Polar-Grizzly hybrid killed with .303 Enfield

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Kentucky_Rifleman

Kentucky_Rifleman

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Alright, here's an article that's making me rethink some of my views on cartridge adequacy. Until now, I would have considered a .303 underpowered for a bear hunt, but this man seems to have pulled it off just fine.

In short, an Inuit Subsistence hunter in the Northwest Territories has killed a Polar/Grizzly hybrid bear (only the second one documented in the wild). His rifle of choice for (literally) putting supper on the table? The venerable .303 Enfield. READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.

I am absolutely a believer in my Daddy's adage, "better too much rifle than not enough." Still, it's easy to lose respect for the efficiency of the older calibers when we are confronted by so many RUMs, SAUMs, WSSMs, etc. I have a whole new appreciation for the .303, and the older calibers I use that are as powerful or more so.

My second thought is the quote from Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, "Life will find a way."

KR
 

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He probably didn't know that the .303 is an underpowered ctg. that has killed just about everything on the face of the earth. I cannot think of a more relaible rifle than the enfield's in any climate on the face of the earth. I never got caught up on the newer magnum ctgs. I hunt deer with my .303 and my .30-30. They work just fine.
A well placed shot with a 180 gr. expanding bullet will kill any bear in the world. Well placed being the key word.
 
Wow. a mix? I didn't think that was genetically possible. ...New threat! Someone forward this to Stephen Colbert!

This brings up an interesting question of whether the Polar Bears could interbreed to save their species from "global warming."

As for the .303; the cartridge worked quite well in Africa for all those British fellows on all sorts of dangerous game I wouldn't doubt it's ability. It is similar enough to a 30'06 that i would assume it would be fine bear medicine...although some doubt the 30'06, i have to wonder how much of that is the guy-behind-the-counter* who says "oh, you need the latest super-magnum whatever because it is a newer cartridge, and therefore better"

*think Simpson's Comic Book Guy here.
 
Everything that walks, crawls or flies has been killed with a .303, from back when the sun never set on the British Empire.
Some hunters have been eaten, stomped, mauled, or gored when the good old .303 turned out not to be quite enough on one particular day, too.
 
I guess if it worked for this man, than you never know what it is capable of doing. I think luck was by this man's side during this adventure. I always love to hear stories like this that almost defy the odds.
 
I think luck was by this man's side during this adventure. I always love to hear stories like this that almost defy the odds.
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This fella routinely kills bears with that .303. This wasn't against the odds; it was a commonplace event for this hunter. He kills the bears for food, fur, and all the other delightful products the Inuit get out of bear.

KR
 
i have to wonder how much of that is the guy-behind-the-counter* who says "oh, you need the latest super-magnum whatever because it is a newer cartridge, and therefore better"
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At first guess, I'd say a lot of the "magnum mentality" comes from gun writers and sales-counter folks.

I've always been a fan of the older cartridges (my one go-to rifle is a Ruger 77 in 7x57), but shooting more paper than game the last few years, I had forgotten how deadly those older calibers can be.

I need to get off the range and into the woods more often.

KR
 
For many years in the old Northwest, including BC and the Yukon, the 215 grain .303 was considered "good medicine" for Grizzly and Moose. Also highly regarded, were the 220 grain 30-06, 220 grain 30-40 Krag, 175 grain 7 mm Mauser. Now most of these shots were taken well within 200 yards, but they put the bears and moose down with properly placed shots just as well as any .338 magnum at these ranges.
 
Just about any animal on the planet can be killed by just about any gun on the planet.
The bottom line is, it's a matter that's up to the hunter.
You do not have to use the bare bones minimum round that will kill an animal.
By the same token, you do not have to use a .500 super dooper ultra magnum either.
It boils down to the question, "What are you comfortable with?"
 
For many years in the old Northwest, including BC and the Yukon, the 215 grain .303 was considered "good medicine" for Grizzly and Moose. Also highly regarded, were the 220 grain 30-06, 220 grain 30-40 Krag, 175 grain 7 mm Mauser. Now most of these shots were taken well within 200 yards, but they put the bears and moose down with properly placed shots just as well as any .338 magnum at these ranges.
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Yep...I got a new box of Imperial 215 gr. almost every Christmas, when I was a kid up there..My Ol' man used to say " That'll kill anything in North America, if ya hit it right"
 
One of my old reloading books claims that the .303 has killed more African game than any other cartridge. Now it was printed in 1979 so you can take it with a grain of salt if you like. .303 is a fine round for just about anything, as this fella has proven.
 
skidooman603 said:
By looking at the pic it looks as if the old boy put a head shot on that bear. Shot Placement Shot Placement
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Agreed, my father told me tales of his father hunting bears with a .22... "shoot 'em in the ear". Ok... all he had at the time was a .22, and, in the arctic of Alaska... there wasn't a Monkey-Wards store down the street, let alone a Sears Roebuck... so, ya made do with what you had... but still... I prefer my .30-06 (for BIG game) thank you. Now, caribou? I likes my .22-250 :D
 
Kentucky_Rifleman:
Quote:
I think luck was by this man's side during this adventure. I always love to hear stories like this that almost defy the odds.

This fella routinely kills bears with that .303. This wasn't against the odds; it was a commonplace event for this hunter. He kills the bears for food, fur, and all the other delightful products the Inuit get out of bear.
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Pretty much this. There are plenty of stories out of Canada were a Lee Enfield has taken down Polar bears that were attacking people from many credible sources. A year or so a Canadian Ranger had to take one down attacking some kids with a Lee Enfield. Works just fine. Good shot placement is the key with any round. That or a JDAM. That works too.
 
A .303 is a standard battle rifle rifle cartridge, so I can't imagine why anyone would think it's incapable of taking a bear.
 
