We Need Cheap .303!!!!!

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I'm surprised no one has brought any inexpensive non-corrosive .303 to market.

With all the Enfields out there now, there must be a large demand for this caliber, but all I see out there is $350 - $400 per thousand.n There used to be inexpensive PMP but that, it seems, has dried up.

Is anyone aware of any manufacturer plans to produce reasonably priced .303?
 
I'd like to know too. This milsurp stuff has been drying up and gets harder and harder to obtain. There are current manufacturerererererers (got a little carried away there ;)) of the stuff, but it's awfully expensive. Yes, maybe wolf can start producing polymer coated new production .303 for about $100/case. Yeah, that's the ticket...
 
reloading is a good way to get adequate loads and cut the cost. $18 for Reminton is way to steep for essentially 30-30 ammo. Commercial loading are tamed way down out of fear that folks are shooting rifles that aren't really serviceable.
 
The Ammunition Store in Canton, OH has Sellier & Bellot 150-gr soft-point .303 for $9.50/20...400 round case for $169.95

www.AmmunitionStore.com

1-800-432-0255

May find better prices elsewhere, but that is 1 place I found that has .303 on the shelf.

J&G sales has the 182-gr FMJ for about $8.50/20, 150gr SP for $9.95/20

www.jgsales.com
 
That S&B stuff is the best deal I've seen on .303. Those of us who own Lee-Enfields or other gun in a .303 chambering must realize that this is a "legacy" caliber, in the sense that by cheap ammo in a case lke this we mean military stuff that's been sitting in a warehouse somewhere, and it's finally being wholesaled off. How long has it been since any .303 military weapons were manufactured? How many countries field armies equipped with the .303? I've read complaints on other boards about calibers like 9mm Makarov and 7.62 x 25 "Tokarev" being harder to find. When the cheap guns were put into the sales pipeline, it created a demand for all that nice dirt-cheap old ammo. Now it's drying up, the warehouses re empty and there are still the people with the guns who want to shoot them. It's exactly the same situation as .303. If enough people want to buy it, then companies will provided new commercial or reloaded ammo, but it'll never be as cheap as that good 'ol milsurp....
 
To make 100 rounds of 303R ammo that gives me MOA accuracy in my scoped No4Mk1 rifle costs as follows:

.65 lb Smokeless Powder => $15
100 Sierra bullets => $17
100 CCI 200 primers => $2.50
100 Remington cases => $21 /10 => $2.10 (10 reloads per case before replacing)

Total cost of consumables, 100 rounds => $36.60 /5 => $7.32/box

Add to this the cost of the reloading equipment:

Lee Reloading Kit (single-stage press, powder measure & drop, primer tool) => $70
Lee Collet (neck sizing) die + factory crimp die => $30
workbench in garage => $30

And there ya have it. There is not enough of a cost savings involved with surplus ammo to make its loss of accuracy or dubious functioning worth my while.
 
rbernie

Note that the cost of reloading equipment is a ONE TIME, i.e. FIXED, cost - and the only additional fixed cost (if you are already set up to reload) is the dies for an additional caliber. Thus, if your dies cost $30 and you end up loading 1,000 rounds over time, the cost is only $0.03/round, adding $0.60/20-round box to the cost. Load more, and this fixed cost is reduced commensurately.

Oh, and buying the components (esp. primers and powder) in larger lots (or shopping around for a better deal) will reduce the cost per round. One way of significantly reducing costs is to get a C&R license, which gives you discounts at many places including Midway, Graf's and Brownell's. If I didn't know better, I'd say that these discounts alone make getting the C&R a big money saver (but I DO know better, knowing that having it makes the reproduction rate of your guns rise substantially).
 
I remember when good 8mm was hard to find, and very expensive. That's the surplus market. 5 years ago, there was alot of .303 around....and the best stuff. South African and Greek HXP could be had cheap.

Now is a "down cycle" in the market. There is more caches of .303 out there, but it's not being sold or not being bought (probably the former). Give it time, and use this lull to justify the small investment in a good reloading setup.....it will pay dividends and teach you MUCH more about shooting than buying surplus will.

My .02
 
Reloading is great, it does lesses the cost of ammo and increase your accuracy in many respects. But sometimes you just can't load ammo as cheap as the surplus stuff is (this is not one of those cases). Then again, sometimes yuo need pinpoint accuracy and you're just purchasing some "blastin' ammo." I typically only reload for pistols calibers.
 
Note that the cost of reloading equipment is a ONE TIME, i.e. FIXED, cost - and the only additional fixed cost (if you are already set up to reload) is the dies for an additional caliber.
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Roger that.

I typically only reload for pistols calibers.
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And that's what I *don't* reload. I can buy Blazer 9mm for cheaper than I can make it, and while the 45ACP stuff is a break-even proposition - I just hate chasing brass all over the range. :p
 
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Chasing brass for a bolt gun is a moot point, but I'd hate to have to track down all of my semi-auto rifle brass :uhoh:
 
Chasing brass for a bolt gun is a moot point, but I'd hate to have to track down all of my semi-auto rifle brass
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That is just the name of the game. I do it all of the time.

I wish I had a few extra bucks to get in on this .303 action right now. I don't have an Enfield, but I have my C&R. Yeah that is how bad I need to save my money!
 
There are literally ACRES of South African .303 milsurp just waiting to be imported. Sure wish someone would get on the ball here.
 
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