved.

 

[Gewehr98]

Sellier & Bellot .303 British is damned good stuff.

Just beware, there's a lot of cordite-loaded Pakistani .303 floating around, that goes "click-boom", or worse yet, "click".

 

[Hobie]

You have what is probably a good rifle, don't waste money on bad ammo. The jungle carbine format made up from a #4 instead of a #5 action is more likely to be a fine thing. If it has the broad brass buttplate so much the better. Recoil is no worse than any .30-06 round and probably less. The rifles are hell for stout. They function smoothly and reliably. Any US made commercial ammo will do fine for deer, black bear, moose and elk. You just might to close with the target a bit.

 

[1911 guy]

The Enfield action

I'll agree with Jumbee insofar as it would be a "pant load". For me, certainly. The other thing worth noting since there are a couple threads now about enfields is the speed at which the action can be worked by someone intimate with it. There were many after action reports from WWII that the germans were convinced the brits had machine guns. Nope, just SMLE's and trained users. I've got two, so I can appreciate the form and function, but it's also not likely that the little time I spend with them would allow me to repeat the performance of those soldiers.

 

[patmac]

Finally got out to the range this afternoon with the Gibbs Jungle Carbine and a box of 180 Grain Winchester Power Points. I was pleasantly surprised with the rifle.

We were shooting at 50 Yards with the iron sights and I found it very accurate. Maybe I was just excited, but the recoil also seemed less punishing that the 12 Ga. Slugs I was firing.

Back to the range this week (100 yds. and some non-set shots) and then I think I will give this one a try in the woods.

Thanks again for all your help.

Pat