This is the reason why I laugh when I hear some "experienced alaskan hunting guides" say "do not bring anything to camp smaller than a 338 Win Mag"......"guides" that maybe took only 3 bears in their entire life, helped by a pile of ultratech gear (rangefinder, infrared and so on) and backed by a platoon of other shooters...

Before nonsensical laws is some countries established that even for lions the minimum hunting caliber is the 375 H&H Magnum (a cartridge originally designed to take down elephants) the 303 was one of the favourite big cat defense round in the dark continent.

When they were hit by the Mark VII tumbling bullets they were literally flipping over from the shock...

Nowadays there are people claiming that the 30-30 is "anemic" for deer....
 
Consider that a 30-06 has about a 200 fps advantage at the muzzle over the 303. And, that every 100 fps translates into only about 10 YARDS of effective range.

The 303 and 7.62 x 54r are close ballistically, and the Russian has long been considered to equal the 30-06.

Also consider that the Spitfire fighter aircraft in WWII was equipped with machine guns chambered for the 303.

As another has said, it is not the cartridge, it is the hunter. A game animal wounded with a 303 would probably also be wounded by a 300 Weatherby, or 338 Magnum or a 243.

My latest acquisition is a nicely sporterized Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk. 1 with a free floated barrel, a nice, big, visible ivory bead, and the Mark. II volley tangent sight. I am looking forward to taking to the field for elk.
 
Consider that a 30-06 has about a 200 fps advantage at the muzzle over the 303. And, that every 100 fps translates into only about 10 YARDS of effective range.

The 303 and 7.62 x 54r are close ballistically, and the Russian has long been considered to equal the 30-06.

Also consider that the Spitfire fighter aircraft in WWII was equipped with machine guns chambered for the 303.

As another has said, it is not the cartridge, it is the hunter. A game animal wounded with a 303 would probably also be wounded by a 300 Weatherby, or 338 Magnum or a 243.

My latest acquisition is a nicely sporterized Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk. 1 with a free floated barrel, a nice, big, visible ivory bead, and the Mark. II volley tangent sight. I am looking forward to taking to the field for elk.
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+1

Actually the 30-06 and the 7,62x54R are quite more powerful than the 303 British.....according to the Hodgdon Reload data center, when both loaded to the max, the 30-06 can push both a 150 gr. and a 180 gr. pill about 300 fps faster than the 303 British...quite the difference..

However even the 338 Win Mag which some "experts" consider the absolute minimum for grizzly, (I know, it's absurd...) originally it wasn't designed for the big bruins but rather as long range elk cartridge for the western part of the Northamerican continent where it is often hard to get close to the animal, to shoot across canyons and deliver a powerful punch at extreme distances.

In a decade or so, the 338 RUM and similar will be considered the minimum for deer hunting....:D
 
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This is the reason why I laugh when I hear some "experienced alaskan hunting guides" say "do not bring anything to camp smaller than a 338 Win Mag"......"guides" that maybe took only 3 bears in their entire life,
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A guide will be in on far more kills than that before he's licensed. The guides I know here on Kodiak, generally want something with some steam because they are the ones that have to go root them out of the alders if you don't make a clean kill. They'll allow you to use anything you want, even a handgun, but if you don't put it down they'll try and drop it themselves before it gets to cover, and mostly they use a .375... If the client complains because the guide shot "their bear", that's just tough luck.

Interior bears are less than half that size and any reasonable rifle will bring them down.
 
A guide will be in on far more kills than that before he's licensed. The guides I know here on Kodiak, generally want something with some steam because they are the ones that have to go root them out of the alders if you don't make a clean kill. They'll allow you to use anything you want, even a handgun, but if you don't put it down they'll try and drop it themselves before it gets to cover, and mostly they use a .375... If the client complains because the guide shot "their bear", that's just tough luck.

Interior bears are less than half that size and any reasonable rifle will bring them down.
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If you miss, no matter the caliber, the animal will not get down quickly...

Look at the monster Caribou's wife took few weeks ago....entire penetration from a light ball out of a Mosin...it looks like plenty steam to me...a 375 is an elephant gun not a bear gun...if you want to use it and know how to use it, more power to you but a proper 30-06 load will put down with authority any bear on earth, including the mythical Kodiak ones....

One year ago, a 220 gr. 30-06 pill broke both shoulders of a 9,6" brownie from about 60 yards and exited....if you cannot kill it with this you should not hunt....:D
 
a proper 30-06 load will put down with authority any bear on earth, including the mythical Kodiak ones....
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Absolutely. However, with big bears you really do want it to go down "right now". Not only because somebody has to go poking around in the brush for it, but also because you've just spent 10-20k for a hunt, and the guide is going to shoot your bear for you if it doesn't drop right there. If I spent that much for a hunt, I'd spend an extra grand for a rifle with more authority.
 
The .303 Enfield was the rifle of empire, their probably isn't an animal on this earth that hasn't been killed with one.
 
I think there's a million or so Germans somewhere, sometime, who'd have to argue the effectiveness of the .303 British.
 
Absolutely. However, with big bears you really do want it to go down "right now". Not only because somebody has to go poking around in the brush for it, but also because you've just spent 10-20k for a hunt, and the guide is going to shoot your bear for you if it doesn't drop right there. If I spent that much for a hunt, I'd spend an extra grand for a rifle with more authority.
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That was exactly my point...the '06 has enough steam to put down "right now", as you said, any bear on earth, assuming proper loads...

And if we are talking about a charge, it doesn't matter what cannon you use if you do not get a CNS shot.....a 243 that sever the spine is more effective than a 458 bullet in the guts....and, contrary to what many believe as several people that have been there and have the scars to prove it told me, a wounded bear charge is not going to be slowed down that much with a shoulder shot....CNS is the only guaranteed game over.
 
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